©Copyright 2012 Woonkyung Yeo Palembang in the 1950s: The Making and Unmaking of a Region Woonkyung Yeo A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2012 Reading Committee: Laurie J. Sears, Chair Christoph Giebel Celia Lowe Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Department of History University of Washington Abstract Palembang in the 1950s: The Making and Unmaking of a Region Woonkyung Yeo Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Laurie J. Sears Department of History My dissertation examines complex socioeconomic issues surrounding the postcolonial transition in Indonesia by focusing on the history of Palembang and the discourse of the “region” in 1950s’ Indonesia. By examining these issues, this dissertation shows that Palembang in the 1950s was volatile and indicative of a more complex local and transnational context, and that the history of the regions outside Java cannot be confined within state boundaries or the logic of regionalism. It also discusses how the central government’s efforts to integrate regions into a state were initially challenged and then eventually accepted throughout the decade. Chapter one conceptualizes the “region” in geographical, philosophical, and political senses by suggesting the dual meaning of the region. It also introduces the early histories and cityscapes of Palembang and the importance of the city in the relationship between the “center” (Jakarta) and the region in the 1950s. Chapter two highlights the international economic orientations of Palembang in the 1950s, by analyzing rubber smuggling to Singapore. The blurry line between legal and illegal trade, the role of Chinese traders, and the ethnicization of smuggling will be discussed. Chapter three explores the petroleum industry and its influence on the society, with a focus on labor movements. The relationship between labor union and political parties, between union and companies, and between regional branches and the headquarters in Jakarta show that the 1950s were not just a period of diversity, but also a period of increasing state control and centralization. Chapter four explores the politics of building roads and the Musi Bridge in Palembang as symbols of modernization and development in the late 1950s and 1960s. The concluding chapter, chapter five, discusses the discourse and the process of “regional development” and the making of regional identities, and examines how they reflect the state’s hegemony and the complex integration of the regional into the national. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction: The Disappearing Region in the 1950s ...................................................1 Chapter 2: Elastic Confrontation: Rubber Smuggling to Singapore in the 1950s ........................30 Chapter 3: Fueling Conflicts: Petroleum Industry, Labor and Politics .........................................75 Chapter 4: The Road to Modernity? Regional Development and the Politics of Building Bridges in Palembang ...............................................................................................................................111 Chapter 5: The Discourse of Development and the (Un)Making of a Region ...........................132 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................149 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed in diverse ways to the completion of this dissertation. First and foremost appreciation should be given to my advisor, Laurie Sears. Without her guidance, timely advice and invaluable insights, this dissertation could never have been produced. Throughout my long and winding graduate school life, Laurie has never failed to show me the meaning of encouragement and patience. I am also sincerely grateful to the members of the dissertation Committee. Christoph Giebel’s challenging yet insightful comments helped me to rethink the purpose and direction of my research. As a committed mentor, wonderful lecturer and outstanding historian, he has been a model scholar to me. From Celia Lowe, I have learned a lot about anthropological methodologies and critical theories, which was an exciting deviation from my discipline. Although being unable to attend the dissertation defense, Vince Rafael’s teaching on nationalism and comparative colonialism has been a great asset for my research. I would like to express special thanks to Peter Lape, who, as the Graduate School Representative, voluntarily read through the dissertation and stimulated fascinating intellectual discussions in the final exam. In Indonesia, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) at Jakarta sponsored my research visa. Pak Hisyam kindly agreed to be an official sponsor for my research permit. I wish to