RIGHTENING THE HISTORY OF RMS: MALUKU IN THE SHADOW OF OLD COLONIALISM AND THE NEW CENTRALISM

MALUKU, MAY 22, 2026 - MELURUSKAN SEJARAH RMS:MALUKU DALAM BAYANG-BAYANG KOLONIALISME LAMA DAN SENTRALISME BARU ‼️
Author: Gibran Faqih Latuconsina

translation: Martha Louhenapessy & Nico Souisa - FKM-RMS, The Netherlands

The history of the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) has too often been summarized in one short sentence: "separatist movement".
The state constructed a single narrative in which the RMS was portrayed as a form of betrayal of the Republic of Indonesia and a remnant of Dutch colonialism that had to be eradicated to safeguard the integrity of the nation. This story has been repeated for decades in school history books, political speeches, and even in state policy regarding security in the Moluccas.
But history is never as simple as state propaganda suggests. History does not originate from a single voice. It has arisen from wounds, fears, power struggles, and conflicting interests. When history is written only by the victors, many facts are deliberately concealed so that the next generation does not understand why a tragedy can occur.

RMS did not just appear out of nowhere. It emerged from a long history of colonialism, which made Maluku an object of global exploitation for hundreds of years.
Even before Indonesia had established itself as a modern nation, Maluku had already become a center of global economic competition. Nutmeg and cloves have drenched the land of Maluku in blood since the Portuguese, VOC, and Dutch eras. Hongi Tochten was not just an ordinary military operation, but a symbol of how foreign powers viewed Maluku not as a land of people, but as a land of commodities. The population was forced to submit to the spice monopoly, plantations were destroyed to keep prices stable on the European market, and local kingdoms were pitted against each other in the struggle for colonial trade interests.

Here lie the roots of the political trauma of the Maluku people. For hundreds of years, the Maluku lived under a system that turned their population into an economic instrument and an instrument of war.
When the Dutch needed soldiers, Maluku were recruited en masse to become part of the KNIL. The Ambonese people built their image as a military group loyal to colonial rule. They were assigned specific positions within the colonial military and administrative structures, while other areas were viewed from a different perspective. This colonial identity politics has left a profound social legacy. The Dutch deliberately created a specific social class in Maluku to consolidate their power in the Dutch East Indies.

When Indonesia gained independence, the situation did not immediately become simpler. The newly formed republic attempted to unite former colonial territories with very different social and historical circumstances. On the other hand, the Netherlands still exerted influence through the federal state of the Republic of the United States of Indonesia. Some elites in Maluku, particularly those closely connected to the KNIL and the structures of the State of East Indonesia, considered a federal system safer for their political position than a unitary state led by Jakarta. Their greatest fear was not only the loss of their positions, but also the possibility that Maluku would lose its political voice in a highly centralized state.

When the Republic of the United States of Indonesia was dissolved and Indonesia became a unitary state, tensions ran high. On April 25, 1950, Soumokil proclaimed the Republic of the South Maluku. But dismissing the RMS as merely a Dutch project is an overly simplistic view of history.
Yes, there was colonial influence. Yes, many former KNIL members supported the RMS. But behind this also lies a real fear among the population of Maluku of the centralization of power in Jakarta.

There is a fear that Maluku will become a peripheral region that no longer has control over its own future.

That fear was slowly but surely realized during the development of modern Indonesia. For decades, national development has revolved around the island of Java. The best infrastructure, educational institutions, industrial centers, political centers, and economic distribution are concentrated in the western region of Indonesia. The eastern region, including Maluku, on the other hand, is more often seen as a source of poverty and a source of raw materials. The state is building a strong nationalist concept but often fails to achieve a fair distribution of development.
Nationalism is ultimately interpreted more as an obligation for regions to submit to the center, rather than an equal relationship between regions within a republic.

Maluku is one of the richest regions of Indonesia. The sea is vast, the fishing catch is large, the mineral reserves are abundant, and the geopolitical location is highly strategic. But the most obvious question is: why do people in such a rich area continue to live in inequality? Why does the region that contributes to the national wealth still struggle with limited education, minimal healthcare, high unemployment, and underdeveloped infrastructure?
The answer to this question is inextricably linked to Indonesia's highly centralized and Java-oriented development model. The wealth of the eastern region has so far flowed away rather than returned to local communities to build them up. The Maluku Sea generates billions of rupiah, but local fishermen still live in poverty. Nickel mines generate enormous investments, but the communities surrounding the mines face environmental damage and loss of living space. The government talks about downstream activities and national economic progress, but people in the vicinity of industrial areas are dealing with pollution, agricultural conflicts, and new social inequalities.

It is in this context that the history of the RMS must be reread more honestly. The RMS was not only about separatism. It is also a symbol of disillusionment with power that seems too far removed from Maluku. To date, the state has felt more comfortable with a security-oriented approach than with one based on historical and social justice. The consequence was that the political wounds in Maluku have never truly healed. They have simply been concealed.

One of the greatest tragedies that is rarely discussed is the transfer of approximately 12,500 former KNIL members from Maluku and their families to the Netherlands in 1951.

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