Indonesia

/in'deuh nee"zheuh, -sheuh, -zee euh, -doh-/, n.

1. See East Indies (def. 1).

2. Republic of. Formerly, Netherlands East Indies, Dutch East Indies. a republic in the Malay Archipelago consisting of 13,677 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, the S part of Borneo, the W part of New Guinea, the Moluccas, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Bali, and Madura: gained independence from the Netherlands in 1949. 209,774,138; 741,098 sq. mi. (1,919,443 sq. km). Cap.: Jakarta.

[INDO- + Gk nês(os) island + -IA]

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Indonesia

Introduction Indonesia
Background: The world's largest archipelago, Indonesia achieved independence from the Netherlands in 1949. Current issues include: implementing IMF- mandated reforms of the banking sector, effecting a transition to a popularly-elected government after four decades of authoritarianism, addressing charges of cronyism and corruption, holding the military accountable for human rights violations, and resolving growing separatist pressures in Aceh and Irian Jaya. On 30 August 1999 a provincial referendum for independence was overwhelmingly approved by the people of Timor Timur. Concurrence followed by Indonesia's national legislature, and the name East Timor was provisionally adopted. On 20 May 2002, East Timor was internationally recognized as an independent state. Geography Indonesia -
Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Geographic coordinates: 5 00 S, 120 00 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 1,919,440 sq km water: 93,000 sq km land: 1,826,440 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries: total: 2,830 km border countries: East Timor 228 km, Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New Guinea 820 km
Coastline: 54,716 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Puncak Jaya 5,030 m
Natural resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver
Land use: arable land: 9.9% permanent crops: 7.2% other: 82.89% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 48,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires Environment - current issues: deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: archipelago of 17,000 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean People Indonesia
Population: 231,328,092 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA
Population growth rate: 1.54% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 21.87 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 6.28 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: NA under 15 years: NA 15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA total population: NA
Infant mortality rate: 39.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 68.63 years female: 71.13 years (2002 est.) male: 66.24 years
Total fertility rate: 2.54 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.05% (1999 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 52,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 3,100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Indonesian(s) adjective: Indonesian
Ethnic groups: Javanese 45%, Sundanese 14%, Madurese 7.5%, coastal Malays 7.5%, other 26%
Religions: Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998)
Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78% (1995 est.) Government Indonesia
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Indonesia conventional short form: Indonesia local long form: Republik Indonesia former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies local short form: Indonesia
Government type: republic
Capital: Jakarta Administrative divisions: 27 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2 special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali, Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Maluku, Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau, Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara, Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*; note - with the implementation of decentralization on 1 January 2001, the 357 districts (regencies) have become the key administrative units responsible for providing most government services note: following the 30 August 1999 provincial referendum for independence which was overwhelmingly approved by the people of Timor Timur and the October 1999 concurrence of Indonesia's national legislature, the name East Timor was adopted as a provisional name for the political entity formerly known as Propinsi Timor Timur; East Timor gained its formal independence on 20 May 2002
Independence: 17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence; on 27 December 1949, Indonesia became legally independent from the Netherlands)
National holiday: Independence Day, 17 August (1945)
Constitution: August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949 and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959
Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal and married persons regardless of age
Executive branch: chief of state: President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 23 July 2001) and Vice President Hamzah HAZ (since 26 July 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri (since 23 July 2001) and Vice President Hamzah HAZ (since 26 July 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected separately by the People's Consultative Assembly or MPR for five-year terms; selection of president last held 23 July 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); selection of vice president last held 26 July 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) note: the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or MPR) includes the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat or DPR) plus 200 indirectly selected members; it meets every five years to elect the president and vice president and to approve broad outlines of national policy and also has yearly meetings to consider constitutional and legislative changes election results: MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri elected president, receiving 591 votes in favor (91 abstentions); Hamzah HAZ elected vice president, receiving 340 votes in favor (237 against)
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) (500 seats; 462 elected by popular vote, 38 are appointed military representatives; members serve five- year terms) election results: percent of vote by party - PDI-P 37.4%, Golkar 20.9%, PKB 17.4%, PPP 10.7%, PAN 7.3%, PBB 1.8%, other 4.5%; seats by party - PDI-P 154, Golkar 120, PPP 58, PKB 51, PAN 35, PBB 14, other 30; note - subsequent to the election, there has been a change in the distribution of seats; the new distribution is: PDI-P 153, Golkar 120, PPP 58, PKB 51, PAN 35, PBB 13, other 32 elections: last held 7 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature); note - the Supreme Court is preparing to assume administrative responsibility for the federal court system, previously run by the executive Political parties and leaders: Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza MAHENDRA, chairman]; Federation of Functional Groups or Golkar [Akbar TANDJUNG, general chairman]; Indonesia Democracy Party-Struggle or PDI-P [MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri, chairperson]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Alwi SHIHAB, chairman]; National Mandate Party or PAN [Amien RAIS, chairman]; United Development Party or PPP (federation of former Islamic parties) [Hamzah HAZ, chairman] Political pressure groups and NA
leaders: International organization APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP,
participation: ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador SOEMADI Brotodiningrat chancery: 2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco FAX: [1] [phone] telephone: [1] [phone] Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph
US: L. BOYCE embassy: Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan 3-5, Jakarta 10110 mailing address: Unit 8129, Box 1, APO AP 96520 telephone: [62] (21) 3435-9000 FAX: [62] (21) 385-7189 consulate(s) general: Surabaya
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and white; similar to the flag of Monaco, which is shorter; also similar to the flag of Poland, which is white (top) and red Economy Indonesia -
Economy - overview: Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, faces severe economic development problems, stemming from secessionist movements and the low level of security in the regions, the lack of reliable legal recourse in contract disputes, corruption, weaknesses in the banking system, and strained relations with the IMF. Investor confidence will remain low and few new jobs will be created under these circumstances. In November 2001, Indonesia agreed with the IMF on a series of economic reforms in 2002, thus enabling further IMF disbursements. Keys to future growth remain internal reform, the build-up of the confidence of international donors and investors, and a strong comeback in the global economy.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $687 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2001 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 17% industry: 41% services: 42% (2001 est.) Population below poverty line: 27% (1999) Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 4%
percentage share: highest 10%: 26.7% (1999) Distribution of family income - Gini 31.7 (1999)
index: Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11.5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 99 million (1999) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 45%, industry 16%, services 39% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues: $26 billion expenditures: $30 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries: petroleum and natural gas; textiles, apparel, and footwear; mining, cement, chemical fertilizers, plywood; rubber; food; tourism Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (2001 est.) Electricity - production: 92.575 billion kWh (2000) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 81.02% hydro: 14.04% other: 4.94% (2000) nuclear: 0% Electricity - consumption: 86.095 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, rubber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, copra; poultry, beef, pork, eggs
Exports: $56.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber
Exports - partners: Japan 23.4%, US 13.8%, Singapore 10.7%, South Korea 7%, China 4.5%, Malaysia 3.2% (2000 est.)
Imports: $38.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment; chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: Japan 16.3%, Singapore 11.4%, US 10.2%, South Korea 6.3%, China 6.1%, Australia 5.1% (2000 est.)
Debt - external: $135 billion (2001 est.) Economic aid - recipient: $43 billion from IMF program and other official external financing (1997-2000)
Currency: Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
Currency code: IDR
Exchange rates: Indonesian rupiahs per US dollar - 10,377.3 (January 2002), 10,260.9 (2001), 8,421.8 (2000), 7,855.2 (1999), 10,013.6 (1998), 2,909.4 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year; note - previously was 1 April - 31 March, but starting with 2001, has been changed to calendar year Communications Indonesia Telephones - main lines in use: 5,588,310 (1998) Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.07 million (1998)
Telephone system: general assessment: domestic service fair, international service good domestic: interisland microwave system and HF radio police net; domestic satellite communications system international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) Radio broadcast stations: AM 678, FM 43, shortwave 82 (1998)
Radios: 31.5 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 41 (1999)
Televisions: 13.75 million (1997)
Internet country code: .id Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 24 (2000)
Internet users: 2 million (2001) Transportation Indonesia
Railways: total: 6,458 km narrow gauge: 5,961 km 1.067-m gauge (101 km electrified; 101 km double- track); 497 km 0.750-m gauge (2001)
Highways: total: 342,700 km paved: 158,670 km unpaved: 184,030 km (1997)
Waterways: 21,579 km total note: Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Sulawesi (Celebes) 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km
Pipelines: crude oil 2,505 km; petroleum products 456 km; natural gas 1,703 km (1989)
Ports and harbors: Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Makassar, Palembang, Semarang, Surabaya
Merchant marine: total: 668 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,969,281 GRT/4,043,526 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1, Hong Kong 2, India 1, Japan 2, Malaysia 1, Monaco 3, Panama 1, Philippines 1, Singapore 11, South Korea 1, Switzerland 1, UK 2, US 1 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 41, cargo 392, chemical tanker 12, container 32, liquefied gas 3, livestock carrier 1, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 126, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 15, short- sea passenger 8, specialized tanker 9, vehicle carrier 6
Airports: 490 (2001) Airports - with paved runways: total: 156 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 48 under 914 m: 45 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 46 Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 339 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 309 (2001)
Heliports: 6 (2001) Military Indonesia
Military branches: Army, Navy (including marines and naval air arm), Air Force Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.) Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 65,013,184 (2002 est.) Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 37,942,329 (2002
service: est.) Military manpower - reaching military males: 2,263,706 (2002 est.)
age annually: Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1 billion (FY98/99) Military expenditures - percent of 1.3% (FY98/99)
GDP: Transnational Issues Indonesia Disputes - international: Sipadan and Ligitan islands dispute with Malaysia remains with the ICJ for arbitration since 1998; East Timor-Indonesia Boundary Committee meets to survey and delimit land boundary; Indonesia seeks resolution of East Timor refugees in Indonesia; Australia-East Timor-Indonesia are working to resolve maritime boundary and sharing of seabed resources in "Timor Gap"
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis largely for domestic use; possible growing role as transshipment point for Golden Triangle heroin

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officially Republic of Indonesia formerly Netherlands Indies

Archipelago country, located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia.

It comprises about 13,670 islands, of which more than 7,000 are uninhabited. Area: 742,308 square miles (1,922,570 square km). Population (2004 est.): 222,611,000. Capital: Jakarta (on Java). Indonesia has more than 300 ethnic groups, which fall into three broad divisions: the Muslim rice growers of Java and neighbouring islands; the Muslim coastal peoples, including the Malays of Sumatra; and the Dayak and other ethnic groups. Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official); some 250 languages from different ethnic groups. Religions: monotheism (official), Islam (more than four-fifths), Hinduism, Buddhism. Currency: rupiah. The Indonesian archipelago stretches 3,200 miles (5,100 km) from west to east. Major islands include Sumatra, Java (with more than half of Indonesia's population), Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, about three-fourths of Borneo, Celebes (Sulawesi), the Moluccas, and the western portions of Timor and New Guinea. The islands are characterized by rugged volcanic mountains and tropical rainforests. Geologically unstable, Indonesia has frequent earthquakes and 220 active volcanoes, including Krakatoa (Krakatau). Only one-tenth of its land is arable, and rice is the staple crop. Oil, natural gas, timber products, garments, and rubber are major exports. Indonesia is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. Proto-Malay peoples migrated to Indonesia from mainland Asia before 1000 BC. Commercial relations were established with China about the 1st century AD, and Hindu and Buddhist cultural influences from India began to take hold. Indian traders brought Islam to the islands in the 13th century; it spread throughout the islands

except Bali, which retained its Hindu religion and culture. European influence began in the 16th century, and the Dutch ruled Indonesia from the late 17th century until 1942, when the Japanese invaded. Sukarno declared Indonesia's independence in 1945, which the Dutch granted, with nominal union to The Netherlands, in 1949; Indonesia dissolved this union in 1954. The suppression of an alleged coup attempt in 1965 resulted in the deaths of more than 300,000 people the government claimed to be communists, and by 1968 General Suharto had taken power. His government forcibly incorporated East Timor into Indonesia in 1975–76, with much loss of life. In the 1990s the country was beset by political, economic, and environmental problems, and Suharto was deposed in 1998. Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid was elected president in 1999 but was replaced in 2001 by his vice president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, the eldest daughter of Sukarno. In 2004 she was succeeded by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. In 1999 the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia, which was granted; after a period under UN supervision, it achieved full sovereignty in 2002. In 2004 a large tsunami generated by an earthquake off the western coast of Sumatra caused widespread death and destruction.

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▪ 2009

Area:

1,860,360 sq km (718,289 sq mi)

Population

(2008 est.): 234,342,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

      Maneuvering for the 2009 legislative and presidential elections shaped much of what occurred in Indonesian politics in 2008. Elections for national and regional parliaments were scheduled to take place simultaneously in April 2009, and the first round of the presidential elections was to occur in July.

      Pres. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (commonly known as SBY) declared in September 2008 that he would seek reelection. Since his election in 2004, he had mostly enjoyed high public approval. In early 2008, however, a number of respected surveys showed a sharp slide in his standing; several opinion polls indicated that SBY was running second to former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri.

