La « bonne gouvernance » selon l’écrivain indonésien Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Misri (fin XVIIIe s.-début XIXe s.)

Abstract

The as yet unrecognized Indonesian writer of Arab descent born in Palembang, Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Misri, was the author of at least five works : three mirrors for princes and two semi-historical texts (about Siam and Bali). These works belong to the revival movement of Malay literature of which he was one of its precursors. The mirrors for princes (Bayan al-Asma’, Hikayat Mareskalek and ‘ Arsy al-Muluk), discussed here, reflect the author’s concern with the social and political situation of his time, marked by the end of the VOC and the succession of Western dominations. The works were generally written in the form of quotations interspersed with anecdotes, sometimes rather long, about personalities of the Arab and Persian world but also of the Malay world where he lived. One of the latter was Marshal Herman Willem Daendels (Mareskalek), Governor-General of East Indies during the “ French period” (1808-1811), who had the greatest impact on him. Abdullah’s mirrors for princes were apparently meant to inspire in the local rulers appreciation of good governance and to make them aware that they were subjects of White rulers.