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BACKGROUND FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GEMEENTE TANJUNG BALAI IN 1917
The Enforcement of Decentralization Wet 1903
In the 1880s, the pressure to demand change began to be felt from the private Dutch people who were engaged in various business fields, in this colony whose number was increasing and forming communities, called colonies in various big cities in Indonesia. Indonesia, such as Batavia, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Makassar, Medan, and Padang. The very rapid development and accompanied by various complex problems in various remote areas in the Dutch East Indies could not be handled remotely and from behind the desk by the centralized power of administrators. The time has come for the government to open its eyes to see developments in the Dutch East Indies and to carry out constitutional reforms which must be seen as an indispensable step so that government policies and affairs are no longer centered in the hands of the governor-general and his Raad van Indie.
For this reason, a member of Tweede Kamer, W.K. Baron van Dedem voiced his opinion about the need for changes in colonial governance in the Dutch East Indies. He proposed a bill on the Dutch East Indies budget. The draft law must be determined and accounted for separately from the Dutch State budget. The idea was embodied in the draft law he initiated on decentralization.
Various specific affairs and problems that arise in the regions will be handled well if the decentralization of colonial administration is practiced. Not only can many tasks be delegated to regional assemblies, but a policy that has been adapted to the specific problems of a region will be well implemented in that region.
On July 23, 1903, the law concerning the decentralization of government in the Dutch East Indies was named De Wet Houdende Decentralisatie van Het Bestuur in Nederlandsh-Indie as outlined in the Staatsblad van Het Koninkrijk Der Nederlanden Year 1903 No. 219 and via Indische Staatsblad No. 239. The law on decentralization of government in the Dutch East Indies lasted almost 50 years.
De Wet Houdende Decentralisatie van Het Bestuur in Nederlandsh-Indie which was promulgated on July 23, 1903, hereinafter better known as Decentralisati Wet 1903. Decentralisatie Wet 1903, which in its formation required a long process.
The Decentralisatie Wet Act 1903 was followed by various regulations relating to decentralization between 1903 and 1905, namely:
1. Decentralization Wet (Decentralization Law) dated July 23, 1903 which was contained in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsh Indie Year 1905 No. 137.
2. Decentralization Besluit (Government Decree on Decentralization) contained in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsh Indie Year 1905 No. 137.
3. Locale Raden Ordonnantie (Ordinance on Local Councils) contained in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsh Indie Year 1905 No. 181.
In principle, the decentralization legislation is intended to create local government in certain regions (which is referred to as gewesten), or in parts of certain regional units (which is referred to as gedeelten van gewesten, or what is then often referred to as gewesten). afdeelingen), which can carry out its own government affairs (zelfbestuur). With the promulgation of a set of statutory provisions, a government agency that can more or less stand alone can soon be formed.
Based on the Decentralization Wet Act 1903, autonomous cities were formed which managed their government independently, and did not depend on the central government. Autonomous cities are given gemeente status. With this new status, the city government was given the freedom to develop its city. This right was also for the benefit of the European population in the Dutch East Indies, especially those who lived in groups in cities.
This reason is the background for the formation of a municipality (gemeente) as a result of the law on decentralization called Decentralisatie Wet in 1903. The formation of a city's gemeente is also based on the size of the European population living in one place. Therefore, it is not surprising that Batavia was the first city to receive the status of a municipal area as stated in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie year 1905 No.204. Since then, various cities that have European citizens whose numbers are considered quite significant have obtained gemeente status. In East Sumatra, the first region to become a gemeente was Medan, namely on April 1, 1909 based on a besluit dated March 5, 1909. Then in 1917, it was followed by Gemeente Binjai, Gemeente Tebing Tinggi, Gemeente Pematang Siantar and Gemeente Tanjung Balai.
On July 1, 1917 Tanjung Balai was inaugurated as Gemeente as stated in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie Year 1917 No. 284 by Besluit van den Gouverneur Generaal dated 27 June 1917
Increasing Number of Foreign Europeans and Easterners
In the 18th century, the ban on bringing a wife was lifted for Europeans who would settle in Indonesia. Europeans were allowed to bring their wives to come and settle in Indonesia. The lifting of the ban caused a higher wave of European arrivals to Indonesia. They come to Indonesia with their wives, and bring their children for those who already have children. This resulted in the number of Europeans in Indonesia soaring sharply because they then also formed settlements that were only reserved for them. Most of the Europeans in Indonesia live in cities, only a few who want to live in the countryside, namely plantation employees. The cities inhabited by Europeans in considerable numbers were only the main cities, where these cities developed into capitals.
Before the influence of the Dutch colonial government entered, the cities in East Sumatra were said to be "port cities". This port city has a Malay power structure. As for the Malay powers that were formed in East Sumatra before the influence of the Dutch colonial government entered, they were Langkat, Deli, Serdang, Asahan and several other small kingdoms. In East Sumatra, a traditional city that is quite busy is Labuhan Deli. Labuhan Deli functioned as a port and as the administrative center of the Deli Sultanate.
At the end of the 19th century, East Sumatra began to develop the plantation economy after the entry of Dutch colonial influence. The first pioneer in establishing plantations in East Sumatra was J. Nienhuys. J. Nienhuys who is a Dutch onderneming entrepreneur has been authorized by the trading company Pieter van den Arend. The arrival of J. Nienhuys to Deli after he heard a story about the tobacco plants of the people on the East Coast of Sumatra which was of good quality and the profits were quite good from planting tobacco. This information was obtained through an Arab born in Surabaya named Sayid Abdullah Ibn Umar Bilsagih. In his first visit, J. Nienhuys managed to get a land concession to open a tobacco plantation on Deli land. However, this tobacco cultivation business initially failed and suffered considerable losses. However, Nienhuys remains optimistic that the land of Deli will bring huge profits.
Experimental tobacco plantations require a lot of labor for a large garden. Due to the refusal of native farmers, Nienhuys brought in foreign workers, namely Chinese coolies from Pulau Pinang. The arrival of Chinese coolies from Pulau Pinang caused population growth in East Sumatra.
Tobacco plantations are developing in East Sumatra, causing the center of attention and interests that were previously in the Siak area to shift to areas that have been controlled previously. So in 1887 it was decided to move the center of government which was previously in Labuhan to Medan. This transfer was accompanied by a reorganization of the government which was administratively contained in the Staatsblad 1887, No. 21. The tasks of the government of East Sumatra are divided into 5 sections, one of which is Afdeeling Asahan which is domiciled in Tanjung Balai.
