Daendels Was Fierce In Eradicating Corruption In The Colonial Age

Herman Willem Daendels (Source: Wikimedia Commons, Illustration: VOI / Raga Granada)

JAKARTA - In the eyes of the native people, Marshal Herman Willem Daendels may have been the master of the invaders. He is known as the pioneer of corpse work in the archipelago. But on the other hand, he also modernized the Dutch East Indies. Daendels fixed the messy management of the former VOC trading partner, especially the corruption which he fought against and even imposed the death penalty.

Mas Galak, Daendels' nickname for the Malay people, gained power in the Dutch East Indies thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor of France. Daendels, said Napoleon, was considered a great force capable of reforming the archipelago.

Mas Galak's progress as a general in leading the Batavian legion during the French Revolution is proof. Because of that, Napoleon ordered his younger brother, Louis (Lodewijk) Napoleon who became King of the Netherlands to immediately send Daendels to Java.

"There is only one option left for me and I have implemented it, namely choosing firm principles, then applying them according to the circumstances. I did that from the beginning so that I could immediately prevent and correct all wrong actions, without messing up the whole situation, ”said Daendels when he was sent to the Dutch East Indies.

King Louis then appointed him as the new Governor General of the Dutch East Indies in 1808. Daendels' departure to the land of hope was infiltrated by two main commands from King Louis. First, saving Java from British attacks. Second, fixing the administrative system in Java.

Historian Ong Hok Ham in the Lost Revelation, The Land of Shakes (2018) revealed that Daendels from the beginning had made a stir in the archipelago. The VOC trail was later replaced by a modern state called the Dutch East Indies by Daendels.

“Daendels wants to implement the modern state created by Napoleon in the Dutch colony. This modern state recognizes regional boundaries, territories, civil service hierarchies, and other anti-corruption and misappropriation actions that became atrocities during the VOC era. Corruption among Dutch officials in the colony was targeted by Daendels, who became known as: Tuan Besar Guntur, ”wrote Ong Hok Ham.

In Daendels' conception, the regents were declared colonial officials. That is, part of the power apparatus or the Dutch East Indies bureaucracy. However, Daendels understood that the regent's privilege as an apparatus could not be equated with Dutch officials.

Therefore, the regents and pangreh praja (bumiputra employees) were declared as Volkshoofden, the leaders of the people. They were placed under Dutch officials called "elder brothers."

The breakthrough led Daendels to raise the entire salary of all government employees, including district heads and staff. This step is a form of breaking the chain of illegal levies (extortion). A practice that has existed since the era of the archipelago kingdom since the 13th century. For more details regarding extortion, we have reviewed it in the article "The Historical Roots of Corruption in Indonesia and How Ancient Those Who Are Still Corrupt Today."

Not only that, Daendels' other breakthrough was to remove the position of governor and director of the East Java Sea Coast, which he did on May 13, 1808 in Semarang. Historian Peter Carey in the book Corruption in the Cross of Indonesian History (2016), calls this step a smooth way of direct communication between the governor-general and the residents of the South-Central Java palace. This was allegedly the first step in Daendels' plan to centralize colonial rule in Batavia.

Death penalty

During his reign, the marshal also prohibited bribing officials, playing commodity price scales and accepting gifts. If they are determined to be corrupt, they will be considered as having committed a criminal act and will receive severe punishment. As an illustration, employees who commit corruption of state assets totaling 3,000 ringgit will be sentenced to death.

"During his tenure of less than three years, Daendels succeeded in reducing corruption. He created fear in the hearts of officials and employees because of his character, namely in his day that he was truly willing to execute (sentence to death) corrupt officials. He developed a system. good control so that there is no opportunity for officials to turn money into their pockets, "said Rosihan Anwar in the book Small History" Petite Histoire "Indonesia (2009).

As evidence, Daendels did not hesitate to execute his flagship officer to defend Maluku from British attacks, Colonel JPF Filz. Even though what Filz was doing was not direct corruption. However, Filz's actions were considered irresponsible for failing to embed the state-owned spice commodity in 1810.

At that time, Filz led the combined Dutch, Javanese and Madurese forces of up to 1,500 people. Long story short, Filz's troops were beaten by 600 British and Indian soldiers who attacked Victoria fort.

Filz then took a thousand steps to Laetitia on Mount Batu Gantung, he built a defense there. However, his efforts failed again.

"However, this defense did not last long and was immediately broken. Finally Colonel Filz handed over the entire Ambon Island to the Court, "wrote Djoko Marihandono in the History of British Fort in Indonesia (2009).

The news of the fall of Ambon reached Daendels. Daendels was devastated. This is because not ordinary officers were sent, but Filz, a mainstay officer. After he was released by the British and returned to Batavia, Filz was brought to the Military Court. Shortly thereafter he was sentenced to death.

In the British report, Filz was sentenced to death for not being able to defend Maluku. However, Dutch sources say the Daendels government made the decision after it was believed that Filz had sacrificed all of the country's wealth in order to survive. According to the regulations, those who lose state assets worth 3,000 ringgit and above will be sentenced to death.