Ministry of Home Affairs (Pasundan)

The Ministry of Home Affairs was a government ministry of the State of Pasundan. The ministry was responsible for the control of the state apparatus, civil service, and the Pasundan Police Department.

Transfer of power
After the establishment of the Adil Cabinet on 8 May 1948, prime minister Adil Puradiredja appointed himself as the Minister of Home Affairs. The formation of the ministry was done a month later, on 11 June 1948, after the handover of the authority from the Recomba (government commissioner for administrative affairs) to the Minister of Home Affairs. The instrument of transfer for this purpose was the Staatsblaad (State Gazette) 1948 No. 116.

According to George McTurnan Kahin, the transfer of power was pitifully meager. For example, according to the second article of the instrument of transfer, "provisions concerning the rehabilitation of residencies and regencies" would continue to be taken care of by the Dutch government in Batavia until such time as the latter made other arrangements. This caused territorial heads of Pasundan (residents and regents) being appointed by the Dutch government in Batavia, resulting in three out of four Pasundan residents being Dutch.

Other powers that were severely limited by the Dutch government in Batavia was the Pasundan Police Department. The instrument of transfer limited the power transfer so that the exercise of the authority did not apply where federal interests were concerned. The "federal interest" was interpreted by the Attorney General of the Netherlands Indies to include the authority over the Pasundan Police Department. Thus, the Pasundan Police Department was under the direct control of the Attorney General.

The subordination of the police to the Attorney General of the Dutch East Indies was questioned by Ating, one of the police commissioners in Pasundan. He was subsequently arrested on 14 January 1949 by the Dutch army commander in Pasundan, Major General Engels.

National Civil Service and Police Meeting
Shortly after the formation of the ministry, the ministry held the first National Civil Service and Police Meeting in Bandung. The meeting resulted in several decisions about the guidelines for the national development.