Sultans’ Palaces and Museums in Indonesian Borneo : National Policies, Political Decentralization, Cultural Depatrimonization, Identity Relocalization, 1950-2010

Authors

Bernard Sellato

Keywords:

Kalimantan, Borneo, Muslim sultanate, new museum, state museum, patrimony

Abstract

This essay reviews the development of second-generation museums (state museums) in independent Indonesia, and the state’s policies regarding culture and museums. It then focuses on the specific case of Kalimantan, during the New Order period (1965-1998) and after the rapid decentralization that followed the demise of President Soeharto’s regime. Then the advent of a third generation of museums in the early 2000s isdescribed, as well as a process of depatrimonization of the palaces and their collections subsequent to the restoration of the former kingdoms. Finally, it briefly considers the future role of these palaces in the regions’ cultures and increasingly lively political scenes, and discusses the “new museum” concept meant to involve local communities, as applied to Kalimantan.

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2025-06-27

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Sellato, B. (2025). Sultans’ Palaces and Museums in Indonesian Borneo : National Policies, Political Decentralization, Cultural Depatrimonization, Identity Relocalization, 1950-2010. Jurnal Borneo-Kalimantan, 11(1), 123–160. Retrieved from https://publisher.unimas.my/ojs/index.php/BJK/article/view/9408

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