The relocation of the center of government to Medan, East Sumatra became a plantation economic area as a result of the open door policy that made it easier for investors to open plantation companies in East Sumatra. This development has made the area of East Sumatra, which is mostly a plantation area, known as cultuurgebied.
Tobacco plantations as the main commodity are not profitable for the Asahan area. There is less tobacco planted in the Asahan area when compared to other areas. Tobacco plants are not suitable for cultivation in the Asahan area, so that tobacco cultivation fails in Asahan
make plantation entrepreneurs look for substitute crops. Areas suitable for growing tobacco are areas that stretch from the Wampu River in Langkat to the Snake River in Serdang.
A suitable substitute plant for the Asahan area is rubber. This is because the demand for rubber in the world is high, which is accompanied by the growth of the automotive industry in America and Europe. In 1906, a Swiss company expanded its rubber plantations in Asahan so that most of the plantations in Asahan were rubber plantation companies.
The rapid expansion of onderneming agriculture in Asahan has had a marked effect on the growth, distribution and composition of the population. In a very short time the indigenous population was surpassed by Europeans and Foreign Easterners, especially the Chinese. Increasing the composition of the population of Europeans and Foreign Easterners such as Chinese, Japanese and Arabs. In the Asahan area the Chinese have had one or more settlements for a long time. They had good relations with the sultan's family. Where, one of the sultans, especially Sultan Raja Dewa Syah (Marhum Pasir Putih) had a Chinese wife. Those who live and stay in Asahan have sacrificed their energy or become coolies to work for the company. However, for the Tanjung Balai area there are very many Chinese people compared to natives. Of these Chinese, there are those who work as ministers. However, in the Tebing Kisaran and Bandar Pulau areas, a number of Chinese people live by trading or practicing their business.51 Not only trading or being coolies, there are Chinese people who become captains. His name is Khoe Hock Cho. He was a very passionate and honest Chinese captain. He is also very quick to gain an understanding of a case and is always ready to cooperate in all matters for the benefit of his superiors. He made things easier, such as customs collection, etc. Khoe Hock Cho is also a rich Chinese class.
In Tanjung Balai, the Chinese are treated well. They even got home improvements. In addition to the Chinese, other Foreign Easterners are Klingaleezen (Indian Tribes). The Indian at Tanjung Balai was an Indian lieutenant. He as a lieutenant serves as a counselor for the courts when things happen and cares deeply about any problems that occur in court.
The increase in the composition of the population that occurred in Tanjung Balai was very rapid with the expansion of plantations. So that in 1915, the population according to Regeerings Alamanak was 3790 inhabitants, of which 59 were Europeans, 1700 were indigenous, and 1971 were Chinese under a lieutenant.
The increase in the number of Europeans and Eastern Foreigners is also due to the existence of the most important and largest Tanjung Balai Port which has a very large role for export and import economic activities. Tanjung Balai Harbor is located on the East Coast of Sumatra, which is at the center of the Afdeeling Asahan government. The existence of Tanjung Balai Port, which is located in the center of Afdeeling Asahan, is very profitable because almost all plantation products are sent to the central government. Delivery of plantation products through the Port of Tanjung Balai, which has a very big role in the presence of an American company, namely Hollandsche Americasche Plantage Maatschappij (HAPM). In addition to the HAPM company, which makes Tanjung Balai Asahan Port as an export port for its products, there are also other companies such as Serbadjadi Maatschappij which has rubber onderneming in Asahan.
Tanjung Balai Asahan Port is the first port in East Sumatra to export rubber plantation products in East Sumatra. Apart from being a port that exports plantation products, Tanjung Balai Asahan Port also acts as an importer of plantation necessities and supplies and equipment. Plantation equipment and equipment are in the form of fertilizers, chemicals used to support plantation operations and to process crops.
Another role of Tanjung Balai Port is to transport commodity products belonging to the people that do not belong to big companies. People's commodities are plantations that are managed privately by the people. The people's commodity is in the form of smallholder rubber farming which is the mainstay of the Asahan people in particular. Other production is forest products such as gum, rattan, and others. Forest products in Asahan are very abundant, where most of the Asahan area originates in the highlands where the majority of the population is ethnically Batak. Inland communities export forest products through the Port of Tanjung Balai Asahan. Apart from forest products, privately managed plantation products are copra and areca nut. The Asahan area is often found with copra and areca nut. The largest and main commodity exported by Tanjung Balai Asahan Port is copra. In 1916, more than 1 million KG of Copra were exported.
Forest products that are quite abundant in the Tanjung Balai area are fruits of various types of fruit. The fruit obtained from the forest was brought by the Batak people who came from the interior. The fruit that was brought was then traded downstream with the Malay population on the coast as well as with traders who came from around the Asahan area.
The existence of Tanjung Balai Port which is able to survive because of the location of the port which is on the river bank. Evidence that the river at that time was the main transportation. Through the river, the produce from the upstream is brought to the downstream, which is then traded and exported abroad, especially to Penang, Malacca and Singapore. On the other hand, downstream goods are carried upstream. The goods brought upstream are imported goods.
The Port of Tanjung Balai Asahan while under the rule of the Dutch Colonial Government opened up many opportunities for foreign investors to open plantations. This is also very profitable for Tanjung Balai Asahan Port because its activities continue to be carried out by exporting plantation products and importing the needs needed by the plantation parties.
The existence of plantation activities and the role of ports led to an increase in the economy so that the emergence of new cities. The Dutch colonial government built new cities, both as centers of government administration and centers of economic activity. The new cities were usually built in strategic places, mostly due to the construction of roads and railways.
THE GEMEENTE GOVERNMENT OF TANJUNG BALAI YEARS 1917-1942
Determination of Gemeente Tanjung Balai
The determination of Gemeente Tanjung Balai was determined by the Decree of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies J.van Limburg Stirum, which was promulgated in Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie No. 284 on 27 June 1917 issued in Buitenzorg (Bogor).
This decision was effective as of July 1, 1917. It was also decided that the name of the new autonomous region would be the city of Tanjung Balai (Gemeente Tanjung Balai) within the scope of the East Sumatra region. That the provisions for the special needs of the main city (capital) of Tanjung Balai and related management before the affairs of state land are brought to the office of the local council for the plantation area of the East Coast of Sumatra.
For the initial financing of the Gemeente Tanjung Balai operation, the Dutch East Indies government provided a budget of f 13,963 per year which was separated from colonial funds. This budget was determined through the decision of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies in the State Gazette (Staatsblad) No. 284 of June 27, 1917.
The budget that has been set for Gemeente Tanjung Balai, is used for the construction of infrastructure and urban facilities. Worked with careful planning such as maintenance, repair, renewal and construction of public roads, street lighting, provision of drinking water facilities, sewers, water pipes, parks, markets, bridges, abattoirs, burial grounds. etc.
