INSTRUMEN DAN TEKNIK PENGUKURAN GARIS SEMPADAN: KAJIAN PERBANDINGAN ANTARA BNBC DAN NEDERLANDS-INDIE, 1881-1939
INSTRUMENTS AND TECHNIQUES FOR MEASURING BOUNDARY LINES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN THE BNBC AND THE NEDERLANDS-INDIE, 1881-1939
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55197/qjssh.v7i2.1125Keywords:
sempadan, instrumen, teknik pengukuran, utara BorneoAbstract
Kajian ini meneliti instrumen dan teknik pengukuran dalam proses penentuan dan penandaan garis sempadan di utara Borneo antara tahun 1881 hingga 1939 dengan memberi tumpuan kepada perbandingan amalan British North Borneo Company (BNBC) dan Nederlands-Indië (Hindia Timur Belanda). Period ini merupakan fasa kritikal dalam proses penginstitusian sempadan kolonial yang dicirikan oleh penerapan kaedah pengukuran moden, pemetaan topografi dan penandaan fizikal sempadan. Berdasarkan analisis sumber primer seperti laporan survei, komunikasi rasmi agensi kerajaan dan peta, kajian ini mendapati bahawa walaupun kedua-dua penjajah Eropah ini menggunakan instrumen asas yang sama seperti teodolit, kompas prismatik dan rantai ukur, pendekatan teknikal serta keutamaan pemetaan yang diamalkan menunjukkan perbezaan yang ketara. BNBC cenderung menekankan keperluan pentadbiran serta pengesahan kedaulatan secara praktikal dan segera, manakala Nederlands-Indië mengamalkan tradisi pemetaan saintifik yang lebih sistematik, berhierarki dan berpusat. Perbezaan pendekatan ini mempengaruhi tahap ketepatan pengukuran, kadar kemajuan kerja lapangan serta interpretasi garis sempadan, khususnya di kawasan pedalaman seperti dari Sungai Simenggaris hingga Pulau Sebatik. Justeru itu, kajian ini menyumbang kepada pemahaman yang lebih mendalam tentang sejarah teknikal persempadanan kolonial di utara Borneo yang menjadi legasi terhadap pembentukan sempadan geopolitik moden antara Malaysia dan Indonesia kemudiannya.
This study examines the instruments and techniques of measurement in the process of determining and marking the boundary line in northern Borneo between 1881 and 1939, focusing on a comparison of the practices of the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) and the Nederlands-Indië. This period was a critical phase in the process of institutionalizing colonial boundaries, characterized by the application of modern surveying methods, topographic mapping and physical marking of boundaries. Based on the analysis of primary sources such as survey reports, official communications from government agencies and maps, this study found that although both European colonialists used the same basic instruments such as theodolite, prismatic compass and measuring chain, the technical approaches and mapping priorities practiced showed significant differences. The BNBC tended to emphasize the need for administration and the verification of sovereignty in a practical and immediate manner, while the Nederlands-Indië practiced a more systematic, hierarchical and centralized tradition of scientific mapping. These differences in approach affected the level of measurement accuracy, the rate of progress of fieldwork and the interpretation of boundary lines, especially in the interior areas such as from Simenggaris river to Sebatik island. Therefore, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the technical history of colonial demarcation in northern Borneo, which became a legacy for the formation of the modern geopolitical boundary between Malaysia and Indonesia later.
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