thank Dr. Erwiza Erman for her encouragement and generous support for my research during my research in Indonesia. The conversation with Dr. Riwanto Tirtosudarmo provided me with new and fresh ideas on the Javanese migrants to Palembang and South Sumatra. I would express special thanks to Suribidari for friendship and scholarly colleagueship. Fadjar Thufail opened the door of LIPI and introduced these wonderful colleagues to me. I would like to give sincere ii appreciation to the staff of the National Archives, the Museum Satria Mandala at Jakarta, and the Museum Pers in Solo. I am also thankful to Eunsook Jung, Jihwa Nam, and Kyung Tai Tak for being good friends during my research period in Jakarta. In Palembang, the late Djohan Hanafiah gave me much knowledge and information on the past and present of the city. Other intellectuals, Pak Alian, Pak Ikhsan, Fera, and Pak Sjafruddin, to name just a few, also generously shared the products of their research with me. I wish to thank Ulfa Hidayati, Pak Laurel Heydir and Pak Zen Zanibar for their kindness willingness to help my research in Palembang. Without the hospitality and generosity of Bu Isna Wijayani, my stay in Palembang would have been much more difficult. Idaliana Tanjung, a graduate student at Yogya, generously sent her thesis on the oil industry in Palembang. I thank Riza Machmudi, Elda Melwita, and other young friends I met in Palembang for their friendship and kindness. It was a blessing that I met a fabulous intellectual community in Padang, West Sumatra. Prof. Mestika Zed gave me the most crucial assistance for my research by sharing all of his sources on Palembang. I also thank Pak Gusti Asnan, Bu Lindayanti, “my brother” Harry Azam, Erni Masdupi, and many others, for their generosity, willingness to help my research, and intellectual stimulation. They made my short stay in Padang one of the most memorable and fruitful moments during my research in Indonesia. In various stages of my dissertation research, the conversation with senior scholars helped me to think, rethink and redirect my research topic in various ways. In Netherlands, Heather Sutherland gave me critical advice that led me to redirect my research project, and Freek Colombijn kindly shared his knowledge on Palembang and Sumatra. A short conversation with Rudolf Mrazek in Jakarta was significant to rethink the “center” and “region” in the 1950s. I wish to thank Henk Maier for his encouragement to study Palembang and interest in my research. iii Eric Tagliacozzo read the earliest version of chapter two of the dissertation and gave crucially helpful comments. I am also indebted to Keng We Koh and Rosemary Robson for their guidance and help for my preliminary research in Leiden. I thank Desiana Pauli Sandjaja for enhancing my Indonesian reading capacity. The help from librarians and the university in the United States was also crucial. I especially thank Judith Henchy at the University of Washington Library, and Ben Abel and Jeff Peterson at the Cornell University Library. Susanne Young and Lori Anthony, the coordinators of the graduate program in the Department of History, always helped me not to go astray during my study. Sara van Fleet and Tikka Sears have done a great job in supporting graduate students in Southeast Asian Studies. The Korea-ASEAN Fellowship, facilitated by the Korean Association of Southeast Asian Studies, and Chester-Fritz Funding for study abroad in the University of Washington made my research in Indonesia in 2007 and 2008 possible. I also wish to thank the department of History for their generous financial aid for my research trips to Indonesia and the Netherlands, and for my study at the University of Washington. I am indebted a lot to my cohorts in the Department of history and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies for friendship and intellectual stimulation: Chong Eun Ahn, Cheryll Alipio, Bradley Davis, Juned Shaikh, Sun-Hee Yoon, Pat McCormick, Jon Olivera, Michaela Campbell, Chris Grorud, David Biggs, Mia Siscawati, Evi Sutrisno, McKay Caruthers, Terence Lee, Jeongwon Hyun, and Leah Koskimaki. Other friends outside my academic programs also made my life in Seattle and the United States more meaningful and pleasant: Ki-Young Shin, Byoung-Inn Bae, Jaehyun Ryu, Seung Jun Lee, Seungjin Lee, Hee-Young Yeo, Unsoo Cho, Ying Lin, Chanam Lee, Juyoung Cheong. Calvin Lee (and Chong Eun Ahn) pleasantly distracted me from stressful routines, and provided me with unbelievable support for the wrapping up of iv this dissertation. I owe special thanks to Ramzi Rouighi (and Sun-Hee Yoon) for their friendship and advice for research, career, and life. My best friends Jeong-han Kang and Min-Ah Lee opened their apartment in Ithaca