Gemeente is equipped with an institution that acts as a legislative council, namely Gemeenteraad. Gemeenteraad is a council formed for regional units with city status. The formation of Gemeenteraad was based on the release of Decentralisatie Besluit. This decree determines the points regarding the formation of the composition, position and authority of the board in managing finances that are separate from the center.
In the government, Gemeenteraad functions like a legislative body that is able to present representatives from every ethnic group in Tanjung Balai, namely European, Chinese, Bumiputera and Foreign Eastern groups. However, the nature of Gemeenteraad's membership does not reflect quantitatively the real ethnic group, because in fact European groups dominate Gemeenteraad's membership.
Government Administration System at Gemeente Tanjung Balai
Since being designated as gemeente until 1916, cities in Indonesia have not had a definitive regional head as mayor. To administer the area that has been designated as gemeente, the Dutch gave full authority to the local Assistant Resident officials. The appointment of a new mayor (burgemeester) was carried out in 1916 which was then followed by the appointment of members of the City Council (Gemeenteraad) starting in 1922.
As an institution that is given the authority to administer government at the city level autonomously, the city government has the authority and responsibility at the level of the district government. City government institutions in the context of local government were something new in Indonesia at that time. Previously, such a bureaucratic model did not exist in traditional government which was still in the form of a kingdom.
The presence of a local government system perfects the political system and democratizes. Therefore, the local government has a big role in determining the progress of development in the country.
In practice, the local government formed by the Dutch in the past has not accommodated the participation of the people, because it was only done to strengthen their colonialist grip on traditional local power. The appointment of members of the City Council (Gemeenteraad) is also carried out at the will of the Dutch government, not a representative of the community.
The conceptual boundaries of politics and local government in this case refer to a theory that refers to a geographical idea and political space that is controlled by a certain type of power or local government apparatus which is authorized by regional autonomy by the central government. The central government as the giver of authority during the colonial period was the Governor-General who was domiciled in Batavia to the holder of the autonomy power, namely the Resident Assistant
In further developments, based on Decentralisatie Wet 1903 No. 329, starting on July 1, 1917, the Government of the Netherlands East Indies established a Gemeenteraad (City Council) for Tanjung Balai. The establishment of Gemeenteraad Tanjung Balai was formed in 1917 when Tanjung Balai held the status of gemeente.
1. In an official letter from the first Secretary to the Governor, the Council of the Netherlands East Indies had the honor of stating that for the council members of each city that has gemeente status in East Sumatra, it is generally assigned to 9 members of the council.
2. With regard to:
a. That among the British and Indians are not categorized as members of the council according to the requirements of the Council of the Dutch East Indies.
b. That the Chinese would only be deemed to have sufficient representation. The 9 members of the council are 5 Europeans, 3 for Natives and 1 for Foreign Easterners.
3. In view of the acceptance of members of the city council as stated in the Besluit Koninklijk, not to appoint another person as a member of the council who does not meet the requirements of Dutch citizenship.
The establishment of Gemeenteraad Tanjung Balai as stated in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie in Article 6 No. 284 of 1917 follows:
1. For Gemeente Tanjung Balai a council was established, called: Tanjung Balai City Council.
2. The number of members of this council is 9 people. It consists of 5 Europeans or their equivalent, 3 Bumiputera (natives) and 1 Foreign Easterner.
3. The head of the local government of Afdeeling Asahan is the chairman of the council.
Article 7 contains provisions relating to regulations regarding the policies of the Dutch East Indies Government, provisions on Decentralization and the Local Council Ordinance, the Tanjung Balai City Council Office including management as referred to in article 5, as well as provisions regarding the duties of the city council described in article 4.
Apart from that, the city council is also authorized to provide other needs for Gemeente Tanjung Balai, with due observance of the authority of the government and other dignitaries. If there are doubts or disputes regarding the limits of the authority or duties of the government, between the Tanjung Balai City Council and other dignitaries, the Governor-General shall decide.
Article 7 above concerning the provisions of the task of the Gemeenteraad which is stated in article 4 which also contains the duties of the Gemeente government. This indicates that the task of Gemeenteraad is to assist the government in carrying out its obligations and authorities as stated in Article 4 of the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie No. 284 in 1917.
The law on the establishment of Gemeenteraad in the Dutch East Indies was first established in 1904 based on the Indische Staatsblad 1904 No. 459. A year later the formation of Gemeenteraad was only realized when Batavia became Gemeente in 1905. Meanwhile in Tanjung Balai Gemeenteraad was only formed in 1917 when Tanjung Balai held the status of gemeentera. The formation of gemeente gave the local government of Tanjung Balai the right to manage the city. One of the rights granted to the gemeente government is the right to collect taxes. Some of the authorities of the Tanjung Balai gemeente government are listed in the Staatsblad Nederlandsch van Indie in article 4 which later became the obligations of the gemeente, among others:
1. Carry out maintenance, repair, renewal and construction of public roads with works included in it, such as planting trees, making road and river cliffs, forts, ditches, signage, bridges, walls concrete wall on the river bank; also from other works of local interest such as fields, gardens, sewers and pipes, functioning to obtain or distribute drinking water, washing water, abattoirs, markets etc.
2. Watering public roads, transporting garbage along public roads, fields and gardens.
3. Provide street lighting for the public.
4. Fire fighting.
5. Arrange funerals.
All these obligations are borne by the gemeente government including the costs that must be borne for these purposes. Therefore, the gemeente government on behalf of the secretary General Hulshoff Pol made a budget plan for revenues and expenditures in 1917. The procurement of this budget plan was to facilitate Tanjung Balai in carrying out development as a new city that was starting to learn to manage its own city.
After the establishment of Gemeenteraad Tanjung Balai, a leader is needed to lead this institution. This gemeenteraad is headed by a burgemeester (mayor) which is absolutely formed because the law requires that the gemeente must be colleague led by the burgemeester.
The mayor is a city body and is independent from central power. As mayor he must comply with all general regulations for the Dutch East Indies and will promote the interests of the municipality with all the assets he owns.
To become a burgemeester also has conditions, namely, a Dutch man who has reached the age of 30 years, is not in a state of bankruptcy, and has not moved his original residence from Tanjung Balai City without the Governor-General's permission.
In a gemeente, in addition to leading the mayor, there is also a secretary who is directly under the mayor. In this case the role of the secretary in a council is very important. That the secretary becomes an adviser to the mayor of the council, commissions the council and assists in all matters concerning the affairs of their office.