      SBY's falling popularity was attributed to the government's decision to reduce fuel subsidies by an average of almost 30%. The rising cost of these subsidies—some $19 billion annually, or about one-fifth of total budget outlays—had become unsustainable, especially as the cost of crude oil imports spiraled upward. Though welcomed by most economists, the fuel price rises sparked public protests, some of them violent, as well as condemnation from many political parties and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which claimed that the policy would worsen inflation and poverty. The government sought to offset the impact of price rises on the poor by introducing a direct payment of 100,000 rupiah (about $10) per month to low-income households. Initially criticized as financially inadequate and prone to corruption, the direct payments appeared to be winning cautious approval from both grassroots communities and welfare groups.

      Despite the backlash on fuel prices, SBY's economic record remained good. The overall economy continued to grow more strongly than most others in the region, recording an annual increase of 6.4%, though inflation was relatively high, at 12.2%. Unemployment levels fell slightly, from 9.75% in early 2007 to 8.46% in early 2008 (about 10 million people). Poverty also fell modestly.

      Megawati's improving political stocks owed much to her status as a leading opponent of SBY. She had sharpened her criticism of his government over the past year and had been more active in campaigning at the community level. Her party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), was the only major party without representatives in the cabinet, and it served as the unofficial opposition in the parliament. As the popularity of SBY and his coalition government dropped, Megawati's and the PDI-P's climbed.

      Other prominent candidates for the presidency included former generals Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto, both of whom established their own parties (Hanura and Gerindra, respectively) and were funding expensive advertising and community-mobilization campaigns. Unlike many of the other new parties formed since 2004, Hanura and Gerindra appeared to be well organized and well staffed, with retired military officers holding many key positions. The popularity of both men rose sharply, owing largely to their heavy promotional campaigns, but they both needed to overcome lingering public suspicion of generals with “tough” images.

      Another candidate who had captured considerable public attention was Hamengkubuwono X, the sultan of Yogyakarta. He enjoyed strong support among his fellow Javanese, Indonesia's single-largest and most politically influential ethnic group, and he also had the backing of powerful sections of Golkar, currently the largest party in the parliament. Although untested at national-level politics, Hamengkubuwono was thought to be a possible compromise candidate capable of attracting broader political support.

      The presidential race was likely to remain very fluid until the results of the April legislative election were known. In what appeared to be an increasingly volatile electoral environment, most parties were reluctant to commit themselves to particular candidates until the makeup of the new parliament became clear. Thirty-four parties (10 more than in 2004) were expected to take part in the elections in 2009. Most of the smaller, newer parties had poor prospects, and a number of major parties might also struggle, having been dogged by internal disputes and leadership problems. These included three of the larger Islamic parties: the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN), and the National Awakening Party (PKB). Indeed, the only Islamic party in Indonesia with good prospects was the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS).

      The year 2008 was also notable for the extensive and successful anticorruption campaign led by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which resulted in the investigation of a string of high-profile figures. Two cabinet members—the ministers for forestry and national planning—were under investigation for taking bribes, though SBY refused to stand them down until they had been proved guilty. One parliamentarian was jailed for graft, and a number of others faced similar charges. Revelations about MPs' having received regular payments from government departments to pass legislation also filled the newspapers for much of the year. The former governor of Bank Indonesia, the central bank, was sentenced to imprisonment for five years for corruption; four of his senior officials were awaiting trial; and dozens of regional heads and legislators were jailed for a variety of corruption offenses. According to opinion polling, these cases helped to make the KPK the most-trusted institution in the country. It was unclear whether the wave of antigraft investigations would have a lasting impact on Indonesia's entrenched culture of corruption, but a 2008 Transparency International survey lifted the country's corruption ranking to 126 out of 180 (from 143 of 179 countries in 2007).

Greg Fealy

▪ 2008

Area:

1,860,360 sq km (718,289 sq mi)

Population

(2007 est.): 231,627,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

 Indonesia continued its democratic and economic consolidation in 2007, though political tensions mounted as the 2009 parliamentary and presidential elections drew nearer. According to leading public opinion polls, the standing of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) government remained high. One respected survey put the government's satisfaction rating at 55%, down from 63% at the same time a year earlier; another survey showed support for the government at 49%. Nearly all polls rated SBY well ahead of prospective rival candidates for the presidency.

      A number of factors contributed to the government's, and the president's, popularity. First, Indonesia's economy continued to perform well, with 6.3% growth during the year, up from 5.5% the previous year. Investment also increased at a healthy 6.9% in the same period. Even the high poverty and unemployment levels, for which the government had been sharply criticized, fell modestly. Approximately 37 million people, or 16.6% of the population, were classed as living below the poverty line in 2007, compared with 39 million the previous year; during the same period, unemployment declined from 10.4% to 9.8%.

      Second, most of the country remained peaceful and orderly, despite worsening drought in some areas, a succession of natural disasters, and continuing local direct elections for governors, mayors, and regents. Two of these elections—in Aceh and Jakarta—were of particular importance. The December 2006 Aceh election was the culmination of the peace agreement signed in 2005, bringing an end to decades of bloody conflict between pro-independence insurgents of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian military. Though some observers had warned of violence, the campaign was largely without incident. GAM candidates won a large minority of district and provincial executive positions. Foremost among them was the U.S.-trained veterinarian and former GAM commander Irwandi Yusuf, who was elected governor of Aceh. Like many GAM candidates, Irwandi emphasized the rebuilding and development of the tsunami-ravaged province and distanced himself from the Islamic law initiatives of the preceding administration. The inexperience of many of the new GAM public officials led to declining administrative efficiency in many districts, often combined with serious corruption.

      Jakarta's gubernatorial election, held in August 2007, was won by the incumbent deputy governor, Fauzi Bowo. Although Fauzi's victory was predictable, several aspects of the election were surprising. Despite Jakarta's immense political diversity and the controversial record of the outgoing administration, all but one major political party backed Fauzi, which virtually ensured his election. The sole challenger to Fauzi, a former deputy police chief nominated by the mildly Islamist Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS), gained a respectable 42% of the vote. The pragmatism of the parties (and their desire to share in the spoils of power) had become a feature of many regional elections since 2005 and indicated a growing centrism in Indonesian politics.

      Third, the government's anticorruption campaign continued apace. Dozens of high-profile figures at the national level and hundreds at the local level were investigated and prosecuted for malfeasance. One of the most revealing cases was that of former maritime and fisheries minister Rokhmin Dahuri, who not only dispensed millions of dollars in bribes and inducements but also kept detailed records of his disbursements. During the investigation and trial, details of payments across the political, business, and civil-society spectrum emerged, providing an elaborate picture of how high officials routinely used money to build influence. Rokhmin was eventually found guilty and jailed for seven years. Other high-profile cases included those of former president Suharto and his son Tommy, both of whom were under renewed investigation over graft allegations and facing demands to repay millions of dollars to the state.

      Despite these perceived successes, SBY continued to draw criticism for his presidential style from commentators and many in the political elite. He was widely attacked for delaying a long-anticipated cabinet reshuffle, despite several ministers having been implicated in corruption cases and a number of other ministers having drawn media ridicule for incompetence. Eventually, five ministers were reshuffled in May. Most glaring of all was the case of Interior Minister Maʿaruf, who was incapacitated by a stroke in late March but not replaced until late August. Such events tended to confirm impressions of SBY as vacillating and self-doubting.

      SBY's relations with Vice Pres. Jusuf Kalla deteriorated markedly during 2006–07. Kalla, who was also chair of Golkar, the largest party, had publicly contradicted the president on a number of key issues, and in October 2007 he announced that he was likely to challenge SBY in the next presidential election. Although both men subsequently reassured the public that relations between them were harmonious and professional, the media reported extensively on the growing mistrust between them.

      Public opinion surveys indicated that Kalla, along with other declared presidential candidates—retired general Wiranto, former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso, and the sultan of Yogyakarta, Hamengkubuwono X—trailed far behind SBY in popularity. The only candidate who appeared within striking distance of SBY was former president Megawati Sukarnoputri. Her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) served as the main opposition, and the stocks of both Megawati and her party rose throughout the year, but most commentators discounted her chances of overtaking SBY.

      The United Nations Climate Change Conference took place in Nusa, Dua, Bali, December 3–14, with more than 10,000 participants from some 18 countries. A plan for a new international agreement was adopted.

Greg Fealy

▪ 2007

Area:

1,890,754 sq km (730,024 sq mi)

Population

(2006 est.): 222,731,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

      The government of Indonesian Pres. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono entered its second full year in office and further consolidated its position during 2006. A well-regarded poll released in October showed the government's approval rating at 67%, a significant improvement over the beginning of the year. The continuing high standing of President Yudhoyono was a major element of the government's popularity. He remained by far the most popular politician in Indonesia, thanks to his astute management of political and economic issues. Though criticized by some as too cautious and irresolute, Yudhoyono avoided alienating key interest groups while still conveying a sense of policy competence and governmental reform. He appeared intent on seeking reelection in 2009.

      Several government policies won widespread approval during the year. The first was the continuing peace and progress toward local elections in the previously strife-torn Sumatran province of Aceh. Separatist conflict in Aceh over the past three decades had cost thousands of lives and immense economic disruption, but a peace deal negotiated between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government in 2005 brought an end to hostilities. In 2006 the government steered through the parliament a complex new law that enabled elections and governance reforms in the province and, among other things, allowed for the integration of GAM members into the local political system. Despite protests from nationalists and some GAM leaders, the legislation was accepted by most groups and appeared likely to provide a workable framework for longer-term peace. Local elections were held in December.

      Successes in the anticorruption drive were another positive outcome for the government. During the year more than 300 national and regional political leaders and officials were tried and found guilty of corruption. Most prominent among these were the religious affairs minister in the previous government, who was jailed for five years, and four members of the national election commission. About 1,000 regional legislators were under investigation for graft, as were many hundreds of officials in government enterprises. Though the anticorruption campaign won widespread praise, corruption remained pervasive in Indonesia, and the vast majority of graft and collusion cases went unpunished, though the increased risk of detection was undoubtedly making would-be corruptors more careful. Some observers also argued that many of those prosecuted for corruption had been guilty of procedural abuses rather than gross self-enrichment and that little was being done to tackle systemic high-level graft.

      The government's economic policy was also reasonably successful. After the sharp rise in oil prices in early 2006, the government reduced its growth estimate to 4.5%, but by midyear quarterly expansion had risen to 5.22%, making Indonesia one of the better-performing economies in Southeast Asia. There was also a modest rise in foreign investment, though this remained well below government targets. The necessity for growth exceeding 6% was apparent in figures showing that Indonesia had 11.6 million unemployed, a substantial increase over the previous two years.

      During the year Indonesia took further steps toward consolidating its democracy by holding the first nationwide direct elections for governors and district heads. Since mid-2005 some 265 local elections had been held, in almost 60% of the districts. Despite dire forecasts of violence, most elections were peaceful. Moreover, although attempted vote buying was commonplace, electors in many districts voted out corrupt incumbents and also rejected candidates with sectarian agendas, military backgrounds, or poor campaigning styles. Voter turnout, while lower on average than for the 2004 national elections, was still consistently above 65%. Elections in the remaining 40% of districts were to be held by early 2007.

 Another issue that dominated Indonesian public life during the year was that of the role of Islamic law. Although 88% of citizens were Muslim, according to the most recent census, Indonesia was a religiously neutral state in which Shariʿah (Islamic law) was largely confined to family law. In recent years, however, there had been a growing trend in some strongly Islamic regions to introduce more comprehensive Shariʿah-inspired regulations, such as dress codes, bans on alcohol and gambling, and mandatory Islamic knowledge requirements for officials. At least 22 districts had such regulations, even though control of religious affairs rested with the central government. Many women's groups and non-Muslims objected to these regulations on the grounds of discrimination and the undermining of human rights.

      The Shariʿah issue became even more controversial when Islamic parties introduced in the parliament an antipornography bill that, in addition to outlawing sexually explicit materials, also sought to proscribe a wide range of social and personal activities, including kissing in public, homosexuality, and cultural performances in which artists were not fully clothed. The bill drew a storm of protest from cultural groups, regions with traditions of seminaked performance (Bali and Papua were such areas), and secular nationalists and liberal Muslims who claimed that Islamists were instituting Shariʿah by stealth. Islamic parties responded that the bill was primarily concerned with public morality rather than religion, but they nonetheless agreed to withdraw the legislation. The revised bill had most of the contentious clauses removed, and secularists claimed this as a defeat for Islamism and a reassertion of Indonesia's religiously neutral traditions.

Greg Fealy

▪ 2006

Area:

1,890,754 sq km (730,024 sq mi)

Population

(2005 est.): 222,781,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

      The government of Pres. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (Yudhoyono, Susilo Bambang ) (see Biographies), who was elected to office in October 2004 with 61% of the vote, had a year of mixed results in 2005. Yudhoyono assumed office promising to accelerate economic growth, push through political and judicial reforms, and launch strong anticorruption measures. While praised by foreign observers for delivering on some of these promises, particularly regarding the economy, he was strongly criticized for not achieving more.

