‘Collaboration is a Very Delicate Concept’: Alliance-formation and the Colonial Defence of Indonesia and Malaysia, 1945-1957 Roel Frakking Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Florence, 08 May 2017 European University Institute Department of History and Civilization ‘Collaboration is a Very Delicate Concept’: Alliance-formation and the Colonial Defence of Indonesia and Malaysia, 1945-1957 Roel Frakking Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Examining Board Professor A. Dirk Moses, Supervisor (EUI/External Supervisor) Professor L. Riall, EUI Professor M. Thomas, University of Exeter, external adviser Professor P. Romijn, NOID Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies © Roel Frakking, 2017 No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Researcher declaration to accompany the submission of written work Department of History and Civilization - Doctoral Programme I <Roel Frakking> certify that I am the author of the work < `Collaboration is a Very Delicate Concept': Alliance-formation and the Colonial Defence of Indonesia and Malaysia, 1945-1957> I have presented for examination for the Ph.D. at the European University Institute. I also certify that this is solely my own original work, other than where I have clearly indicated, in this declaration and in the thesis, that it is the work of others. I warrant that I have obtained all the permissions required for using any material from other copyrighted publications. I certify that this work complies with the Code of Ethics in Academic Research issued by the European University Institute (IUE 332/2/10 (CA 297). The copyright of this work rests with its author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This work may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. This authorisation does not, to the best of my knowledge, infringe the rights of any third parry. I declare that this work consists of <114,962> words. Statement of inclusion of previous work (delete if not applicable): I confirm that chapter <two> draws upon an earlier article I published <` "Gathered on the Point of a Bayonet": The Negara Pasundan and the Colonial Defence of Indonesia, 1946-50', International History Review 39, 1 (2017), 30-47> Signature and date: Abstract ‘“Collaboration is a Very Delicate Concept”: Alliance-formation and the Wars of Independence in Indonesia and Malaysia, 1945-1957’ is a case study in the interface between late colonial empires and colonized societies. Unlike traditional studies that continue to focus on British or Dutch (military-political) efforts to open specific avenues towards independence, the thesis analyses how local elites, their constituencies or individuals determined and navigated their own course— through violent insurgencies—towards independence. The thesis dispenses with (colonial) notions of ‘loyalty’ and ‘colonized- colonizer’. Instead, it takes the much more fluid concept of local alliance- formation and combines it with theories on territorial control to elucidate why certain individuals or groups co-operated with colonial authorities one moment only to switch to the freedom fighters’ side the next. In showing the complexities and ambiguities of association, the thesis advocates and executes an agenda that transcends the narrow political- diplomatic scope of decolonization to restore the agency and motivations of local political parties, communities and individuals. The red thread throughout the thesis, then, is that Indonesians, Chinese and Malays pursued their own, narrow—often violent—interests to survive and secure a (political) future beyond decolonization. Ultimately, the limits of alliance-formation are probed. The search for territorial control by colonial and anti-colonial forces necessitated zero-sum outcomes to pre-empt alliance breakdowns. As such, coercion remained the major motivational force during decolonization: coercion local communities participated in more than has been hitherto acknowledged in relation to the decolonization of Southeast Asia. Acknowledgements This writing of this thesis would not have been possible without the four-year grant provided by the NUFFIC (the Netherlands Organisation for the Internationalisation of Education) and additional contributions from the Prins Bernhard Culture Fund and, lastly, the European University Institute itself. Of course, money isn’t everything. I would like, therefore, to thank Professor A. Dirk Moses for having been my supervisor. I suppose the past five years have required quite some patience on his part. Still, whenever I had questions his answers came quickly, were detailed and, most importantly, to the point. The