During the mayor's term of office, Tanjung Balai has a secretary who will assist the mayor in a city council. However, the secretary could only be identified in 1919 which was contained in the Minutes der Vergadering van de Gemeenteraad Tandjoeng Balai. During the tenure of Voorzitter C.J van Kempen, the secretary was P.de Heer.
In the election the secretary is appointed directly by the mayor through a general vote in a meeting with several commissions or members of the city council. The election is carried out by taking into account the votes of the members of the council. Once the votes have been collected, it will be known who will be the secretary for the mayor.
The secretary is responsible for maintaining the city council files and for maintaining the necessary registers. The secretary's role is to keep the results of city council meetings and ensure that city council members can always consult with them in his office.
The secretary keeps a collection of regulations promulgated by the council, the collection officer ensures that everyone can consult in his office and if anyone wants to copy the collection of regulations, payment can be made. If a rule has been amended, withdrawn or has expired it will be added to the collection.
As a secretary, there are restrictions and also apply to members with exceptions related to the approval of institutions under the board. Such prohibitions include not accepting any work, provision or transportation for personal gain, nor acting as a guarantor or having any part thereof, either directly or indirectly. Either directly or indirectly participates in private leases, council territory rights or the purchase of disputed claims against territory.
If the secretary is sick, unavailable or absent, the mayor of the council will observe the secretary's duties and temporarily carry out the secretary's duties. The mayor will also arrange and can replace his secretary.
The completeness of the gemeente is not only the mayor, general services such as the secretariat, but there is also the Gemeenteraad (city council). To run a gemeente government, city council commissions are formed which will assist the mayor in running the government. These commissions presented various groups, such as European, Chinese, Bumiputera and Foreign Eastern groups.
These commissions are accountable to the city council for the tasks assigned to them. They can be dissolved by the board at any time. Each commission and each board member is assigned by the mayor to manage a particular branch or service of the agency.
During the tenure of Voorzitter C. J. van Kempen on September 20, 1919, he appointed several members of the city council to be placed on various commissions. The following are the city council committees:
1. Financial Commission
2. Regulatory Commission
3. Technical Commission
4. Rental Commission
5. Health Commission
Each voorzitter determines and appoints members of the board who will be placed in various commissions. Council members assigned to various commissions may change according to the mayor's decision. During the Tanjung Balai city council, each mayor had a different council commission, but there were also council members who were still appointed as city council commissioners.
In terms of government, Gemeente Tanjung Balai has achieved brilliant achievements. The achievements of the government's performance, both the mayor, Gemeenteraad (city council) and other institutions have brought Tanjung Balai city to a modern city. This success was carried out by the mayor together with the city council and other government agencies.
Region and Population
Based on its geographical location, Tanjung Balai is located on the coast of the Malacca Strait at 2.58 north latitude and 99.48 east longitude with an altitude of 0-3 meters above sea level. The topography is generally relatively flat with a land slope between 0-2, both north, south, and east and west profiles.
Since being designated as gemeente on July 1, 1917, the area of Tanjung Balai has been determined. The total area of Tanjung Balai is 1.1 km². 81 In 1919, Gemeente Tanjung Balai underwent an expansion and structuring of the city, where the city boundaries of Tanjung Balai included the Asahan River, Silau River in the west and east, and Simardan Island in the southeast.
However, there has been a change in the boundaries of the Gemeente Tanjung Balai area. In November 1919, the Regent of Asahan as the representative of the self-government (zelfbestuur) in the Asahan area gave land to the Assistant Resident, where Gemeente Tanjung Balai had been established. In this award, the so-called sultan's environment is excluded, because the sultan's environment is outside the boundaries of gemeente. As for the district head, the same regulations as those for gemeente will be applied.
On one side of the road, for example, if there is a risk of fire, the gemeente government is prohibited from building houses made of wood. But on the other hand, outside gemeente there has been development that is going well. To stop this situation, the Regent (Bupati) obtained an agreement to submit a request to the government, that the boundaries of Gemeente Tanjung Balai be improved as had been determined in 1917.
Such a situation occurred before the granting of land to the indigenous population, but it applies to the acquisition of shares, after the granting of land means that only the gemeente regulations which the government authorities themselves (zelfbestuur) apply also to this section, so that they will be applied in areas in under the control of the government itself in the sultan's circle.
Furthermore, the city council in its letter on October 4, 1920 No. 14428/D submitted a proposal to the Governor of East Sumatra for changes to the boundaries of the Gemeente Tanjung Balai area. The city council proposal was approved by the Governor of East Sumatra and conveyed this to the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies. Therefore, on October 9, 1922, Besluit van den Gouverneur Generaal van Nederlandsch Indie No. 17 which was then promulgated in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie No. 640 of 1922, the contents of which set the boundaries of the new Tanjung Balai area.
The state of the Gemeente Tanjung Balai area continued to expand due to the donation of a plot of land from a prominent person named Njo Tjang Seng. He donated a plot of land located on Heerenstraat for the construction of the City Hall (Gemeentehuis). Njo Tjang Seng had long wanted to donate this piece of land. He wanted to help the city government to build a City Hall there.
The land owned by Njo Tjang Seng belongs to the heirs of Kwe Bin Tjin. The land was publicly sold by Kwe Bin Tjin. So Njo Tjang Seng, a merchant, bought the land. After purchasing the land, Njo Tjang Seng visited Voorzitter C. J. van Kempen to inform him that he wanted to offer the land to the city government. Voorzitter said it was a great idea that the City Council would be very happy with the land donation. Then Njo Tjang Seng confirmed his intention in writing.
The donation of a piece of land that has been given by Njo Tjang Seng, in this case the voorzitter provides compensation, namely naming one of the roads in Tanjung Balai gemeente with the name "Njo Tjang Seng Straat". The naming of the street is carried out at the meeting with the members of the board and approval. Jalan Njo Tjang Straat is a road located in the city center where there are many government buildings.
Voorzitter C. J. van Kempen then took note of the letter received from the Assistant Resident of Asahan by taking the necessary steps to arrange this valuable donation from the greater part of Tanjung Balai for the benefit of gemeente as soon as possible. Voorzitter C. J. van Kempen points to the very important decision of Asahan Self-Government. With this there was a change in the boundaries of Gemeente Tanjung Balai, the reason being that the government itself tends to hand over land as stated in the letter described above to the city government. The part of the land that is not included in the gemeente area or outside the gemeente boundary, it will become the "Kampoeng Radja" area. This area will be under the control of Regent Asahan. With the addition of territory to Gemeente Tanjung Balai, voorzitter took steps to resolve this important issue and thanked the Regent of Asahan for his sympathetic intentions.