      An early challenge for the Yudhoyono government was responding to the Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami that had struck Aceh province on the island of Sumatra. The magnitude-9.15 tsunami, the greatest natural disaster to befall Indonesia in more than a century, destroyed most of the infrastructure and buildings on the eastern and northern coasts of Aceh. The death toll was estimated at 132,000 people; another 37,000 were missing; and some 100,000 were seriously injured. Another 700,000 persons were displaced. A multibillion-dollar international relief and rebuilding program was under way but was proceeding slowly, which caused it to draw criticism from the United Nations and other international agencies. Some 60,000 survivors were still living in tents, and 100,000 persons were reliant on food aid for survival.

      One positive outcome from the tsunami and the extensive international relief effort that followed was renewed impetus to find peace in Aceh, a province beset by decades of violent separatist conflict. Negotiations between the central government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began in April in Helsinki, moderated by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari. A deal was struck in July whereby the government would grant amnesty to GAM members, reduce troop numbers, and restore GAM members' political, social, and economic rights; GAM agreed to surrender all weapons and accept Indonesian sovereignty. Much progress was made as GAM disarmament and the withdrawal of Indonesian troops were completed by year's end. Plans were under way to integrate GAM members into local politics and the economy. Violence in Aceh was at its lowest level in many years.

      The government's anticorruption measures dominated local media for much of the year. A newly instituted Anticorruption Commission (KPK) and the establishment of ad hoc anticorruption courts proved surprisingly effective. Aceh Gov. Abdullah Puteh was jailed for 10 years for his role in a multimillion-dollar bribery scandal. Several members of the national Election Commission were on trial for corruption; dozens of regional heads and legislators were found guilty of malfeasance; and a number of prominent judges and lawyers were under investigation. Detractors said that these actions were selective and that many well-connected corrupt businessmen and politicians had been left untouched.

      Another controversial case concerned the 2004 murder of respected human rights activist Munir Said Thalib on a Garuda (the national airline) flight to The Netherlands. After a sluggish start, police investigators charged a Garuda pilot, who was also a part-time National Intelligence Agency (BIN) spy, with involvement in the murder, though there was open speculation in the media that senior BIN leaders, including its former head, Hendropriyono, might have been implicated in Munir's poisoning. No charges were filed against BIN officials, and the government was accused of lacking resolve.

       Terrorism continued to be a serious problem in Indonesia. For the fourth year in row, there was a major terrorist attack in the third trimester, this time on October 1. Twenty-two people died and dozens more were seriously injured in the attack, the second such incident on the tourist island of Bali. The latest bombing brought the total number of people killed in terrorist attacks since 2000 to more than 260. The attack was carried out by three suicide bombers using shrapnel-filled backpack bombs, rather than the massive car bombs of the preceding three attacks. In early November authorities eventually identified the suicide bombers as part of the network led by two Malaysian terrorists, Azhari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top, both of whom had been senior operatives of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) but now seemed to be acting independently of that organization. Azhari, an expert bomb maker, had been involved in at least five major terrorist attacks and was tracked down by police and killed in a shoot-out on November 9. Recent attacks added to indications that Indonesia's terrorist threat was becoming more diffuse, owing in part to a fracturing of JI. In the two previous major bombings, operatives from outside JI circles had been recruited to stage attacks, and it was possible that non-JI groups were involved in the most recent attack. Aside from the Bali attack, there were also a number of other bombings, including an attack in May in Tentena, in central Sulawesi, where 25 Indonesians were killed.

      Economically, Indonesia experienced fluctuating fortunes. In early 2005 the economy was growing at an annual rate of more than 5%, and there were predictions that growth would reach Suharto-era levels of 7–8% by the end of the year. The rise was partly due to increased confidence among investors regarding the government's economic policies. Spiraling oil prices in mid-2005, however, led to a giant boost in the generous government subsidies for petroleum and gas and placed the budget under severe pressure. Amid fears that the economic recovery would stall, the value of the rupiah slid to 11,000 rupiah to U.S.$1. The government cut subsidies in October, which led to a doubling of fuel prices. Despite the amount of the increase, protests were muted. Economic commentators applauded the government for taking politically unpopular steps but were unimpressed by its tardiness.

      Indonesian politics continued to be dogged by party instability and the poor performance of its representative institutions. Five of the seven largest political parties experienced serious internal splits, and most parties remained elite driven, with ramshackle branch structures and little genuine grassroots participation. The national parliament became notorious for its graft, the absenteeism of its members, and its inability to meet legislative timetables—only 10 of the promised 55 bills were passed during the year. Relations between the parliament and the executive had improved in late 2004 when Vice Pres. Jusuf Kalla gained the chairmanship of Golkar, the biggest party, and thereby ensured a less-hostile legislature than had been the case during the early months of the new government. There was widespread speculation that Kalla might challenge Yudhoyono in the next presidential election, scheduled for 2009.

Greg Fealy

▪ 2005

Area:

1,922,570 sq km (742,308 sq mi)

Population

(2004 est.): 222,611,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

Presidents Megawati Sukarnoputri and, from October 20, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

       Elections dominated Indonesian life during 2004, and the year came to a tragic close with the massive tsunami of December 26. (See Disasters: Sidebar (Deadliest Tsunami ).) The elections brought to power a new president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (commonly known as SBY), and changed the dynamics of the nation's politics. The tsunami was the most lethal in modern history and devastated littoral regions of Aceh province in northern Sumatra, killing almost 100,000 people and displacing 300,000 others.

      Three separate electoral processes took place during the year. Elections for the national parliament (DPR) and provincial and district legislatures were held on April 5, for which 140 million people were registered to vote (83% of whom cast a ballot). This was the world's largest simultaneous single-day election.

      All the “big five” parties suffered losses. The biggest loser was Pres. Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which dropped to 19% of the vote from 34% in the 1999 election. This left Golkar, the electoral vehicle of the former Suharto regime, as the largest party, with 22% of the vote (down 1% on its 1999 result). Two parties made spectacular advances in the election: SBY's fledgling Democrat Party (PD), which had been formed in 2003, gained 7.5% of the vote, and the Islamic Prosperity and Justice Party (PKS) lifted its percentage from 1.4% in 1999 to 7% in 2004.

      Overall, these results pointed to greater volatility in Indonesia's electorate and indicated strong dissatisfaction with the performance of Megawati's government and the behaviour of the larger parties. Opinion polls repeatedly showed disapproval for the government's unwillingness to tackle corruption and its inability to stimulate faster economic growth. Public confidence in the parliament fell sharply after a string of graft allegations and an ever-lengthening backlog of unpassed legislation. Among the new parliament's members, 72% were serving for the first time. The April 5 poll also elected members to a newly established 128-seat Regional Representatives Council (DPD), which would have powers to review legislation relating to the regions and would also, with the 550 parliamentarians, constitute the restructured People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Indonesia's supreme decision-making body.

      The second part of the electoral process was a two-round direct presidential election, the first in Indonesia's history (the preceding four presidents had been elected by the MPR). In the first round, on July 5, SBY and Megawati emerged as the two highest-ranked candidates of the five that stood. At the runoff election on September 20, SBY won 61% of the vote to Megawati's 39%. SBY was sworn in as Indonesia's sixth president on October 20.

      SBY, an ethnic Javanese, was one of four generals standing for either the presidency or the vice presidency in 2004. Much of his military career had been spent in social and political affairs, rather than on the battlefield, and he was widely seen as one of the more intellectually inclined and pro-reform generals. He had a masters degree from the United States and gained his Ph.D. shortly before being installed as president. Opinion polls indicated that he had won the election because voters saw him as honest, responsible, and better able than Megawati to overcome the nation's pressing economic and security problems.

      SBY's government was a mixture of political and technocrat appointees. He gave priority to restoring economic growth to the 7% levels of the Suharto era; growth stood at 4.5%, not enough to absorb the rapid increase in the workforce. A key element of his economic policy was the need to bring in greater foreign capital. SBY was well regarded by Western governments and business, and he was seeking to use this reputation to attract overseas aid and investment.

      A key challenge facing SBY was to manage emergency relief and longer-term reconstruction efforts in tsunami-hit Aceh. Most of the infrastructure in coastal regions was destroyed, and rebuilding would require billions of dollars, much of it from foreign donors. The surviving population was also deeply scarred by the experience.

      Complicating the rebuilding of Aceh was the continuing conflict between Indonesian security forces and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The Megawati government had launched full-scale military operations against GAM in May 2003, and the province had remained in a state of “military emergency” until May 2004. According to official figures, during 2004 more than 1,200 people had died in the conflict by the end of September. SBY had hinted that he would seek to wind back military operations in Aceh and restore full civilian control, but details were not announced.

       Terrorism also still loomed as a challenge for the government. Indonesia suffered one serious attack during the year. On September 9 in Jakarta, the Australian embassy was the target of a suicide car bombing; 9 Indonesians were killed, and more than 119 were injured. Prime suspects in the masterminding of the attack were Azhari Husin and Noordin Mohamad Top, two Malaysians involved in the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist organization, which had been responsible for the 2002 Bali bombing and the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta. JI had also been linked to smaller attacks in central Sulawesi. Overall, the Indonesian government had considerable success in its campaign against terrorism. In the past two years, almost 40 terrorists had been prosecuted successfully, more than in any other country. More trials were pending, and arrests of suspected terrorists continued. Nevertheless, JI and other smaller, more localized extremist groups remained a lethal threat.

      A number of important reforms also took place. In late 2003 the Constitutional Court began operation with extensive powers to adjudicate disputes between government institutions, decide on electoral appeals, and advise the parliament about abuses of office by the president. Its establishment was welcomed by most legal observers in Indonesia. Soon after the Anti-Corruption Commission was formed, it took action against several prominent figures accused of corruption, including Abdullah Puteh, the governor of Aceh.

      By year's end all elections had been conducted fairly and without significant unrest, and there had been a smooth transition to a new president and government. This augured well for continued democratic consolidation.

Gregory J. Fealy

▪ 2004

Area:

1,922,570 sq km (742,308 sq mi)

Population

(2003 est.): 219,883,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

President Megawati Sukarnoputri

      Terrorism, separatism, economic growth, and the approaching 2004 general and presidential elections dominated Indonesian affairs during 2003. International attention had focused on the terrorism issue since the bombing of two nightclubs in Bali on Oct. 12, 2002, in which 202 people died.

      The response of Pres. Megawati Sukarnoputri and her government to terrorism was mixed. Immediately after the Bali attack, the government took the unprecedented step of allowing in foreign police and intelligence services to assist Indonesian police with their investigations. It also introduced retroactive antiterrorism laws that gave the police and judiciary wider powers to deal with extremism. These measures met with considerable success. The clandestine al-Qaeda–linked Jemaah Islamiyah movement was quickly identified as having carried out the bombing, and more than 80 JI members were subsequently arrested. Several of the key figures were tried and sentenced to death. Indonesia's police and judicial systems, regarded in the past as among Asia's most corrupt and ineffective, won high praise on this occasion. The government, however, gave little leadership in the public debate over Islamic radicalism. Megawati repeatedly maintained that responsibility for combating terrorist ideology rested with Islamic leaders rather than with the government.

      Despite the government's antiterrorism successes, JI and other extremist groups remained a significant threat. The car bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta on Aug. 5, 2003, which killed 12 people, was almost certainly the work of JI; another attack in South Sulawesi was carried out by a JI-linked militant group. Recent information suggested that JI was more widespread and deeply entrenched than had been originally suspected and that the group was likely to continue to pose a threat for many years.

      While terrorism captured the international community's attention, Indonesians were more preoccupied with the spectre of separatism, particularly in Aceh and Papua provinces. Aceh proved to be the government's most pressing domestic problem. A fragile cessation-of-hostilities agreement, which had been signed in December 2002 by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), collapsed in early 2003; both the GAM and the Indonesian military (TNI) had repeatedly breached the spirit and letter of the accord. In May the government declared a state of emergency in the province and mobilized some 35,000 troops as part of a sweeping campaign to destroy the GAM. In the first four months of fighting, the TNI claimed that about 700 GAM soldiers, of a military force estimated at 5,000, had been killed. Human rights groups strongly criticized the TNI's actions, claiming that there had been extensive depredations against the civilian population. The military's effective closure of the province to external observers and clampdown on media coverage made it difficult to confirm the extent of abuses by both the TNI and the GAM, though the TNI had admitted that almost 300 civilians had been killed in the fighting.

      Papua also remained troublesome for the government. Having supported special autonomy laws for the province in 2001, the Megawati government backed away from key elements of the package. Much to the chagrin of the Papuan elite, the government failed to establish the special Papuan assembly stipulated in the legislation, seemingly for fear that it would strengthen pro-independence sentiment. The government then embarked on a controversial partition of Papua into three new provinces, hoping that the division of the territory would cause splits in the separatist movement. The creation of new provinces sparked violence in several areas and forced the government to postpone further implementation.