same applies to his editing. I owe him my first publications; he spared neither of us in making sure I delivered. To Professor Lucy Riall, my second advisor at the EUI, I would like to extend my gratitude for always being available to discuss my work and offering different perspectives. Her enthusiasm even worked on me. Lastly, Professor Martin Thomas deserves special mention in his capacity as external advisor and for his advice and the opportunities he offered me in terms of presenting and publishing. I thank the faculty of the HEC department. Special thanks go out to Anna Coda Nunziante for dealing with my perennial last-minute requests. In the days before the final submission, Miriam Curci has been very patient with me for which I am grateful. Others who were kind enough to spend some of their time sharing their expertise have been Professors Remco Raben and Jan Hoffenaar and dr. Christ Klep. Stress is no fun without friends to share the suffering. In no particular order, here is a list of people that I have shared the good, the bad and the ugly with: Jonas, Stephanie, Martijn, Anaïs, Rebecca, Andrea, Marijn, Matthijs, Miquel, José, Martín, Jonas, Nicolás, Tetiana, Andrea, Vinzenz, Dario, Koen, Mathilde, Rutger, Ivan, Bouke, Lisa, Simon, Bram, Daniël, Tim, Sanne and Florian. Im quite sure that I have forgotten a few people, but that can’t be helped. Thank you all for making my time here quite enjoyable and dealing with my rants and bad jokes. No thank-you list is complete without my parents, Ton and Truus, and my sister Annemarie. The Netherlands is never far away thanks to you. Special mention goes to my two adorable nieces, Ilse and Tessa; perhaps you will write your own thesis, some day. I am saddened my oma cannot join me in my celebrations. To the rest of my extended family, I would like to say that I never grew tired of answering questions about when I was finally finishing (I think). You always made me feel very welcome. Last but certainly not least, a big thank you to all my friends who I have known the longest or who have joined the ranks more recently: Bas, Coen, Arjan, Tim, Frank, Sebastiaan, Marcel, Finneke, Bas, Isaac, Dirk, Gerhard, Laura, Aline, Ingrid and Jasmine. I think this suffices, for now. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Concepts, arguments and structure 5 A note on sources 12 The Indonesian War for Independence and the Malayan Emergency 14 I Co-operation, Loyalty and Alliances: Participation in Colonial Insurgency 22 Co-operation 24 Loyalty 33 Alliances 41 Participation in colonial conflict 45 Alliance-formation in the colonial defence of Indonesia and Malaysia 52 Comparisons and processes 58 II ‘Collaboration is a Very Delicate Concept’: The Negara Pasundan and the Malayan Chinese Association 70 Political reconstructions: Federalization in Indonesia and Malaysia 73 Forming alliances: The Negara Pasundan and the Malayan Chinese Association 80 Strained alliances: The Negara Pasundan versus the Malayan Chinese Association 89 Conclusion 100 III From Loose Sand to Discipline: Alliance-formation, Indigenous Elites and the Colonial Security Forces 104 The security troika: Authorities, local elites and the security forces 107 The manpower problem: Bringing in the troops 110 The call for loyalty in the Pasundan 121 The call for Chinese loyalty in Malaya 129 Conclusion 153 IV Training the Troops: Loyalty in Theory and Practice 156 Training the troops and performing loyalty 159 A ‘debt of gratitude’: Joining the ranks 176 Riding the Trojan Horse 193 Conclusion 206 V Alliance-formation and the People 229 Societies divided 213 Figuring weakly in the minds of the Sundanese: The people versus Pasundan 221 Selling the country and cheating the people: The Malayan Chinese Association 230 A Hand in every pie? The Komando Distrik Militer and the Min Yuen 241 The live-and-let-live system 254 Conclusion 273 VI Conclusion 276 Limitations 284 The way forward 286 Abbreviations 289 Bibliography 292 Introduction. Transformative connectivity lies at the heart of colonialism. Colonial expansion and ‘colonialism’, defined as such, constituted ‘an encounter’ wherein communities that were ‘already […] living in those places where colonies were established’ were subjugated by incoming others. At the points of contact, ‘the original inhabitants and the newcomers’ locked ‘into [a] most complex and traumatic relationship’ that changed both—predominantly because power- relations were decided in favour of the colonizers.1 The effects of these changes, encapsulated in shared histories, continue to link Asia and Europe and spark heated debates regarding the relations between the two. In