The Enforcement of Decentralization Wet 1903
In the 1880s, the pressure to demand change began to be felt from the private Dutch people who were engaged in various business fields, in this colony whose number was increasing and forming communities, called colonies in various big cities in Indonesia. Indonesia, such as Batavia, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Makassar, Medan, and Padang. The very rapid development and accompanied by various complex problems in various remote areas in the Dutch East Indies could not be handled remotely and from behind the desk by the centralized power of administrators. The time has come for the government to open its eyes to see developments in the Dutch East Indies and to carry out constitutional reforms which must be seen as an indispensable step so that government policies and affairs are no longer centered in the hands of the governor-general and his Raad van Indie.
For this reason, a member of Tweede Kamer, W.K. Baron van Dedem voiced his opinion about the need for changes in colonial governance in the Dutch East Indies. He proposed a bill on the Dutch East Indies budget. The draft law must be determined and accounted for separately from the Dutch State budget. The idea was embodied in the draft law he initiated on decentralization.
Various specific affairs and problems that arise in the regions will be handled well if the decentralization of colonial administration is practiced. Not only can many tasks be delegated to regional assemblies, but a policy that has been adapted to the specific problems of a region will be well implemented in that region.
On July 23, 1903, the law concerning the decentralization of government in the Dutch East Indies was named De Wet Houdende Decentralisatie van Het Bestuur in Nederlandsh-Indie as outlined in the Staatsblad van Het Koninkrijk Der Nederlanden Year 1903 No. 219 and via Indische Staatsblad No. 239. The law on decentralization of government in the Dutch East Indies lasted almost 50 years.
De Wet Houdende Decentralisatie van Het Bestuur in Nederlandsh-Indie which was promulgated on July 23, 1903, hereinafter better known as Decentralisati Wet 1903. Decentralisatie Wet 1903, which in its formation required a long process.
The Decentralisatie Wet Act 1903 was followed by various regulations relating to decentralization between 1903 and 1905, namely:
1. Decentralization Wet (Decentralization Law) dated July 23, 1903 which was contained in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsh Indie Year 1905 No. 137.
2. Decentralization Besluit (Government Decree on Decentralization) contained in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsh Indie Year 1905 No. 137.
3. Locale Raden Ordonnantie (Ordinance on Local Councils) contained in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsh Indie Year 1905 No. 181.
In principle, the decentralization legislation is intended to create local government in certain regions (which is referred to as gewesten), or in parts of certain regional units (which is referred to as gedeelten van gewesten, or what is then often referred to as gewesten). afdeelingen), which can carry out its own government affairs (zelfbestuur). With the promulgation of a set of statutory provisions, a government agency that can more or less stand alone can soon be formed.
Based on the Decentralization Wet Act 1903, autonomous cities were formed which managed their government independently, and did not depend on the central government. Autonomous cities are given gemeente status. With this new status, the city government was given the freedom to develop its city. This right was also for the benefit of the European population in the Dutch East Indies, especially those who lived in groups in cities.
This reason is the background for the formation of a municipality (gemeente) as a result of the law on decentralization called Decentralisatie Wet in 1903. The formation of a city's gemeente is also based on the size of the European population living in one place. Therefore, it is not surprising that Batavia was the first city to receive the status of a municipal area as stated in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie year 1905 No.204. Since then, various cities that have European citizens whose numbers are considered quite significant have obtained gemeente status. In East Sumatra, the first region to become a gemeente was Medan, namely on April 1, 1909 based on a besluit dated March 5, 1909. Then in 1917, it was followed by Gemeente Binjai, Gemeente Tebing Tinggi, Gemeente Pematang Siantar and Gemeente Tanjung Balai.
On July 1, 1917 Tanjung Balai was inaugurated as Gemeente as stated in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie Year 1917 No. 284 by Besluit van den Gouverneur Generaal dated 27 June 1917
Increasing Number of Foreign Europeans and Easterners
In the 18th century, the ban on bringing a wife was lifted for Europeans who would settle in Indonesia. Europeans were allowed to bring their wives to come and settle in Indonesia. The lifting of the ban caused a higher wave of European arrivals to Indonesia. They come to Indonesia with their wives, and bring their children for those who already have children. This resulted in the number of Europeans in Indonesia soaring sharply because they then also formed settlements that were only reserved for them. Most of the Europeans in Indonesia live in cities, only a few who want to live in the countryside, namely plantation employees. The cities inhabited by Europeans in considerable numbers were only the main cities, where these cities developed into capitals.
Before the influence of the Dutch colonial government entered, the cities in East Sumatra were said to be "port cities". This port city has a Malay power structure. As for the Malay powers that were formed in East Sumatra before the influence of the Dutch colonial government entered, they were Langkat, Deli, Serdang, Asahan and several other small kingdoms. In East Sumatra, a traditional city that is quite busy is Labuhan Deli. Labuhan Deli functioned as a port and as the administrative center of the Deli Sultanate.
At the end of the 19th century, East Sumatra began to develop the plantation economy after the entry of Dutch colonial influence. The first pioneer in establishing plantations in East Sumatra was J. Nienhuys. J. Nienhuys who is a Dutch onderneming entrepreneur has been authorized by the trading company Pieter van den Arend. The arrival of J. Nienhuys to Deli after he heard a story about the tobacco plants of the people on the East Coast of Sumatra which was of good quality and the profits were quite good from planting tobacco. This information was obtained through an Arab born in Surabaya named Sayid Abdullah Ibn Umar Bilsagih. In his first visit, J. Nienhuys managed to get a land concession to open a tobacco plantation on Deli land. However, this tobacco cultivation business initially failed and suffered considerable losses. However, Nienhuys remains optimistic that the land of Deli will bring huge profits.
Experimental tobacco plantations require a lot of labor for a large garden. Due to the refusal of native farmers, Nienhuys brought in foreign workers, namely Chinese coolies from Pulau Pinang. The arrival of Chinese coolies from Pulau Pinang caused population growth in East Sumatra.
Tobacco plantations are developing in East Sumatra, causing the center of attention and interests that were previously in the Siak area to shift to areas that have been controlled previously. So in 1887 it was decided to move the center of government which was previously in Labuhan to Medan. This transfer was accompanied by a reorganization of the government which was administratively contained in the Staatsblad 1887, No. 21. The tasks of the government of East Sumatra are divided into 5 sections, one of which is Afdeeling Asahan which is domiciled in Tanjung Balai.
The relocation of the center of government to Medan, East Sumatra became a plantation economic area as a result of the open door policy that made it easier for investors to open plantation companies in East Sumatra. This development has made the area of East Sumatra, which is mostly a plantation area, known as cultuurgebied.
