The military hospital at Malang in 1920 (KITLV 19801)

The Garrison hospital 2nd class at Malang (East Java) is mentioned in the publication of D. Schoute “De Geneeskunde in Nederlandsch-Indie in de 19e eeuw”, GTNI 75 (1935) 10, 827. The article referred to a survey of  all the military facilities in 1867 . In that year the garrison  hospital of Malang had on average 52 inpatients. The hospital was part of the Military Medical Service (MGD),  which in 1867 (the year of the survey of all military facilities) managed a total of 79 facilities (3 large military hospitals, 35 garrison hospitals and 41 infirmaries) with on average 4,244 occupied beds. Some 25 years later, the Annex D of the Koloniaal Verslag 1890 reports a total  of 3,358 inpatients by the end of that year, whereas 52,631 patients have been admitted for the whole of the Netherlands Indies. The report concerns 28 military hospitals, 54 ziekenzalen (infirmaries) and 6 specialized facilities. The average occupation rate of the Malang hospital is then 141 inpatients, whereas 1,565 have been admitted that year. The situation by the end of the year 1890 is a presence of  81 European patients and 77 indigenous patients.

In 1900 the situation of military health facilities was: 30 hospitals, 56 infirmaries and 5 specialized facilities, such as reconvalescent centers and leprosy asylums. The total number of admittances was in 1899: 57,071 and the number of present inpatients by the end of 1899: 3,731. These figures were for the Malang hospital: 2,477 admittances and a presence on 31 December 1899 of 257 patients (See Koloniaal Verslag 1900, Addendum A).

The survey of military hospitals in 1904 (Encyclopaedie voor Nederlandsch-Indie, 833) mentioned three 1st class military hospitals: Weltevreden, Tjimahi and Kota Radja. The last one was considered to be a large modern hospital of 800 beds. In 1904 there were 29 permanent military hospitals and 41 infirmaries (See H. den Hertog, De militair-geneeskundige verzorging in Atjeh 1873-1904, dissertation Nijmegen 1991).

KITLV image collection 1920; signatuur 19801. Militair hospitaal te Malang. Postcard sent by A.E.F. Muntz during his voyage on Java from March 1901 to July 1902.

KV 1921 mentions that a start is made to implement important ameliorations in military hospitals, among others Malang is mentioned. In 1919 an experiment started to treat syphilis and gonorrhoe patients in a few central hospital facilities. This experiment is continued, whereas in the meantime Malang substitutes Surabaya as one of these centres. For the centres  at Weltevreden, Magelang, Tjimahi, Koeta Radja and Malang separate buildings to treat these patients, are under construction. From GTNI 81, 40 (1941), 2155-2164 an article published by Officer of Health 2nd class, J.R. van Ronnen, it appears that the military hospital at Malang has an X-ray department. The Officer of health publishes about Paranephritis.

Malang is in the 1930s a Residency with a capital of the same name. It is at the same time a regency and a district of the province of East Java. The principal town of Malang has 87,000 inhabitants of whom 7,500 Europeans and 8,500 Chinese. The town is ruled by a municipal council and a mayor. The Residency is very fertile and is surrounded by mountains and vulcanos. Cultures are: coffee, rubber, cacao and sugar. There used to be 4 sugar factories.  The town is situated 443 m above sea level and has an agreeable climate (Gonggryp 1934, 795)..