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n ongoing dispute at the Yogyakarta Palace continues, with four brothers and a sister of Sultan Hamengkubuwono X issuing an open letter to publicly remind him to abide by royal regulations.

The letter, dated Jan. 12, was signed by three princes and a princess claiming to represent the descendants of Sultan Hemengkubuwono IX.

They were GBRAy Murdokusumo (sultan HB IX'€™s daughter from wife KRAy Pintoko Purnomo), Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Haryo (KGPH) Hadiwinoto (brother of sultan HB X and son of KRAy Windyaningrum), Gusti Bendoro Pangeran Haryo (GBPH) Prabukusumo (son of KRAy Hastungkoro) and GBPH Pakuningrat (son of KRAy Ciptamurti).

'€œThe letter was apparently signed by the four, but its content represents the siblings of his excellency the sultan,'€ said GBPH Yudhaningrat, who is also the sultan'€™s younger brother.

Yudhaningrat said the open letter had been sent and handed to the palace'€™s Kawedanan Hageng Punakawan Paniterapura ethics committee head GKR Condrokirono.

Broadly speaking, the open letter contain several points to remind and reaffirm that the sultan is not owner of the palace but a traditional leader and all activities must be in accordance with palace protocol and rules. It also reminded that succession to the throne must comply with rules that had been adhered to for generations.

Another point states that the current ruler is Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and that any statement not made directly by him has no legitimacy.

'€œThe letter closes with a request for Ngarso Dalem [the sultan] to reconsider and resume being Hamengkubuwono X, who is courteous and full of wisdom,'€ said Yudhaningrat.

Separately, when met at Kepatihan Palace, the sultan declined to comment, saying that the polemics were an internal palace matter and not for public consumption.

The letter was meant as a stance by the sultan'€™s siblings, who disagreed with a statement the sultan made at the end of 2015 to warn relatives, courtiers and employees within the palace circle who had openly defied the sultan.

They were warned that they would be dismissed from their positions, have their privileges withdrawn and be banished from Mataram soil (Yogyakarta).

The polemics at the Yogyakarta Palace are related to succession and stemmed from the issuance of a royal statement on April 30, 2015 and a royal order on May 5, 2015.

In the royal statement, the sultan announced that he had changed his name from Hamengkubuwono to Hamengkubawono and appointed the eldest of his five daughters, Gusti Kanjeng Ratu (GKR) Pembayun, crown princess.

As a consequence of replacing buwono in his title with bawono, the sultan lost the title of khalifatullah (religious leader) and appointed Pembayun as his successor.

The royal statement and royal order were met with resistance, especially from his siblings, who stated that the position of sultan came with the hereditary title of khalifatullah, which had been a custom for hundreds of years.

As an imam, the sultan also must be aware that a Mataram ruler should be male and a Mataram sultan is hamengkubuwono and not a bawono.