Tobacco plantations as the main commodity are not profitable for the Asahan area. There is less tobacco planted in the Asahan area when compared to other areas. Tobacco plants are not suitable for cultivation in the Asahan area, so that tobacco cultivation fails in Asahan
make plantation entrepreneurs look for substitute crops. Areas suitable for growing tobacco are areas that stretch from the Wampu River in Langkat to the Snake River in Serdang.
A suitable substitute plant for the Asahan area is rubber. This is because the demand for rubber in the world is high, which is accompanied by the growth of the automotive industry in America and Europe. In 1906, a Swiss company expanded its rubber plantations in Asahan so that most of the plantations in Asahan were rubber plantation companies.
The rapid expansion of onderneming agriculture in Asahan has had a marked effect on the growth, distribution and composition of the population. In a very short time the indigenous population was surpassed by Europeans and Foreign Easterners, especially the Chinese. Increasing the composition of the population of Europeans and Foreign Easterners such as Chinese, Japanese and Arabs. In the Asahan area the Chinese have had one or more settlements for a long time. They had good relations with the sultan's family. Where, one of the sultans, especially Sultan Raja Dewa Syah (Marhum Pasir Putih) had a Chinese wife. Those who live and stay in Asahan have sacrificed their energy or become coolies to work for the company. However, for the Tanjung Balai area there are very many Chinese people compared to natives. Of these Chinese, there are those who work as ministers. However, in the Tebing Kisaran and Bandar Pulau areas, a number of Chinese people live by trading or practicing their business.51 Not only trading or being coolies, there are Chinese people who become captains. His name is Khoe Hock Cho. He was a very passionate and honest Chinese captain. He is also very quick to gain an understanding of a case and is always ready to cooperate in all matters for the benefit of his superiors. He made things easier, such as customs collection, etc. Khoe Hock Cho is also a rich Chinese class.
In Tanjung Balai, the Chinese are treated well. They even got home improvements. In addition to the Chinese, other Foreign Easterners are Klingaleezen (Indian Tribes). The Indian at Tanjung Balai was an Indian lieutenant. He as a lieutenant serves as a counselor for the courts when things happen and cares deeply about any problems that occur in court.
The increase in the composition of the population that occurred in Tanjung Balai was very rapid with the expansion of plantations. So that in 1915, the population according to Regeerings Alamanak was 3790 inhabitants, of which 59 were Europeans, 1700 were indigenous, and 1971 were Chinese under a lieutenant.
The increase in the number of Europeans and Eastern Foreigners is also due to the existence of the most important and largest Tanjung Balai Port which has a very large role for export and import economic activities. Tanjung Balai Harbor is located on the East Coast of Sumatra, which is at the center of the Afdeeling Asahan government. The existence of Tanjung Balai Port, which is located in the center of Afdeeling Asahan, is very profitable because almost all plantation products are sent to the central government. Delivery of plantation products through the Port of Tanjung Balai, which has a very big role in the presence of an American company, namely Hollandsche Americasche Plantage Maatschappij (HAPM). In addition to the HAPM company, which makes Tanjung Balai Asahan Port as an export port for its products, there are also other companies such as Serbadjadi Maatschappij which has rubber onderneming in Asahan.
Tanjung Balai Asahan Port is the first port in East Sumatra to export rubber plantation products in East Sumatra. Apart from being a port that exports plantation products, Tanjung Balai Asahan Port also acts as an importer of plantation necessities and supplies and equipment. Plantation equipment and equipment are in the form of fertilizers, chemicals used to support plantation operations and to process crops.
Another role of Tanjung Balai Port is to transport commodity products belonging to the people that do not belong to big companies. People's commodities are plantations that are managed privately by the people. The people's commodity is in the form of smallholder rubber farming which is the mainstay of the Asahan people in particular. Other production is forest products such as gum, rattan, and others. Forest products in Asahan are very abundant, where most of the Asahan area originates in the highlands where the majority of the population is ethnically Batak. Inland communities export forest products through the Port of Tanjung Balai Asahan. Apart from forest products, privately managed plantation products are copra and areca nut. The Asahan area is often found with copra and areca nut. The largest and main commodity exported by Tanjung Balai Asahan Port is copra. In 1916, more than 1 million KG of Copra were exported.
Forest products that are quite abundant in the Tanjung Balai area are fruits of various types of fruit. The fruit obtained from the forest was brought by the Batak people who came from the interior. The fruit that was brought was then traded downstream with the Malay population on the coast as well as with traders who came from around the Asahan area.
The existence of Tanjung Balai Port which is able to survive because of the location of the port which is on the river bank. Evidence that the river at that time was the main transportation. Through the river, the produce from the upstream is brought to the downstream, which is then traded and exported abroad, especially to Penang, Malacca and Singapore. On the other hand, downstream goods are carried upstream. The goods brought upstream are imported goods.
The Port of Tanjung Balai Asahan while under the rule of the Dutch Colonial Government opened up many opportunities for foreign investors to open plantations. This is also very profitable for Tanjung Balai Asahan Port because its activities continue to be carried out by exporting plantation products and importing the needs needed by the plantation parties.
The existence of plantation activities and the role of ports led to an increase in the economy so that the emergence of new cities. The Dutch colonial government built new cities, both as centers of government administration and centers of economic activity. The new cities were usually built in strategic places, mostly due to the construction of roads and railways.
THE GEMEENTE GOVERNMENT OF TANJUNG BALAI YEARS 1917-1942
Determination of Gemeente Tanjung Balai
The determination of Gemeente Tanjung Balai was determined by the Decree of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies J.van Limburg Stirum, which was promulgated in Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie No. 284 on 27 June 1917 issued in Buitenzorg (Bogor).
This decision was effective as of July 1, 1917. It was also decided that the name of the new autonomous region would be the city of Tanjung Balai (Gemeente Tanjung Balai) within the scope of the East Sumatra region. That the provisions for the special needs of the main city (capital) of Tanjung Balai and related management before the affairs of state land are brought to the office of the local council for the plantation area of the East Coast of Sumatra.
For the initial financing of the Gemeente Tanjung Balai operation, the Dutch East Indies government provided a budget of f 13,963 per year which was separated from colonial funds. This budget was determined through the decision of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies in the State Gazette (Staatsblad) No. 284 of June 27, 1917.
The budget that has been set for Gemeente Tanjung Balai, is used for the construction of infrastructure and urban facilities. Worked with careful planning such as maintenance, repair, renewal and construction of public roads, street lighting, provision of drinking water facilities, sewers, water pipes, parks, markets, bridges, abattoirs, burial grounds. etc.
