State of South Sumatra


The State of South Sumatra was a federal state and part of the United States of Indonesia formed in the southern part of Sumatra by the Netherlands in 1948 as part of an attempt to reestablish the colony of the Dutch East Indies during the Indonesian National Revolution.

Background

In December 1947, the Dutch established a Body for the Preparation of South Sumatra to establish a federal state in an area originally planned to remain part of the Republic of Indonesia. Subsequently the Dutch also formed a 36-member advisory council comprising 30 Indonesians, 2 Dutch citizens and representatives of the Chinese, Arabic and Indian ethnic communities. This group then elected Abdul Malik as its chairman, and he became head of state when State of South Sumatra was formally established on 30 August 1948. It covered approximately one quarter of the area of the province of South Sumatra.

Government

Upon the establishment of the state, Abdul Malik was inaugurated as head of state by a representative of the Dutch crown in Palembang's Great Mosque. The people's representative assembly, a continuation of the advisory council, was the most powerful state institution, but the annual state budget was set by the head of state, and submitted it to the assembly for approval. A number of government departments were established, and ministers appointed as follows:
Many Dutch nationals held positions as heads of government agencies and mayors, including of the capital, Palembang.

Dissolution

By early 1950, there were growing calls for the constituent states of the RUSI to dissolve themselves into a unitary Republic of Indonesia. The South Sumatra representative assembly voted for reintegration into the Republic of Indonesia, and asked for the state to be placed under the control of a RUSI representative, rather than the head of state. The dissolution was facilitated by RUSI Presidential Regulation No. 126/1950, through which the State of South Sumatra ceased to exist as of 24 March 1950.