      Elsewhere in Indonesia, levels of social conflict appeared to have abated. Government-brokered peace accords in Maluku and Central Sulawesi, both of which had experienced bloody Christian-Muslim violence in recent years, helped to greatly reduce intracommunal attacks, and some progress was made in restoring social harmony.

      Opinion polls suggested that there was mounting public dissatisfaction with the performance of President Megawati and her government during the year. Megawati was widely criticized for poor management of her cabinet and for failing to carry out political and economic reforms. Attempts to halt corruption were halfhearted at best, and Megawati was attacked for not sacking her attorney general after it was revealed that he had provided a false statement of his assets. She also failed to discipline several of her economic ministers for openly criticizing cabinet decisions. The president's handling of controversies within her own Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) proved especially damaging. She sparked dissent by nominating candidates in gubernatorial and district-head elections who were not supported by local PDI-P branches, and key party figures were increasingly vocal in their criticism of her leadership.

      Megawati's political setbacks gave hope to her rivals in the 2004 general and presidential elections. Though she was still seen as the front-runner in the presidential race, her opponents regarded her as vulnerable on matters pertaining to economic management, Islam, the fight against corruption, and national security. Her main rivals were likely to be Amien Rais, the chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly, and Akbar Tanjung, the parliamentary speaker. Megawati's PDI-P was also likely to suffer a significant drop in support.

      Although there was criticism of Megawati's economic policies, the Indonesian economy performed better than many of its regional counterparts. Gross domestic product grew 3.8% over the year to June 2003; inflation was reduced to 6% (from 14% in early 2002); and the exchange rate remained steady (8,400 Indonesian rupiah =  about $1). Domestic consumption continued to drive economic growth. Though investment remained at about two-thirds the level preceding the 1997 financial crisis, international investors were reluctant to commit capital to Indonesia.

Greg Fealy

▪ 2003

Area:

1,922,570 sq km (742,308 sq mi)

Population

(2002 est.): 211,023,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

President Megawati Sukarnoputri

      Megawati Sukarnoputri celebrated her first anniversary as president in July 2002 but received mixed assessments of her and her government's performance. On the one hand, she had returned a measure of political stability to Indonesian politics after the tumultuous presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid. On the other hand, she had had only limited success in managing the country's internal conflict and economic problems. She had also drawn fire for her cautious and reticent presidential style and for resisting political reforms. Despite such criticisms, opinion polls consistently showed her to be the country's most popular political leader, and she was the clear favourite in the race for the presidency in 2004.

      Megawati's leadership style proved more conservative and reserved than many observers had expected. She had yet to give a single interview to the press, and most of her public speeches were carefully scripted and banal. Rarely did she take a lead in the public debate on controversial issues. She appeared to relish the ceremonial aspects of the presidency over the exercise of political decision making, which prompted one commentator to write that she was more interested in “reigning than ruling.”

      The performance of her government was uneven. Some progress was made on resolving the bloody religious conflicts in the eastern provinces of Central Sulawesi and Maluku when government ministers brokered peace agreements between warring Christian and Muslim groups. The agreements, which were signed in December 2001 and February 2002, respectively, brought an uneasy calm for a short time, but sporadic violence returned to both areas, and the peace process was placed in jeopardy.

      The situation in the restive provinces of Aceh and Papua was also little improved, despite the fact that both had been granted special autonomy in the past year. Successive central governments had seen the bestowal of extensive autonomy as their primary means of undercutting separatist sentiment. Under the autonomy laws, each province stood to gain at least a threefold increase in revenue and far greater local authority over political and economic affairs. In Aceh the level of violence remained high, with more than 500 people losing their lives in separatist violence since January 2002. Peace negotiations between the central government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were proceeding fitfully, but the Indonesian military (TNI) had stepped up its campaign in recent months, believing that GAM insurgents were in disarray and retreating farther into hinterland areas. Conditions in Papua had arguably deteriorated in the past year. Many Papuans initially welcomed special autonomy, but attitudes toward the central government and especially the TNI hardened following the murder of Theys Eluay, chairman of the Papua Presidium Council, in November 2001. Twelve Special Forces soldiers were charged in the killing. The real motives for Eluay's assassination remained open to dispute, but his death clearly undermined confidence in the special autonomy process and could encourage some Papuan leaders to renew their demands for independence.

      The Megawati government also came under close scrutiny over its handling of the terrorism issue. U.S. officials as well as the Singaporean and Malaysian governments claimed that Indonesia had become a major regional base for international terrorist groups. Particular attention was given to the leadership role that a small number of Indonesians had played in the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network, a major cell of which was uncovered by the Singaporean authorities in December 2001. Initially the Megawati government was criticized for being tardy in acting against terrorism, but Indonesian officials in 2002 were cooperating closely with the CIA and other regional intelligence forces in investigating and apprehending suspected terrorists.

      Events took a dramatic and tragic turn on October 12, when a massive bomb blast at a nightclub on the resort island of Bali killed 184 people, the majority of whom were Western tourists. This was the worst terrorist attack since Sept. 11, 2001. The Indonesian government allowed several hundred foreign police and intelligence officials to join the investigation into the bombing. By year's end authorities had taken more than 20 suspects into custody. Under intense international pressure, the Megawati government supported a United Nations motion to ban JI and faced growing demands to arrest suspected terrorists and act against radical Muslim groups.

      Indonesia's economy proved surprisingly resilient during the year. Annual growth was 3.5%, down slightly from the budget estimate of 4% but still stronger than many other countries in the region. To a large extent, this growth was driven by strong domestic consumption as well as higher prices for oil, gas, and agricultural exports. The performance of Megawati's economic team had been lacklustre, but the government did gain credit for taking a number of unpopular but fiscally sound measures. Chief among them was a sharp reduction in fuel subsidies, which had the effect of cutting the short-term budget deficit in half. The longer-term prognosis was less rosy. Foreign investment had slowed to a trickle; there had been little new investment in infrastructure since the 1997 financial crisis; restructuring of the battered financial sector had been desultory; and a steady rise in real wages was reducing Indonesia's competitive advantage with other cheap-labour countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh.

      The Megawati government's record on political reform was patchy. The president's own party was implicated in a succession of corruption scandals, only a small number of which were effectively dealt with. The burgeoning business activities and political string pulling of Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, also became a matter of public debate. The TNI continued to consolidate itself as a force in Indonesian politics, particularly on issues relating to security policy, though its influence over broader government and parliamentary decision making remained limited.

      Although the government had been halfhearted in its approach to reform, other political forces pushed through significant changes, the most salient of which was the passage of major constitutional revisions. In August the country's supreme decision-making body, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), agreed to the introduction of direct presidential elections and the restructuring of the MPR, both of which were to take effect in 2004. The MPR would no longer have appointed military, police, and community group representatives but would be fully elected for the first time since its establishment in 1960. The Assembly would comprise the House of People's Representatives, as in the past, as well as a new Regional Representative Council. Other reforms included the setting up of a constitutional court and a constitutional commission to advise on further reforms. These reforms strengthened the system of checks and balances between the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary and were a further step to consolidating democracy.

      The judicial system was also showing signs of greater effectiveness. In July the youngest son of former president Suharto was found guilty of complicity in the murder of a judge and sentenced to 15 years in jail. Shortly afterward Akbar Tandjung, the parliamentary speaker and chairman of the second largest party, Golkar, was given a three-year sentence for corruption. Although Indonesia's legal system remained riddled with graft, such verdicts went some way toward restoring public confidence. Other prominent figures in the Suharto regime were under investigation and would likely stand trial in 2003.

Greg Fealy

▪ 2002

Area:

1,922,570 sq km (742,308 sq mi)

Population

(2001 est.): 212,195,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

Presidents Abdurrahman Wahid and, from July 23, Megawati Sukarnoputri

      In Indonesia the year 2001 was dominated by politics. Abdurrahman Wahid was removed as president by Indonesia's supreme decision-making body, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), on July 23, which thereby ended months of political crisis over his tenure.

      The drawn-out dismissal process was initiated early in the year when a parliamentary inquiry found circumstantial evidence that Wahid had been complicit in the misuse of some $4 million from the state logistics agency. The findings led to a constitutional showdown. Wahid denied the charges and disputed the authority of the parliament to sit in judgment of him. The parliament asserted its right to monitor the executive and triggered the dismissal proceedings in the MPR (the MPR comprised the 500 members of the parliament plus 195 regional and community group representatives). Facing certain defeat, and against the advice of most of his cabinet, Wahid declared a state of emergency in the early hours of July 23 and tried to suspend the MPR. Political leaders and the security services ignored his declaration, and the MPR met in emergency session and removed him later that day. Wahid claimed he had acted to defend the constitution, but most legal experts believed that he had acted unconstitutionally, a view supported by the Supreme Court.

      Wahid's downfall was due more to disillusionment with his leadership style than to any alleged corruption. Upon his election in October 1999, he had attracted a diverse coalition of parties into his government, but he proved unable to maintain its unity. His idiosyncratic and often gratuitously provocative remarks and his removal of several powerful ministers undermined cabinet solidarity and alienated many of the parties that had supported his presidential bid. He also showed himself to be an inept manager of government business. His grasp of key policy areas such as economics, justice, and defense was weak, and his approach to policy making tended to be ad hoc and inconstant.

      His replacement, Vice Pres. Megawati Sukarnoputri, came to the presidency with a strong popular mandate and a public expectation that she would restore a measure of stability after the turmoil of Wahid's term. Her party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), had won 34% of the national vote at the 1999 general election, by far the largest of any party. Much of PDI-P's success was due to Megawati's own personal following. Her popularity derived not only from her status as the eldest daughter of Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno, but also from her image as a person of quiet integrity who had stoically resisted the manipulations of the Suharto regime in the mid-1990s. Her personality traits were atypical of a leading politician; she was reserved, cautious, and averse to confrontation and political deal making. Her critics said these characteristics were hindrances to successful leadership. Megawati's government comprised representatives from secular nationalist and Islamic parties as well as military officers and technocrats. Though ideologically nationalist, she pursued pragmatic policies during her first months in office.

      The political tumult surrounding the presidency had drawn attention away from more fundamental issues related to political, economic, and legal reform. This reform process, which had begun after the fall of Suharto's New Order in May 1998, had been fitful and uneven. The transition to democracy continued, though elements of the political culture had changed little from the Suharto era. Parties remained elite-dominated and driven by personalities and patronage rather than ideology or grassroots participation. The parliament provided close scrutiny of government activities, but it remained tardy in passing legislation and prone to graft. Constitutional reform was badly needed, particularly in defining the relationship between the legislature and the executive, but appeared in danger of stalling. Confidence in the judiciary and police was low, and this contributed to rising vigilantism by local communities against suspected wrongdoers. Civilian control over the military improved, but the armed forces continued to be an important, but not dominant, element in Indonesian politics. Corruption still permeated Indonesian life but was no longer as blatant or extreme as during the Suharto era. A range of government anticorruption measures helped to ensure greater transparency, and regular press exposure of improper practices raised the risks of engaging in corruption. On November 28 Tommy Suharto, the fugitive son of Suharto, was arrested after more than a year on the lam. He was facing an 18-month prison term when he fled.

      One of the most radical reforms was that of decentralization. Under this program, which began in January 2001, extensive political and economic powers were being devolved to the second tier of regional government (i.e., regency or municipality). Within two years the central government was supposed to cede to the regions authority in all administrative areas except defense, justice, fiscal controls, religion, and matters relating to technical standards. So far, the devolution process had been surrounded by controversy and confusion. Poorly drafted legislation and complex, often contradictory enabling regulations had been core problems and had been compounded by a lack of central government supervision and local government disregard for existing national laws and administrative protocols. The Megawati government announced that it would revise the legislation in early 2002 and appeared set to tighten provincial and national government controls over regencies. Regardless of legislative amendments, the decentralization process was likely to strengthen democracy in the regions and ease resentment toward Jakarta, but it would also increase the disparities of wealth between resource-rich, industrially developed regions and the poorer, less-developed areas.

      Indonesia's economy continued its weak recovery from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, though it remained vulnerable to an international downturn. Although growth in 2000–01 was 3.5%, better than most of its Southeast Asian neighbours, this was due largely to increased output from small and medium-sized businesses. Many of Indonesia's corporations remained heavily indebted, and much of the financial sector was in need of restructuring. The budget deficit remained large at $4.2 billion, or 2.5% of the nation's gross domestic product, and the slow pace of privatizing state enterprises and selling assets of bankrupt banks was expected to put pressure on the government to take unpopular measures such as cutting fuel and transport subsidies. A return to the robust growth rates of the Suharto era was impossible without large-scale foreign investment, and this was unlikely to occur in the short term.