Gemeente is equipped with an institution that acts as a legislative council, namely Gemeenteraad. Gemeenteraad is a council formed for regional units with city status. The formation of Gemeenteraad was based on the release of Decentralisatie Besluit. This decree determines the points regarding the formation of the composition, position and authority of the board in managing finances that are separate from the center.
In the government, Gemeenteraad functions like a legislative body that is able to present representatives from every ethnic group in Tanjung Balai, namely European, Chinese, Bumiputera and Foreign Eastern groups. However, the nature of Gemeenteraad's membership does not reflect quantitatively the real ethnic group, because in fact European groups dominate Gemeenteraad's membership.
Government Administration System at Gemeente Tanjung Balai
Since being designated as gemeente until 1916, cities in Indonesia have not had a definitive regional head as mayor. To administer the area that has been designated as gemeente, the Dutch gave full authority to the local Assistant Resident officials. The appointment of a new mayor (burgemeester) was carried out in 1916 which was then followed by the appointment of members of the City Council (Gemeenteraad) starting in 1922.
As an institution that is given the authority to administer government at the city level autonomously, the city government has the authority and responsibility at the level of the district government. City government institutions in the context of local government were something new in Indonesia at that time. Previously, such a bureaucratic model did not exist in traditional government which was still in the form of a kingdom.
The presence of a local government system perfects the political system and democratizes. Therefore, the local government has a big role in determining the progress of development in the country.
In practice, the local government formed by the Dutch in the past has not accommodated the participation of the people, because it was only done to strengthen their colonialist grip on traditional local power. The appointment of members of the City Council (Gemeenteraad) is also carried out at the will of the Dutch government, not a representative of the community.
The conceptual boundaries of politics and local government in this case refer to a theory that refers to a geographical idea and political space that is controlled by a certain type of power or local government apparatus which is authorized by regional autonomy by the central government. The central government as the giver of authority during the colonial period was the Governor-General who was domiciled in Batavia to the holder of the autonomy power, namely the Resident Assistant
In further developments, based on Decentralisatie Wet 1903 No. 329, starting on July 1, 1917, the Government of the Netherlands East Indies established a Gemeenteraad (City Council) for Tanjung Balai. The establishment of Gemeenteraad Tanjung Balai was formed in 1917 when Tanjung Balai held the status of gemeente.
1. In an official letter from the first Secretary to the Governor, the Council of the Netherlands East Indies had the honor of stating that for the council members of each city that has gemeente status in East Sumatra, it is generally assigned to 9 members of the council.
2. With regard to:
a. That among the British and Indians are not categorized as members of the council according to the requirements of the Council of the Dutch East Indies.
b. That the Chinese would only be deemed to have sufficient representation. The 9 members of the council are 5 Europeans, 3 for Natives and 1 for Foreign Easterners.
3. In view of the acceptance of members of the city council as stated in the Besluit Koninklijk, not to appoint another person as a member of the council who does not meet the requirements of Dutch citizenship.
The establishment of Gemeenteraad Tanjung Balai as stated in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie in Article 6 No. 284 of 1917 follows:
1. For Gemeente Tanjung Balai a council was established, called: Tanjung Balai City Council.
2. The number of members of this council is 9 people. It consists of 5 Europeans or their equivalent, 3 Bumiputera (natives) and 1 Foreign Easterner.
3. The head of the local government of Afdeeling Asahan is the chairman of the council.
Article 7 contains provisions relating to regulations regarding the policies of the Dutch East Indies Government, provisions on Decentralization and the Local Council Ordinance, the Tanjung Balai City Council Office including management as referred to in article 5, as well as provisions regarding the duties of the city council described in article 4.
Apart from that, the city council is also authorized to provide other needs for Gemeente Tanjung Balai, with due observance of the authority of the government and other dignitaries. If there are doubts or disputes regarding the limits of the authority or duties of the government, between the Tanjung Balai City Council and other dignitaries, the Governor-General shall decide.
Article 7 above concerning the provisions of the task of the Gemeenteraad which is stated in article 4 which also contains the duties of the Gemeente government. This indicates that the task of Gemeenteraad is to assist the government in carrying out its obligations and authorities as stated in Article 4 of the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie No. 284 in 1917.
The law on the establishment of Gemeenteraad in the Dutch East Indies was first established in 1904 based on the Indische Staatsblad 1904 No. 459. A year later the formation of Gemeenteraad was only realized when Batavia became Gemeente in 1905. Meanwhile in Tanjung Balai Gemeenteraad was only formed in 1917 when Tanjung Balai held the status of gemeentera. The formation of gemeente gave the local government of Tanjung Balai the right to manage the city. One of the rights granted to the gemeente government is the right to collect taxes. Some of the authorities of the Tanjung Balai gemeente government are listed in the Staatsblad Nederlandsch van Indie in article 4 which later became the obligations of the gemeente, among others:
1. Carry out maintenance, repair, renewal and construction of public roads with works included in it, such as planting trees, making road and river cliffs, forts, ditches, signage, bridges, walls concrete wall on the river bank; also from other works of local interest such as fields, gardens, sewers and pipes, functioning to obtain or distribute drinking water, washing water, abattoirs, markets etc.
2. Watering public roads, transporting garbage along public roads, fields and gardens.
3. Provide street lighting for the public.
4. Fire fighting.
5. Arrange funerals.
All these obligations are borne by the gemeente government including the costs that must be borne for these purposes. Therefore, the gemeente government on behalf of the secretary General Hulshoff Pol made a budget plan for revenues and expenditures in 1917. The procurement of this budget plan was to facilitate Tanjung Balai in carrying out development as a new city that was starting to learn to manage its own city.
After the establishment of Gemeenteraad Tanjung Balai, a leader is needed to lead this institution. This gemeenteraad is headed by a burgemeester (mayor) which is absolutely formed because the law requires that the gemeente must be colleague led by the burgemeester.
The mayor is a city body and is independent from central power. As mayor he must comply with all general regulations for the Dutch East Indies and will promote the interests of the municipality with all the assets he owns.
To become a burgemeester also has conditions, namely, a Dutch man who has reached the age of 30 years, is not in a state of bankruptcy, and has not moved his original residence from Tanjung Balai City without the Governor-General's permission.
In a gemeente, in addition to leading the mayor, there is also a secretary who is directly under the mayor. In this case the role of the secretary in a council is very important. That the secretary becomes an adviser to the mayor of the council, commissions the council and assists in all matters concerning the affairs of their office.
