REORGANISASI KEKUASAAN LOKAL DI GUNUNG SAHILAN: DARI KEDAULATAN KERAJAAN KE PEMERINTAHAN KOLONIAL BELANDA, 1905–1938

Sari

This study examines the reorganization of local authority in Gunung Sahilan from 1905 to 1938 as part of the transformation of political relations between Gunung Sahilan and the Dutch East Indies colonial government. The year 1905 marked a significant turning point, when the local rulers within the Goenoeng Sahilan en Onderhoorigheden signed a korte verklaring, thereby placing the territory under Dutch authority. This political realignment was subsequently followed by colonial efforts to restructure the form of government in the territory that had newly come under Dutch control. The Koloniaal Verslag of 1906 recorded the assignment of Captain H. Colijn on 13 May 1905 to investigate the form of government, the deployment of troops, the reorganization of the police, and the administration of taxation in the region. This study employs the historical method, consisting of heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The findings demonstrate that the reorganization did not entail the immediate abolition of local authority. Rather, it proceeded through the restructuring and integration of indigenous authority into the colonial administrative framework. This process resulted in the institutionalization of zelfbestuur, Chalipahschap, and the office of penghulu, all of which had existed prior to the establishment of Dutch colonial control over the Kingdom of Gunung Sahilan. Under colonial rule, however, these institutions were reorganized and subjected to supervision by the controleur, who subsequently headed the Onderafdeeling Kampar Kiri. Thus, the reorganization of authority in Kampar Kiri constituted a process of transforming local political authority: the power of indigenous elites was not abolished, but rather re-institutionalized, constrained, and incorporated into the mechanisms of colonial governance.

Keywords: Gunung Sahilan, Kampar Kiri, reorganization of authority