      The Megawati government faced daunting challenges in restoring Indonesia's economic health and political stability as well as in improving internal security. It would be undertaking these tasks in an increasingly uncertain international environment. The world economy was facing a slowdown, and the U.S.-led war against terrorism had already aroused strong protests within Indonesia's majority Islamic community. If Megawati did not provide stable and effective government, public confidence in her leadership and in democratic government could be seriously undermined.

Greg Fealy

▪ 2001

Area:

1,922,570 sq km (742,308 sq mi)

Population

(2000 est.): 209,342,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

President Abdurrahman Wahid

      When he was elected in October 1999, Indonesian Pres. Abdurrahman Wahid chose a cabinet that included all of Indonesia's major political forces: the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the former ruling party Golkar, Muslim-linked parties, and the military. Wahid's tenacious attempt to consolidate power, and the resulting political tug-of-war, provided much of the drama in Indonesia in 2000, even as the country's myriad political, economic, and social problems remained unsolved. The instability marred Indonesia's first year of multiparty, civilian-led democracy and returned some advantage to the once-dominant military.

      The religious strife that surged again in late 1999 between Muslims and Christians in the eastern province of Maluku preceded the year's first high-profile political battle. Wahid's senior political minister, former armed forces chief General Wiranto—Wahid's rival for influence over the military—unsuccessfully sought to impose martial law on the region. Meanwhile, Muslim political leader Amien Rais—chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly, Indonesia's highest legislative body—led a January 7 protest in Jakarta against Wahid's perceived inaction. On January 31 a government commission report implicated 33 people, including Wiranto, as responsible for the post-1999 referendum violence in East Timor, largely wrought by Indonesian soldiers and military-backed militias. The president seized the opportunity to suspend the general from the cabinet on February 14.

      Wiranto's suspension was followed by a military reshuffle that saw the rise of younger, more reformist officers. Despite alienating military conservatives as well as the Muslim parties that had backed him for the presidency, Wahid, boosted by his reputation as a pro-democracy figure, initially held the advantage. He ran into trouble, however, on April 25, the day after he replaced PDI-P and Golkar cabinet ministers with officials close to him. The move angered members of the two largest parties, including Vice Pres. Megawati Sukarnoputri, leader of the PDI-P.

      Local media reported in May that Wahid's masseur, claiming to be the president's personal assistant, had bilked $4 million from Bulog, the former state food-distribution monopoly, by claiming that the president needed the funds to calm the separatist province of Aceh. In explaining the scandal, Wahid inadvertently created another by revealing that he had received $2 million for Aceh from the sultan of Brunei without reporting it to the government. The sackings and the scandals—coupled with impatience at Wahid's frequent foreign trips (in his first eight months in office, he spent about two of them traveling abroad), his erratic leadership style, and his strategy of sidelining political parties—led the parliament to file a motion summoning him for an official explanation. When Wahid faced the parliament on July 20, he insisted that the body had no constitutional right to question him. His hard-line stance seemed to endanger his position before the August 7–18 annual Assembly session.

      Wahid failed to prevent a backlash by military conservatives, who on July 31 replaced the officers who had been appointed during the post-Wiranto reshuffle. The Assembly also made concessions to the armed forces by allowing them to retain their 38 unelected seats until 2009. Wahid, however, was able to defuse any attempt to unseat him by declaring on August 9 that he would hand over day-to-day duties to Megawati. Two weeks later Wahid appeared to renege on his pledge by forming a cabinet packed with his aides, none linked to Golkar or PDI-P, and issuing a decree that gave little actual authority to Megawati. Opposition to Wahid hardened in the legislature. On August 28 the parliament voted overwhelmingly to launch investigations into the Bulog and Brunei scandals.

      Later in the year the nation's attention turned to the trial of former president Suharto, who was accused of having enriched himself and his family during his more than three decades of rule. Citing poor health, he failed to appear on August 31, the trial's opening day. On September 28 the court acquitted him of all charges, considering him medically unfit to stand trial. The verdict triggered violent clashes in the capital and highlighted the government's mixed record in enforcing justice. A number of high-profile investigations launched in 2000 into prior human rights violations by the military produced few results, although on September 1 the attorney general's office named 19 possible suspects in murders in East Timor.

      Although political infighting cast a shadow on the currency, which had weakened 20% by September, the economy recovered 4.17% in the first six months of 2000, mostly on the back of private consumption. In August the government finished issuing bonds to recapitalize the country's beleaguered banking system, an effort that had contributed some $75.8 billion to Indonesia's estimated $144 billion debt. As the year progressed, public criticism mounted over the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency's concessions to large local corporations in settling their bad debts.

      The security situation worsened, despite the signing of a “humanitarian pause” on May 12 between separatist Free Aceh Movement rebels and the government. The Maluku conflict encouraged the formation of radical religious militia both in Maluku and on Java. In Aceh violations of the cease-fire by both sides were reported, while religious-tinged unrest similar to Maluku's erupted on the island of Celebes. On September 6 armed militia members killed three UN staff members working with East Timorese refugees in Indonesian West Timor. The incident underlined Jakarta's inability to pacify the paramilitaries as well as its slow pace in repatriating refugees to East Timor. On September 13 a bombing at the Jakarta Stock Exchange claimed the lives of 15 persons. Days later Wahid ordered the arrest of Suharto's youngest son, Tommy, who had been convicted in a corruption case. In October, however, Wahid held a secret meeting with Tommy, raising fears that he would set Tommy free in exchange for the return of some of Suharto's allegedly ill-gotten billions.

José Manuel Tesoro

▪ 2000

Area:

1,937,179 sq km (747,949 sq mi)

Population

(1999 est.): 206,143,000

Capital:

Jakarta

Head of state and government:

Presidents Bacharuddin Jusuf (“B.J.”) Habibie and, from October 20, Abdurrahman Wahid

      The year 1999 was a turning point for Indonesia. The country's transition to civilian democratic rule, triggered by Suharto's resignation in May 1998 after 32 years as president, advanced considerably, but concerns persisted over the continued unity of the large multiethnic, multireligious nation.

      The year began in the shadow of communal violence. On January 19 long-simmering resentments between Muslims and Christians in Ambon, capital of the eastern province of Maluku, boiled over into riots. Unrest spread through the rest of the province; by December more than 670 persons had been killed. The military's response to the crisis—sending in more troops—proved ineffectual. The conflict fanned emotions in the rest of the archipelago and gave ammunition to the opponents of Bacharuddin Jusuf (“B.J.”) Habibie, who had succeeded Suharto as Indonesian president.

 On January 27 Habibie unexpectedly announced that East Timor, a former Portuguese colony that had been invaded by Indonesia in 1975, could choose between special autonomy and independence. (See Map—>.) The decision to allow the East Timorese a “popular consultation” angered some in the military. The decision also posed a dilemma for the public; although most people acknowledged that atrocities had been committed in the army's two-decade-long pacification of East Timor, nearly everyone worried about what effect the possible loss of a province would have on the rest of the country.

      Habibie continually faced questions about his legitimacy and his commitment to enacting needed economic and political reforms, but under him the loosening of Indonesia's authoritarian system proceeded. On January 28 the legislature revised key laws governing elections, political parties, and the composition of local and national legislatures. That same month more than 100 new political parties registered themselves with the election commission, including 48 that were deemed eligible to participate in legislative elections scheduled for June.

      Preparations for the polls—the first free, multiparty elections since 1955—were clouded by outbreaks of more violence. In March native Dayaks and Malays in West Kalimantan province on Borneo attacked immigrant Madurese from East Java in an orgy of killing that included decapitation and cannibalism. Meanwhile, in East Timor, as the UN hastily organized the referendum that eventually took place on August 30, civilian militias, armed by the military and led by local supporters of integration, emerged to intimidate pro-independence Timorese. In April the militias rampaged through much of the western half of the territory, terrorizing the capital, Dili, and massacring dozens in a church in the town of Liquiƈa.

      Fears that bloodshed would spread nationwide during the campaign period, which began May 19, proved unfounded. On June 7 about 96% of some 116 million registered voters cast their ballots—except in the western province of Aceh, where the resurgent separatist Free Aceh Movement succeeded in forcing a boycott in several districts. The peaceful polls were marred by a glacially slow vote count, caused by logistic difficulties and squabbling within the election commission. In September the process of allocating seats in the legislature was finally completed: 21 parties gained representation, 5 of which dominated about 90% of the new legislature. The biggest bloc—about one-third of the seats—belonged to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), led by Megawati Sukarnoputri (see Biographies (Sukarnoputri, Megawati )), daughter of Sukarno, Indonesia's founding president.

      Once again, however, violence grabbed the spotlight. On September 4, after the UN announced that 78.5% of East Timorese had chosen independence, pro-Indonesia militias unleashed their full fury. As the paramilitaries, aided in some cases by Indonesian soldiers and police, burned and looted major towns and villages, tens of thousands of refugees fled to Australia or neighbouring islands. After intense international pressure, Habibie allowed UN peacekeeping forces to secure the territory. Relations with Australia seriously suffered, as Jakarta saw Canberra as leading the pressure on Indonesia.

      Domestically Habibie was also facing mounting criticism over a scandal involving the funneling of more than $70 million marked for bank restructuring to figures linked to the ruling party, Golkar. The scandal focused attention not only on corrupt political practices but also on the painful cleanup of the banking system. In March 38 banks had been shut down, in addition to the 48 already closed, merged, recapitalized, or taken over by the government. In April the cost of recapitalizing the banking system was estimated at $35 billion. As the year progressed, that figure steadily mounted as banks revealed more losses.

      The East Timor debacle and the fund-siphoning scandal dealt fatal blows to Habibie's bid for reelection. In October the People's Consultative Assembly, an electoral college comprising the legislature as well as provincial and group representatives, cast an effective vote of no confidence in his government. Megawati, however, paid for her reluctance to cut deals with other parties. Her PDI-P was outflanked by a loose coalition of Muslim-linked parties that, backed by a Golkar faction, voted in her ally, Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid, as Indonesia's fourth president on October 20. The ensuing rioting across Java and Bali by her disaffected supporters subsided the following day when she was elected vice president. The People's Consultative Assembly also recognized the result of the East Timor referendum and rescinded Indonesia's annexation of the territory. East Timor reverted to its previous status as a non-self-governing territory, this time under the care of the UN. The first major challenge to Wahid's government involved national unity. On November 8 hundreds of thousands rallied in Banda Aceh, Aceh's capital, to demand a referendum for the province, which had, like East Timor, also suffered a heavy-handed army campaign to stamp out separatism. Wahid, who had stated his support for a referendum in Aceh, said that independence would not be an option. In early December, while Acehnese commemorated the anniversary of the Free Aceh Movement, residents in the easternmost province of Irian Jaya raised the flag of the Free Papua Organization in several towns. Both provinces claimed that they received too little of the earnings from their natural resources. So, as Indonesia exited 1999 with its first freely chosen president, an independent legislature, and a partially subdued military, its most pressing challenge remained to find a formula that would fulfill its provinces' various demands while keeping the country together.

José Manuel Tesoro

▪ 1999

      Area: 1,937,179 sq km (747,949 sq mi)

      Population (1998 est.): 202,957,000

      Capital: Jakarta

      Head of state and government: Presidents Suharto and, from May 21, Bacharuddin Jusuf ("B.J.") Habibie

      Indonesia's New Order came to an end in 1998. For 32 years the country's political system had served President Suharto (see BIOGRAPHIES (Suharto )), but then during 10 days in May it abandoned him. On May 12 security forces opened fire on unarmed students at Jakarta's Trisakti University. Angered over Suharto's handling of the Asian economic crisis, student demonstrators had been calling for him to step down. Four students were killed, and dozens of others were injured in the incident. Within 24 hours the killings had sparked massive riots and an anti-ethnic Chinese pogrom that turned Jakarta into a war zone. More than 1,000 persons died in the riots; dozens of women were believed to have been raped; and some 40 malls, 2,400 shops, and 1,100 cars were looted or destroyed. It took days for the military to quell the violence, but it flared up again later in the year.

      By May 19 thousands of students occupied the parliament building, and soldiers guarded Jakarta's city centre. Many of Suharto's political allies threatened to unseat him, and his Cabinet ministers promised to quit. More important, however, public opposition to his rule had grown so strong that Suharto could no longer count on the military's support. On the morning of May 21, he announced his resignation in a live television address from Jakarta. The man who had ruled Indonesia for nearly a third of a century ceded power to Bacharuddin Jusuf ("B.J.") Habibie, who had been his protégé for decades but had served as his vice president for only two months. After Suharto's address General Wiranto, commander of Indonesia's armed forces, promised that the military would back Habibie as the nation's new president.

      Although protesters called Habibie merely a figurehead and expressed concern that Suharto would remain Indonesia's de facto leader, Habibie assumed office promising to heed the calls for substantial political reform. He appointed a new Cabinet that included members of Indonesia's two main opposition parties. He fired Suharto's eldest daughter as social affairs minister and Suharto's longtime friend Mohamad ("Bob") Hasan as trade and industry minister. He named a committee to draft less-restrictive political laws, allowed a free press, promised parliamentary elections in June 1999 and presidential elections by the end of the year, and agreed to presidential term limits (two five-year terms). Habibie also granted amnesty to 104 political prisoners, though not to East Timor independence leader José Alexandre ("Xanana") Gusmão. He promised East Timor greater autonomy but refused to discuss independence.