During the mayor's term of office, Tanjung Balai has a secretary who will assist the mayor in a city council. However, the secretary could only be identified in 1919 which was contained in the Minutes der Vergadering van de Gemeenteraad Tandjoeng Balai. During the tenure of Voorzitter C.J van Kempen, the secretary was P.de Heer.
In the election the secretary is appointed directly by the mayor through a general vote in a meeting with several commissions or members of the city council. The election is carried out by taking into account the votes of the members of the council. Once the votes have been collected, it will be known who will be the secretary for the mayor.
The secretary is responsible for maintaining the city council files and for maintaining the necessary registers. The secretary's role is to keep the results of city council meetings and ensure that city council members can always consult with them in his office.
The secretary keeps a collection of regulations promulgated by the council, the collection officer ensures that everyone can consult in his office and if anyone wants to copy the collection of regulations, payment can be made. If a rule has been amended, withdrawn or has expired it will be added to the collection.
As a secretary, there are restrictions and also apply to members with exceptions related to the approval of institutions under the board. Such prohibitions include not accepting any work, provision or transportation for personal gain, nor acting as a guarantor or having any part thereof, either directly or indirectly. Either directly or indirectly participates in private leases, council territory rights or the purchase of disputed claims against territory.
If the secretary is sick, unavailable or absent, the mayor of the council will observe the secretary's duties and temporarily carry out the secretary's duties. The mayor will also arrange and can replace his secretary.
The completeness of the gemeente is not only the mayor, general services such as the secretariat, but there is also the Gemeenteraad (city council). To run a gemeente government, city council commissions are formed which will assist the mayor in running the government. These commissions presented various groups, such as European, Chinese, Bumiputera and Foreign Eastern groups.
These commissions are accountable to the city council for the tasks assigned to them. They can be dissolved by the board at any time. Each commission and each board member is assigned by the mayor to manage a particular branch or service of the agency.
During the tenure of Voorzitter C. J. van Kempen on September 20, 1919, he appointed several members of the city council to be placed on various commissions. The following are the city council committees:
1. Financial Commission
2. Regulatory Commission
3. Technical Commission
4. Rental Commission
5. Health Commission
Each voorzitter determines and appoints members of the board who will be placed in various commissions. Council members assigned to various commissions may change according to the mayor's decision. During the Tanjung Balai city council, each mayor had a different council commission, but there were also council members who were still appointed as city council commissioners.
In terms of government, Gemeente Tanjung Balai has achieved brilliant achievements. The achievements of the government's performance, both the mayor, Gemeenteraad (city council) and other institutions have brought Tanjung Balai city to a modern city. This success was carried out by the mayor together with the city council and other government agencies.
Region and Population
Based on its geographical location, Tanjung Balai is located on the coast of the Malacca Strait at 2.58 north latitude and 99.48 east longitude with an altitude of 0-3 meters above sea level. The topography is generally relatively flat with a land slope between 0-2, both north, south, and east and west profiles.
Since being designated as gemeente on July 1, 1917, the area of Tanjung Balai has been determined. The total area of Tanjung Balai is 1.1 km². 81 In 1919, Gemeente Tanjung Balai underwent an expansion and structuring of the city, where the city boundaries of Tanjung Balai included the Asahan River, Silau River in the west and east, and Simardan Island in the southeast.
However, there has been a change in the boundaries of the Gemeente Tanjung Balai area. In November 1919, the Regent of Asahan as the representative of the self-government (zelfbestuur) in the Asahan area gave land to the Assistant Resident, where Gemeente Tanjung Balai had been established. In this award, the so-called sultan's environment is excluded, because the sultan's environment is outside the boundaries of gemeente. As for the district head, the same regulations as those for gemeente will be applied.
On one side of the road, for example, if there is a risk of fire, the gemeente government is prohibited from building houses made of wood. But on the other hand, outside gemeente there has been development that is going well. To stop this situation, the Regent (Bupati) obtained an agreement to submit a request to the government, that the boundaries of Gemeente Tanjung Balai be improved as had been determined in 1917.
Such a situation occurred before the granting of land to the indigenous population, but it applies to the acquisition of shares, after the granting of land means that only the gemeente regulations which the government authorities themselves (zelfbestuur) apply also to this section, so that they will be applied in areas in under the control of the government itself in the sultan's circle.
Furthermore, the city council in its letter on October 4, 1920 No. 14428/D submitted a proposal to the Governor of East Sumatra for changes to the boundaries of the Gemeente Tanjung Balai area. The city council proposal was approved by the Governor of East Sumatra and conveyed this to the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies. Therefore, on October 9, 1922, Besluit van den Gouverneur Generaal van Nederlandsch Indie No. 17 which was then promulgated in the Staatsblad van Nederlandsch Indie No. 640 of 1922, the contents of which set the boundaries of the new Tanjung Balai area.
The state of the Gemeente Tanjung Balai area continued to expand due to the donation of a plot of land from a prominent person named Njo Tjang Seng. He donated a plot of land located on Heerenstraat for the construction of the City Hall (Gemeentehuis). Njo Tjang Seng had long wanted to donate this piece of land. He wanted to help the city government to build a City Hall there.
The land owned by Njo Tjang Seng belongs to the heirs of Kwe Bin Tjin. The land was publicly sold by Kwe Bin Tjin. So Njo Tjang Seng, a merchant, bought the land. After purchasing the land, Njo Tjang Seng visited Voorzitter C. J. van Kempen to inform him that he wanted to offer the land to the city government. Voorzitter said it was a great idea that the City Council would be very happy with the land donation. Then Njo Tjang Seng confirmed his intention in writing.
The donation of a piece of land that has been given by Njo Tjang Seng, in this case the voorzitter provides compensation, namely naming one of the roads in Tanjung Balai gemeente with the name "Njo Tjang Seng Straat". The naming of the street is carried out at the meeting with the members of the board and approval. Jalan Njo Tjang Straat is a road located in the city center where there are many government buildings.
Voorzitter C. J. van Kempen then took note of the letter received from the Assistant Resident of Asahan by taking the necessary steps to arrange this valuable donation from the greater part of Tanjung Balai for the benefit of gemeente as soon as possible. Voorzitter C. J. van Kempen points to the very important decision of Asahan Self-Government. With this there was a change in the boundaries of Gemeente Tanjung Balai, the reason being that the government itself tends to hand over land as stated in the letter described above to the city government. The part of the land that is not included in the gemeente area or outside the gemeente boundary, it will become the "Kampoeng Radja" area. This area will be under the control of Regent Asahan. With the addition of territory to Gemeente Tanjung Balai, voorzitter took steps to resolve this important issue and thanked the Regent of Asahan for his sympathetic intentions.
