Government of Hindia Belanda

The Government of Hindia Belanda, officially Her Majesty’s Government in the Commonwealth of Hindia Belanda, is the central government of Hindia Belanda. The term “Government” refers to the executive branch, specifically the Prime Minister and the Ministers of the Crown chosen by the former who make up the Cabinet, which is the executive body of the Council of State headed by the Governor-General into which all members of Cabinet are sworn. The Cabinet of Hindia Belanda exists purely by convention as it is not provided for by law, thus when the Cabinet exercises its executive functions, it does so through the agency of the Governor-General within the Council of State. The semi-written Hindia Belandan constitution vests executive powers derived from the Sovereign in the Governor-General, although in practice they are exercisable only with the consent of the Cabinet of Hindia Belanda. Some powers known officially as “Exorbitant Powers of the Governor-General”, which are residual powers from the colonial period, can be unilaterally exercised by the Governor-General. These powers range from the conventional, such as the dismissal of government following general elections, to the unconventional, such as “the exile of subversive individuals to the outer islands” and “censorship of materials deemed threatening to the public peace”, the last of which has been made obsolete with the passage of Media Accountability Act 1979.

Ministers exercise executive powers in the Governor-General’s name and they are accountable to Parliament. Government’s legitimacy to exercise executive functions also rests on its ability to secure confidence and supply in the Dewan Deputi, the lower house of Parliament, where government is formed.