      In addition, Habibie ordered an investigation into whether there was, as many suspected, a mastermind behind the May riots in Jakarta. According to the government's National Commission for Human Rights, witnesses confirmed that many of the attacks on residents and property had been carried out by organized groups of men, though reports that the military or other security forces were involved could not be conclusively confirmed. Habibie also launched an investigation into the source of Suharto's wealth, which was estimated in the billions of dollars. In early September Suharto appeared on television to deny allegations that he had diverted funds from charities that he headed and that his six children had made vast fortunes during his term. Habibie's government audited the charities, however, and said that preliminary investigations indicated there may have been some irregularities. The government subsequently canceled contracts that Suharto's children held with state companies. In December Suharto was suspected of corruption related to a tax-free car import scheme headed by one of his sons. After Habibie oversaw the successful renegotiation of repayment terms for $80 billion in private debt, the International Monetary Fund, which had pledged $43 billion in assistance to Indonesia but had temporarily suspended disbursements at the time of the riots, resumed making incremental payments.

      Reforms undertaken by the military included reducing its presence in East Timor. In other provinces where secessionist movements still showed some signs of life, activists were able for the first time to discuss human rights violations openly. The military not only considered the possibility that the Jakarta riots had been organized by someone within its ranks but also conducted an investigation into the kidnappings of at least a dozen political activists between February and May. Several senior officers were questioned; Suharto's son-in-law, Lieut. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, head of an elite special forces unit, was discharged. Nevertheless, the credibility of the military was tarnished, and its dual political and security roles were challenged. The military relinquished 20 of the 75 seats reserved for it in the legislature.

      Although Habibie at first called himself a transitional figure, by year's end he had indicated that he would run for another term as president. Hopes for democratic change in Indonesia received a boost in July when Golkar, the country's dominant political party, elected reformer Akbar Tanjung as its new chairman over Edi Sudradjat, a retired army general and a former defense minister who was backed by supporters of Suharto. Akbar, a close Habibie aide, was the president's personal choice for the party chairmanship, and his victory greatly improved Habibie's ability to set the political agenda and remain in office at least until the end of 1999. The most prominent opposition parties included the National Mandate Party, headed by fierce Suharto critic Amien Rais; the National Awakening Party, led by Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid; and the Indonesian Democratic Party, a faction of which was led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of the country's founding president.

      Indonesia's economic situation remained grim in 1998. At the end of the year, the rupiah was worth just 25% of its value 18 months earlier, and inflation had risen to at least 80%. The economy contracted by 13.6% in the first nine months of the year, and most observers expected that it would ultimately shrink by 15-20% by year's end. The government expected 22% of the workforce, or 20 million people, to be unemployed by the end of 1998. It was possible that as many as 100 million people—one-half of the country's population—would fall below the poverty line in 1998. Spurred by the economic troubles, Indonesia's crime rate rose significantly. General Wiranto acknowledged that much of the unrest stemmed from increasing poverty. There was an expected shortage of 3.1 million tons of rice; food that was available was priced beyond the reach of many Indonesians.

      Business also slowed dramatically. After the May riots, many foreign investors and ethnic Chinese—traditional mainstays of the Indonesian economy—fled the country. Both groups were reluctant to return—the foreign investors because of political and economic uncertainties, the Chinese because of safety concerns.

SUSAN BERFIELD

▪ 1998

      Area: 1,919,317 sq km (741,052 sq mi)

      Population (1997 est.): 199,544,000

      Capital: Jakarta

      Head of state and government: President Suharto

      In 1997 it was hard to be an optimist in Indonesia. National elections in May provided little hope to those calling for a more open political system. During the campaign season the rumblings of discontent were the loudest, and most violent, in 25 years. Prior to the elections more than 200 people were killed as demonstrations by opposition parties turned into riots. The election commission banned Megawati Sukarnoputri, onetime leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party and daughter of the country's popular first president, from contesting a seat. She may have been one of the few able to upset the country's tightly controlled government. The results of the parliamentary polls on May 29 were not surprising. Leaders of Golkar—the longtime ruling party backed by President Suharto, the military, and big business—had confidently predicted that the party would take just over 70% of the vote. Golkar won a record 74.4%.

      A day after the elections, the two legal opposition parties attributed Golkar's overwhelming victory to widespread balloting fraud; for the first time ever, the government acknowledged some election breaches and held new polls in nearly 90 locations. The new results did not significantly affect the national outcome. Golkar won 325 of the 425 seats being contested in the House of Representatives.

      Golkar's win virtually ensured that the new legislature would reelect Suharto to another five-year presidential term in 1998, but those who believed Suharto's style of government was out of touch with society remained disaffected. The middle class became increasingly critical of the country's closed political system. Many in the business community felt cheated by the blatant abuse of power by the relatives of senior officials, and the poor were frustrated by a growing income gap. Nevertheless, the government saw its victory as support for its policies.

      During the year there was even more speculation than usual about Suharto's successor. The 76-year-old president was typically silent on the subject, but many others had drawn up lists of vice presidential candidates. Among those often mentioned was the eldest of Suharto's children, Siti Hardyanti Rukmana (known as Tutut). She was Indonesia's foremost businesswoman—her diversified conglomerate PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada was worth an estimated $1 billion—and a top official in Golkar. Though Tutut hardly needed additional exposure, the campaign season heralded her real coming out as she traveled throughout Java, Indonesia's most populous island, to woo voters. Despite Tutut's popularity, she would not necessarily be a welcome choice for vice president, however. Such obvious nepotism would anger many Indonesians and frustrate hopes for more open political and economic systems.

      Indonesia's economic prospects did not look bright, particularly during the second half of the year. Currency turmoil in Southeast Asia roiled Indonesia as well. The rupiah depreciated nearly 30% against the dollar, and confidence in the Indonesian economy plummeted. The government announced it would defer $35 billion worth of projects, but that was not enough to calm investors. In October the government stated that it would work with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to reform the economy. Suharto ordered Widjojo Nitisastro, a respected economist and an old friend, to take charge of the overhaul. In early November the IMF agreed to a $23 billion assistance package for Indonesia. In return, Indonesia agreed, among other things, to close down 16 ailing banks and reform its financial industry. Japan and Singapore also announced that they would each extend $5 billion in stand-by credit to Indonesia.

      Many in Indonesia hoped that the government's well-regarded technocrats, led by Widjojo, would press Suharto to eliminate monopolies and other privileged business arrangements, in particular the "national car," a controversial automaking venture that was headed by Suharto's youngest son and exempt from the luxury tax and tariffs. The growth of the economy was expected to slow during the coming year. In 1997 the economic growth rate was an estimated 6.8%, down from 7.5% in 1996. In 1998 that figure could drop to as low as 4.8%.

      Another major problem casting a pall over Indonesia in 1997 was a months-long toxic haze. Forest fires, set by plantation owners and small farmers to clear land, burned out of control as the nation suffered from a drought exacerbated by El Niño. In August the smoke spread from the islands of Indonesia throughout Southeast Asia. Cities throughout the region declared their air quality hazardous. Thousands of people were sickened, schools and offices closed, and airline flights were canceled because of poor visibility. On September 26, in what was described as Indonesia's worst aviation disaster, a Garuda Indonesia plane encountered heavy smoke and crashed near Medan, killing all 234 people on board. (See DISASTERS.) It was impossible to calculate the long-term health and economic costs of the fires. Finally, in November, Indonesia experienced its first tropical downpours in six months.

SUSAN BERFIELD

▪ 1997

      A republic of Southeast Asia, Indonesia consists of the major islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Celebes (Indonesian: Sulawesi), and Irian Jaya (West New Guinea) and more than 13,000 smaller islands and islets. Area: 1,919,317 sq km (741,052 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 198,189,000. Cap.: Jakarta. Monetary unit: rupiah, with (Oct. 11, 1996) a free rate of 2,321 rupiah to U.S. $1 (3,656 rupiah = £ 1 sterling). President in 1996, Suharto.

      During 1996, for the first time, Indonesians began to question whether President Suharto's grip on power was finally slipping after 30 years of near-absolute rule. Riots in Jakarta in late July shook the country. According to an independent human rights commission, five people were killed and some 150 wounded. A prominent independent labour leader, Muchtar Pakpahan, and nine others were charged with subversion in December. The street violence was just one indication of growing uncertainty on several fronts. In October and again in December Muslim rioters burned Christian churches, as well as hotels, banks, automobiles, and shops owned by members of the ethnic Chinese minority, many of them Christian.

      There was increasing concern over the 75-year-old president's health, especially when he made a trip to Germany in July for a medical checkup. Should Suharto not nominate himself for president again when his term ended in 1998, there was no obvious successor. Moreover, rifts were evident in the military, the main pillar of power in the country. In addition, a Roman Catholic bishop in East Timor and an activist living in exile in Australia were awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in October for striving to end violence in the former Portuguese colony that Indonesia invaded and annexed in the 1970s. The Nobel Committee condemned the Indonesian government for "systematically oppressing the people" of East Timor. (See Nobel Prizes .)

      Elsewhere in the vast archipelago, activist groups grew bolder in their criticism of Indonesia's closed political system and uneven development. The government permitted only two opposition political parties, which had no hope of voting Suharto out of office. Of some 2.3 million workers entering the job market each year, only about 300,000 could find full-time employment. Resentment over corruption and the ever-expanding business empires of Suharto's family and cronies continued to deepen.

      The July riots were sparked by a police-backed raid on the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party in Jakarta. Supporters of Megawati Sukarnoputri—daughter of Sukarno, Indonesia's still-popular first president—were occupying the building to protest the government's role in her ouster as party head in June. In regard to Megawati's dismissal, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction over an internal party matter.

      With parliamentary elections scheduled for June 1997, many activists believed it was time to push for change. They demanded more representative government, a retreat by the military from its central position in politics, a limit of two presidential terms, and even Suharto's departure. In early July some 20,000 striking factory labourers in Surabaya marched to protest low wages and unhealthy working conditions.

      Suharto apparently worried that activists could upset political stability. On September 14 he scolded 300 of the country's business elite for neglecting the poor. He warned the assembled tycoons that if they did not "voluntarily" contribute 2% of their companies' after-tax profits to the poor, they could face the taxman's scrutiny.

      Complaints in corporate boardrooms grew louder over such government actions as the exceptional tax breaks given to Suharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra to build Indonesia's own national automobile. Suharto also seemed less capable of controlling his top military officers.

      Despite political uncertainties, the economy continued to boom at a 7.5% growth rate in 1996. Inflation dropped to 7.4% in August from a peak of over 10% in January. Indonesia's trade surplus narrowed during 1996, however, and some predicted the country could be running monthly trade deficits by the end of the year. Indonesia was hard hit by slumps in key export sectors, such as plywood and textiles. The current-account deficit was expected to be 4% of gross domestic product.

      The value of approved foreign investment in Indonesia was expected to fall to $27 billion, about 30% below the previous year, although the number of projects was expected to increase. The investment minister blamed the drop in value on the fact that approved foreign investments in 1995 included eight large projects, mainly in the petrochemicals sector. (SUSAN BERFIELD)

▪ 1996

      A republic of Southeast Asia, Indonesia consists of the major islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Celebes (Indonesian: Sulawesi), and Irian Jaya (West New Guinea) and more than 13,000 smaller islands and islets. Area: 1,919,317 sq km (741,052 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 195,283,000. Cap.: Jakarta. Monetary unit: rupiah, with (Oct. 6, 1995) a free rate of 2,268 rupiah to U.S. $1 (3,585 rupiah = £ 1 sterling). President in 1995, Suharto.

      Speculation about a successor to President Suharto subsided in 1995, but grumbling from an increasingly well-educated and well-off middle class that wanted more openness in government grew louder. Suharto, whose 28-year rule made him one of the world's most resilient leaders, still had a firm grip on the levers of power. Most expected him to seek and win another five-year term in 1998. At celebrations for the country's 50th anniversary of independence on August 17, Suharto said, "This is a time for more transparency." The government's actions, however, did not always live up to his promises.

      Just before Independence Day, Suharto ordered the release of three political prisoners who had been jailed nearly 30 years earlier for their roles in the 1965 upheaval that eventually led to Sukarno's ouster and brought Suharto to power. The government also promised to remove a stigma from the national identification cards of some 1.3 million former detainees. In May the president announced a plan to reduce the parliamentary seats allotted to the military from 100 to 75 beginning in 1997. This reduction seemed symbolic to some and did not end the armed forces' constitutionally guaranteed role in political and social affairs, however. Government supporters contended that the military's diminished presence in the parliament was a sign that democracy was being broadened.

