| Special Region of Kutai Daerah Istimewa Kutai | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regency-level special region ofEast Kalimantan,Indonesia | |||||||||||||
| 1953–1960 | |||||||||||||
 Location of the region, highlighted | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Samarinda (1950–1956) Tenggarong (1956–1960) | ||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• 1953 | 100,917.59 km2 (38,964.50 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Type | Devolvednon-sovereign monarchyspecial region within aunitaryrepublic | ||||||||||||
| Sultan | |||||||||||||
• 1953–1960 | Aji Muhammad Parikesit [id] | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• Established[1] | 7 January 1953 | ||||||||||||
• Dissolved and split into three[2] | 21 January 1960 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheSpecial Region of Kutai (Indonesian:Daerah Istimewa Kutai;pronounced[daˌʔerahɪst̪iˌmewaˈkut̪ai̯]) was a regency-level special region withinEast Kalimantan,Indonesia, that existed from 1953 until 1960. Throughout its existence, it was led by the 19th sultan of Kutai,Aji Muhammad Parikesit [id].
Its capital was originally located atSamarinda,[1] although by late 1956, it was moved back to its traditional capital ofTenggarong by the local government.[3] The Special Region of Kutai was formed on 7 January 1953 from earlier Kutai Self-Governance (Indonesian:Swapraja Kutai), and it was one of few second-level special regions to have existed in Indonesia, along with theSpecial Region of Berau and theSpecial Region of Bulongan, all of them were located in Kalimantan.[1]
However, at the time, its system of government was rejected by the locals, seen as beingfeudalistic and autocratic.[2] The Special Region of Kutai was slated to be dissolved under the law number 27 of 26 June 1959, nine days before the enactment ofPresident Sukarno's 1959 Decree, which splits the region intoKutai Regency [id] (and its successorKutai Kartanegara Regency),Balikpapan, and Samarinda.[4] However, its dissolution could only be effective on 21 January 1960, with its head Aji Muhammad Parikesit officially handed over his powers to the three successors at the sultanate of Kutai palace, now theMulawarman Museum.[2]
The Special Region of Kutai bordered (in anticlockwise direction) the special regions ofBerau andBulongan, theCrown Colony of Sarawak (part of theBritish Empire),Kapuas Hulu, Barito, andKotabaru. Due to multiple historical administrative changes, the territory of the Special Region of Kutai now includesEast Kutai,Kutai Kartanegara,Mahakam Ulu, andWest Kutai regencies;Balikpapan,Bontang, andSamarinda cities; andPenajam—Sepaku (also includingNusantara) districts ofPenajam North Paser regency, all of them consist around 79% of the current area of East Kalimantan.
The Special Region of Kutai was divided into the following 6kewedanaan (older districts) and 22 [sic]kecamatan (older subdistricts, current districts):[2]
| kewedanaan | kecamatan |
|---|---|
| Kutai Ulu |
|
| Sendawar |
|
| West Kutai |
|
| Central Kutai |
|
| East Kutai | |
| South Kutai |
The district names are not conterminous with the present regencies:East Kutai Regency does not include Sanga-Sanga nor Anggana, while the district of the same name did not include Muara Wahau and Muara Ancalong. The subdistrict ofMuara Sabintulung was once included as part of historical Central Kutai on the 1979 bookDari Swapraja ke Kabupaten Kutai, however, it is spurious since Sabintulung itself is a village within Muara Kaman, not a separate district.
In April 2025, chairman of theHasanuddin University Alumni Association of East Kalimantan, Isradi Zainal, demanded the creation of a new province, named as Kutai, from parts of East Kalimantan.[5]