      With an eye toward the mid-1997 national elections for the 500-member legislature, information minister and Suharto loyalist Harmoko traversed the country to boost the standing of Golkar, the nation's most potent political organization. Members of the other two legal political parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), asked the government in June to explain Harmoko's early rush to the hustings, implicitly questioning the fairness of the government's practices. Critics contended that Jakarta made life tough for the opposition in other ways as well. One vocal parliamentarian was disowned by Golkar in February, and the PPP expelled one of its members in March. PDI officials said that the government was attempting to block the rise of their party, which was led by Sukarno's daughter Megawati Sukarnoputri.

      Amid the electioneering, Indonesia's justice system delivered three rulings that led some civil liberties advocates to suggest that the courts might be asserting their independence. Harmoko said he would appeal one of the lower court's verdicts. In March Harmoko had ordered the arrest of three members of the Alliance of Independent Journalists, a group formed after the 1994 banning of three popular publications. In September the government banned the published memoires of Oei Tjoe Tat, the former assistant to President Sukarno. The list of those forbidden to speak in public included Abdurrahman Wahid (see BIOGRAPHIES (Wahid, Abdurrahman )), leader of the nation's largest Islamic organization.

      The Supreme Court in May exonerated six persons imprisoned for the 1993 killing of labour activist Marsinah. Critics had long viewed the convicts as scapegoats forced to confess to a crime that many blamed on the military. Another prominent labour activist, Muchtar Pakpahan, was released from a four-year jail term in May. Strikes organized in April 1994 by his independent labour group in Medan, Sumatra, had led to rioting in which one person died.

      Dissidents claimed that the military had stepped up its campaign to crush the popular separatist movement in the former Portuguese colony of East Timor. After an army inquiry into the killing of six civilians there in January, two soldiers were court-martialed. The army was also checking claims that troops murdered 17 independence activists in Irian Jaya, an island province in the far eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago.

      Political tension had little effect on economic growth. Boom conditions and strong investment continued to drive the economy, which grew at about 8% in 1995, though inflation rose to nearly 10%. Approved foreign investment for the first five months totaled $33.5 billion, 40% more than was approved in all of 1994. The current account for the first quarter of the year jumped 29% owing to greater imports of services. In May the government reduced tariffs on a range of goods and set a timetable for further reductions. Just a week before independence celebrations, Indonesia's first domestically produced aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight; it was vindication for B.J. Habibie, minister for research and technology, whose high-tech development plans had been criticized as wasteful and misguided. (SUSAN BERFIELD)

▪ 1995

      A republic of Southeast Asia, Indonesia consists of the major islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Celebes (Indonesian: Sulawesi), and Irian Jaya (West New Guinea) and more than 13,000 smaller islands and islets. Area: 1,919,317 sq km (741,052 sq mi). Pop. (1994 est.): 191,340,000. Cap.: Jakarta. Monetary unit: rupiah, with (Oct. 7, 1994) a free rate of 2,173 rupiah to U.S. $1 (3,456 rupiah = £ 1 sterling). President in 1994, Suharto.

      Social tensions and political maneuvering intensified through much of 1994, partly fueled by President Suharto's statement in April that he did not expect to be in charge after his current term expired in 1998. Whereas the military, pro-Suharto technocrats and politicians, and Muslim leaders all sought to strengthen their political positions, labour groups, student activists, civil liberties advocates, and the press became more outspoken and assertive. But growing unrest led to a clampdown later in the year.

      Many in the armed forces were unhappy with Research and Technology Minister B.J. Habibie. (See BIOGRAPHIES (Habibie, B J ).) He had helped promote the children and allies of Suharto, in power since 1967, to top positions in the ruling Golkar organization by displacing former generals. He also spearheaded the purchase and refurbishing of 39 former East German naval vessels—a $900 million undertaking that the military resented as a costly encroachment on its prerogative. Leading generals, moreover, criticized the government's handling of labour unrest and emphasized the need for army involvement in running the country. Disaffected segments of the military helped Megawati Sukarnoputri—a daughter of Sukarno, the country's late founding father—become head of the fast-rising opposition Indonesian Democratic Party.

      Muslims grumbled more loudly about their plight and the privileges enjoyed by rich ethnic Chinese and Christians. Their leaders also pressed for a greater say in matters affecting the nation's 164 million Muslims. In December 1993 a trial focused attention on unionist Marsinah, who had been murdered while campaigning for higher wages. In March the press reported a scandal involving defaulted government loans of $430 million to ethnic Chinese tycoon Eddy Tansil; he had been recommended to bank officials by a top minister. The following month workers rioted in Medan, Sumatra. In July a Muslim-backed newspaper criticized loans to Chinese businessman Sofyan Wanandi. After the U.S. told Indonesia early in the year to improve workers' treatment or lose trade preferences, the situation improved. The World Bank deplored Indonesia's monopolies and imprudent lending even as Finance Minister Mar'ie Muhammad disclosed that over one-fifth of state-bank loans might never be repaid. In July a factory owner and five of his staff were convicted in the Marsinah case. In August Tansil was given a 17-year jail term and fined $230 million for defaulting on improperly obtained government bank loans.

      Many Indonesians, however, felt that key people were spared in both trials. In June the government closed the tabloid DeTik (circulation 450,000) and the weeklies Tempo (200,000) and Editor (87,000). In August officials cautioned other publications to avoid sensitive subjects, and the government imposed tighter controls on such human rights groups as the Legal Aid Foundation. It also charged an independent union leader, Muchtar Pakpahan, with complicity in the Medan riots. Protests staged by artists and other intellectuals were not reported in the press. Even the military felt its clout diminished as capable officers were transferred to remote areas. To most observers President Suharto, who skipped the Cairo population conference owing to illness, had tightened the reins on political liberalization because it appeared to be fostering antigovernment sentiments.

      Contentious politics did little to stanch economic growth, estimated at a robust 7%, even though export growth slowed to 12% from 31% in 1993. But with petroleum revenues and bank lending held back, the government had to promote foreign investment, down 20% to $8 billion in 1993. It had estimated capital needs, mainly for infrastructure, at $63 billion a year until 2000, twice the 1993 total. In midyear a presidential directive allowed 100% foreign ownership of local ventures and opened up the transport, communications, power, and media sectors. Approved foreign investments from January to September hit nearly $20 billion—almost double the 1992 record—with domestic outlays of another $20 billion, up 13.5% compared with all of 1993. But there were fears of rising capital flight spurred by anti-Chinese unrest and political uncertainty. Two events highlighted Indonesian foreign affairs in 1994. The first was a May conference in the Philippines on East Timor, a former Portuguese colony annexed by Indonesia in 1976. Indonesian protests forced Filipino officials to bar foreigners from the conference, but the commotion only generated additional global interest in the event. The second event was the November summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bogor, near Jakarta. Despite domestic riots over East Timor, the summit was favourable to Jakarta, which sought a greater role on the international stage.

      (RICARDO L. SALUDO)

▪ 1994

      A republic of Southeast Asia, Indonesia consists of the major islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Celebes (Indonesian: Sulawesi), and Irian Jaya (West New Guinea) and more than 13,000 smaller islands and islets. Area: 1,919,317 sq km (741,052 sq mi). Pop. (1993 est.): 188,216,000. Cap.: Jakarta. Monetary unit: rupiah, with (Oct. 4, 1993) a free rate of 2,088 rupiah to U.S. $1 (3,163 rupiah = £ 1 sterling). President in 1993, Suharto.

      Months before the 1,000-member People's Consultative Assembly chose the country's two top officials in March, President Suharto was widely expected to seek and win a sixth five-year term. Attention consequently focused on the vice presidency, a pivotal post should Suharto step aside in midterm or not seek another term in 1998. The president was thought to favour retaining Sudharmono, a Muslim who had long served to counterbalance the military's clout. In February, however, the head of the armed forces' faction in the House of People's Representatives (parliament) nominated Try Sutrisno, a popular general who had just retired as commander in chief of the armed forces. Sutrisno was close to Muslim leaders and to Benny Murdani, the defense minister. He was also said to be a person who could be trusted to show concern for Suharto's family in the future and protect their vast financial interests. Following tradition, both men were elected unopposed.

      The sweeping Cabinet reshuffle that followed was partly attributed to the president's misgivings about the way the military had openly backed Sutrisno. Murdani and Home Minister Rudini, another ex-general, were replaced. Gen. Edi Sudradjat, who had replaced Sutrisno as armed forces chief in February, took over the Defense Ministry. When he gave up the more powerful armed forces post in May, there was speculation that the way was possibly being paved for army commander Wismoyo, Suharto's brother-in-law, to become chief of the armed forces. The president's hold on power was also strengthened in October when three-term Information Minister Harmoko, a Suharto ally, was elected the first civilian chairman of Golkar, the country's most powerful political organization. The powerful "superminister" for finance, industry, and the economy; the finance minister; and the central bank governor were also replaced in March. The new economic team was seen as a boost to Research and Technology Minister B.J. Habibie. The German-trained engineer and other technologists favoured more sophisticated, higher-value industries rather than the labour-intensive export enterprises promoted by a group of U.S.-trained technocrats known as the "Berkeley Mafia." Suharto, nonetheless, chose two key advisers who were identified with the technocrats.

      The country's image abroad was a cause for concern because its human rights record had come under attack during a human rights conference in Vienna and was repeatedly criticized by the U.S. In November 1992 government troops had captured Xanana, an alias used by José Alexandre Gusmão, a top rebel in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony. Although Indonesia had seized the territory in 1975, the annexation was still being challenged by the United Nations. In August, Suharto reduced Gusmão's life sentence to 20 years, with the possibility of parole in 2005. Jakarta also eased restrictions on the Petition of 50, a group of prominent critics. In July the president met with one of its key figures, lifted a travel ban on all but 11 of the dissidents, and established a national council on human rights. In August, citing human rights concerns, Washington vetoed Jordan's planned sale of U.S.-made F-5 fighter jets to Indonesia. It also threatened to withdraw certain trade privileges unless the conditions of Indonesian workers improved. Just before a visit of U.S. officials in September, the government reorganized the official labour federation, but it continued to block two independent unions.

      Falling interest rates helped business recover and made the Jakarta Stock Exchange one of the region's biggest gainers. Worries about the financial health of banks, however, persisted following the collapse of medium-sized Bank Summa in December 1992. In June an anonymous report, allegedly leaked by a government office, listed hundreds of millions of dollars in delinquent loans supposedly held by state banks. The report also asserted that certain business groups, some connected to the Suharto family, were major debtors. About the same time, 300 businessmen with large loans were barred from going abroad. According to one report, the head of the state receivership agency concluded that 90% of all bad bank loans—estimated at over $1 billion—were held by government institutions. Policy makers also fretted over a slowdown in foreign investment just when the government was trying to curb external borrowing. Still, the economy managed moderate growth of about 5.5%. (RICARDO L. SALUDO)

* * *

Introduction

Indonesia, flag of   country located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia in the Indian (Indian Ocean) and Pacific (Pacific Ocean) oceans. It is an archipelago that lies across the Equator and spans a distance equivalent to one-eighth of Earth's circumference. Its islands can be grouped into the Greater Sunda Islands of Sumatra (Sumatera), Java (Jawa), the southern extent of Borneo ( Kalimantan), and Celebes (Sulawesi); the Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara) of Bali and a chain of islands that runs eastward through Timor; the Moluccas (Maluku) between Celebes and the island of New Guinea; and the western extent of New Guinea ( Papua; known as Irian Barat from 1969 to 1973, then as Irian Jaya until 2002). The capital, Jakarta, is located near the northwestern coast of Java. In the early 21st century Indonesia was the most populous country in Southeast Asia and the fourth most populous in the world.

      Indonesia was formerly known as the Dutch East Indies (or Netherlands East Indies). Although Indonesia did not become the country's official name until the time of independence, the name was used as early as 1884 by a German geographer; it is thought to derive from the Greek indos, meaning “India,” and nesos, meaning “island.” After a period of occupation by the Japanese (1942–45) during World War II, Indonesia declared its independence from The Netherlands (Netherlands, The) in 1945. Its struggle for independence, however, continued until 1949, when the Dutch officially recognized Indonesian sovereignty. It was not until the United Nations (UN) acknowledged the western segment of New Guinea as part of Indonesia in 1969 that the country took on its present form. The former Portuguese territory of East Timor (Timor-Leste) was incorporated into Indonesia in 1976. Following a UN-organized referendum in 1999, however, East Timor declared its independence and became fully sovereign in 2002.

      The Indonesian archipelago represents one of the most unusual areas in the world: it encompasses a major juncture of the Earth's tectonic plates, spans two faunal realms, and has for millennia served as a nexus of the peoples and cultures of Oceania and mainland Asia. These factors have created a highly diverse environment and society that sometimes seem united only by susceptibility to seismic and volcanic activity, close proximity to the sea, and a moist, tropical climate. Nevertheless, a centralized government and a common language have provided Indonesia with some sense of unity. Furthermore, in keeping with its role as an economic and cultural crossroads, the country is active in numerous international trade and security organizations, such as ASEAN, OPEC, and the UN.

Land

       Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia, with a maximum dimension from east to west of about 3,200 miles (5,100 km) and an extent from north to south of 1,100 miles (1,800 km). It shares a border with Malaysia in the northern part of Borneo and with Papua New Guinea in the centre of New Guinea. Indonesia is composed of some 17,500 islands, of which more than 7,000 are uninhabited. Almost three-fourths of Indonesia's area is embraced by Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua; Celebes, Java, and the Moluccas account for most of the country's remaining area.

Relief

 The major Indonesian islands are characterized by densely forested volcanic mountains in the interior that slope downward to coastal plains covered by thick alluvial swamps that, in turn, dissolve into shallow seas and coral reefs. Beneath this surface the unique and complex physical structure of Indonesia encompasses the junction of three major sections of the Earth's crust and involves a complicated series of shelves, volcanic mountain chains, and deep-sea trenches (deep-sea trench). The island of Borneo and the island arc that includes Sumatra, Java, Bali, and the Lesser Sunda chain sit on the Sunda Shelf, a southward extension of the continental mass of Asia. The shelf is bounded on the south and west by deep-sea trenches, such as the Java Trench (about 24,440 feet [7,450 metres] deep at its lowest point), which form the true continental boundary. New Guinea and its adjacent islands, possibly including the island of Halmahera, sit on the Sahul Shelf, which is a northwestern extension of the Australian continental mass; the shelf is bounded to the northeast by a series of oceanic troughs (oceanic trough) and to the northwest by troughs, a chain of coral reefs (coral reef), and a series of submarine ridges. The third major unit of the Earth's crust in Indonesia is an extension of the belt of mountains that forms Japan and the Philippines; the mountains run southward between Borneo and New Guinea and include a series of volcanoes (volcano) and deep-sea trenches on and around Celebes and the Moluccas.

 The relation between these three landmasses is not clearly understood. The present land-sea formations are somewhat misleading because the seas that lie on the Sunda and Sahul shelves are shallow and of geologically recent origin; they rest on the continental mass rather than on a true ocean floor. The Sunda Shelf in the vicinity of the Java Sea has relatively low relief, contains several coral reefs, and is not volcanic. The mountain system that stretches along the South China and Celebes seas of this shelf and that marks the outer edge of the continental mass of Asia, however, is an area of strong relief and is one of the most active volcanic zones in the world.

 The outer (southern) side of the chain of islands from Sumatra through Java and the Lesser Sundas forms the leading edge of the Southeast Asian landmass. It is characterized by active volcanoes, bounded to the south and west by a series of deep-sea trenches. On the inner (northern) side of the islands the volcanic mountains grade into swamps, lowlands, and the shallow Java Sea. This sheltered sea was formed at the close of the Pleistocene Epoch (about 1,800,000 to 10,000 years ago), and there is evidence of former land bridges, which facilitated the migration of plants and animals from the Asian continent.

Islands of the Sunda Shelf

       Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the main island on the Sunda Shelf. Mount Kinabalu (Kinabalu, Mount), the highest peak in the Southeast Asian archipelago, is not actually in Indonesia. It rises to 13,455 feet (4,101 metres) in the northeastern corner of the island, in the Malaysian state of Sabah. Otherwise, the island's relief seldom exceeds an elevation of 5,600 feet (1,700 metres), and most of the island lies below 1,000 feet (300 metres). Structural trends are not as well-defined as on adjacent islands, although a broad mountain system (which includes Mount Kinabalu) runs roughly from northeast to southwest. Kalimantan, which constitutes about three-fourths of the island, consists mostly of undulating lowlands, with alluvial swamps near the coast and forest-covered mountains in the deep interior.

      The Riau Islands lie to the east of Sumatra, near the southern outlet of the Strait of Malacca (Malacca, Strait of). They have a granite core and can be considered a physical extension of the Malay Peninsula. With the exception of some highlands in the western and southern regions, the Riau Islands generally consist of low-lying swampy terrain.

       Sumatra spans the Equator, stretching from northwest to southeast for more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km), with a maximum width (including offshore islands) of some 325 miles (525 km). It is flanked on its outer (western) edge by a string of nonvolcanic islands, including Simeulue (Simeulue Island), Nias, and the Mentawai (Mentawai Islands) group, none of which is densely populated. The Sumatran mainland divides into four main physical regions: the narrow coastal plain along the west; the Barisan Mountains, which extend the length of the island close to its western edge and include a number of active volcanoes; an inner nonvolcanic zone of low hills grading down toward the stable platform of the Asian mainland; and the broad alluvial lowland, lying no more than 100 feet (30 metres) above sea level, that constitutes the eastern half of the island. Much of the eastern lowland is a swampy forest that is difficult to penetrate.

  Java is some 660 miles (1,060 km) long and has a maximum width of about 125 miles (200 km). Its physical divisions are not as distinct as those of Sumatra, because the continental shelf drops sharply to the Indian Ocean in the southern part of the island. Java can be divided into five latitudinal physiographic regions. The first region, a series of limestone platforms, extends along the southern coast; in some areas the platforms form an eroded karst region (i.e., marked by sinks interspersed with abrupt ridges, irregular rocks, caverns, and underground streams) that makes travel and habitation difficult. A mountain belt just to the north, in the western segment of the island, forms the second region; it is partially composed of sediments derived from eroded volcanoes and includes a number of heavily cultivated alluvial basins, especially around the cities of Bandung and Garut. The belt of volcanoes that runs through the centre of the island constitutes the third region; it contains some 50 active cones and nearly 20 volcanoes that have erupted since the turn of the 20th century. A northern alluvial belt, the fourth region, spreads across the Sunda Shelf toward the sea and is extended by delta formations, particularly during volcanic activity. There are deep inland extensions of this alluvial region, which in central Java cut through to the southern coast. Finally, there is a second limestone platform area along the northern coast of Madura (an island off the northeastern coast of Java) and the adjacent section of eastern Java.

      The many islands of the Lesser Sundas to the east of Java are much smaller, less densely populated, and less developed than Java. The physiography of Bali and Lombok is similar to that of eastern Java. The Lesser Sunda Islands continue through Sumbawa and Flores (Flores Island), narrowing progressively until they appear on a map as a spine of volcanic islands that loops northeast into the Banda Islands. The same volcanic system reappears in northern Celebes. Sumba and Timor form an outer (southern) fringe of nonvolcanic islands that resembles the chain off the western edge of the Sunda Shelf near Sumatra.

Islands of the Sahul Shelf

      The islands of the Sahul Shelf appear to have a physiographic structure similar to those of the Sunda Shelf. They include the northern Moluccas and New Guinea. The western portion of New Guinea consists of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua (Papua Barat), which together account for more than one-fifth of the total area of Indonesia but are home to only a tiny percentage of the country's population. The two provinces cover a remote region with a spectacular and varied landscape. mangrove swamps seal much of the southern and western coastline, while the Maoke Mountains—including Jaya Peak, which at 16,024 feet (4,884 metres) is the highest point in Indonesia—form a natural barrier across the central area. There is a narrow coastal plain in the north. Much of the region is heavily forested.

Celebes and the Moluccas

      Celebes shows some evidence of being squeezed between the conflicting forces of the more stable surrounding masses of the Sunda and Sahul shelves. Its complex shape somewhat resembles a capital K, with an extremely long peninsula running northeast from its north-south backbone. There are, therefore, three large gulfs: Tomini (or Gorontalo) to the north, Tolo to the east, and Bone to the south. The coastline is long in relation to the size of the island. The land consists of ranges of mountains cut by deep rift valleys, many of which contain lakes. The island is fringed by coral reefs and is bordered by oceanic troughs in the south. Its northeastern arm, the Minahasa Peninsula, is volcanic and structurally different from the rest of the island, which is composed of a complex of igneous and metamorphic rocks.

      The Moluccas consist of a group of roughly 1,000 islands with a combined area that is about two-thirds the size of Java. Halmahera Island is the largest of the group, followed by Ceram and Buru. The Moluccas lie in the same geologically unstable zone as Celebes, although the northern islands are associated more with the Sahul Shelf. Halmahera Island, in the north, is volcanic, as are the islands of the Banda Sea, which are frequently rocked by earthquakes. Most of the northern and central Moluccas have dense vegetation and rugged mountainous interiors where elevations often exceed 3,000 feet (900 metres). Once commonly known as the “Spice Islands,” the Moluccas—especially Ternate (Ternate Island), Tidore (Tidore Island), Ambon, and Banda Besar—were a source of cloves, nutmeg, and mace, particularly during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Volcanoes (volcano)

 There are over 100 active volcanoes in Indonesia and hundreds more that are considered extinct. They run in a crescent-shaped line along the outer margin of the country, through Sumatra and Java as far as Flores, then north through the Banda Sea to a junction with the volcanoes of northern Celebes. Volcanic eruptions are by no means uncommon. Mount Merapi (Merapi, Mount), which rises to 9,551 feet (2,911 metres) near Yogyakarta (Jogjakarta) in central Java, erupts frequently—often causing extensive destruction to roads, fields, and villages but always greatly benefiting the soil. Mount Kelud (5,679 feet [1,731 metres]), near Kediri in eastern Java, can be particularly devastating, because the water in its large crater lake is thrown out during eruption, causing great mudflows that rush down into the plains and sweep away all that is before them.

  Perhaps the best-known volcano is Krakatoa (Krakatau), situated in the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java, which erupted disastrously in 1883. All life on the surrounding island group was destroyed. The eruptions caused tidal waves throughout Southeast Asia, killing tens of thousands of people, and ash clouds that circled the Earth decreased solar radiation and produced spectacular sunsets for more than a year. Another major incident occurred in 1963, when Mount Agung (Agung, Mount) on Bali erupted violently after having been dormant for more than 140 years.

Drainage

 Because of its insularity, Indonesia has no large rivers comparable to those on the Asian mainland. Indonesian rivers generally are relatively short and flow from interior mountains to the sea. The Kapuas (Kapuas River) (710 miles [1,140 km] long), Barito (560 miles [900 km]), and Mahakam (Mahakam River) (480 miles [770 km]) rivers of Kalimantan are among the longest, but shifting sandbars across their mouths reduce their importance for large-vessel transportation. Papua, most of which receives heavy rainfall, is drained by a number of large rivers, including the Baliem, the Mamberamo (Mamberamo River), and the Digul (Digul River).

      There are a number of notable lakes on Sumatra, the most famous of which is Lake Toba (Toba, Lake), which lies in the north at an elevation of about 3,000 feet (900 metres) above sea level and covers some 440 square miles (1,140 square km). Celebes also has several large, deep lakes, including Lakes Towuti and Matama in the southern part of the island and Lake Poso in the centre.

      The seas surrounding Indonesia must also be viewed as important hydrologic features that serve both as channels of communication and as barriers protecting distinctive cultural and environmental features of the islands. The shallow seas between many of the islands are a significant source of offshore petroleum, natural gas, minerals, and food.

Soils

      Indonesia illustrates the relation between climate and source rock in the formation of soils. The rocks on Java are primarily andesitic volcanics (dark gray rocks consisting essentially of the minerals oligoclase or feldspar), while rhyolites (the acidic lava form of granite) are dominant on Sumatra, granites on the Riau Islands, granites and sediments in Kalimantan, and sediments in Papua. The resulting soils in humid regions are mainly lateritic (containing iron oxides and aluminum hydroxide) and of varying fertility depending on the source rock; they include heavy black or gray-black margalite soils and limestone soils. Black soils occur in regions with a distinct dry season.

      Among the most fertile soils are the ando soils, which developed on the andesitic volcanic sediments of the northeastern coast of Sumatra. Highly fertile soils, also derived from or enriched by basic andesitic volcanic material, occur on Java and Celebes as well. Valuable volcanic ash is transported by wind and deposited as a layer of homogeneous, fresh inorganic material over wide areas; it is also carried as suspended material in streams and irrigation channels. Minerals that are leached from the soil are replaced by alluvial deposition from rivers, as in some parts of Kalimantan, or by deposition in impounded water or rice terraces.

      In general, the perpetual high temperatures and heavy precipitation throughout much of Indonesia have caused rapid erosion and deep chemical weathering and leaching, which usually produce impoverished soil. In areas covered with tropical rainforests, such as Kalimantan, the soils are protected by the forest cycle; as plants die, they decompose rapidly, releasing nutrients that are reabsorbed by new vegetation growth. Although such soils support a luxuriant growth, they cannot support a large agricultural population, because clearing the forest breaks the cycle and can lead to accelerated soil deterioration.

Climate

      The climate of Indonesia is determined partly by its island structure and its position astride the Equator, which assure high, even temperatures. In addition, its location between the two landmasses of Asia and Australia exposes it to seasonal patterns of precipitation brought by monsoon winds.

      Regional temperature variation is a function of elevation rather than latitude. Temperatures are highest along the coast, where mean annual readings range from the mid-70s to the upper 80s °F (low 20s to low 30s °C). Regions above 2,000 feet (600 metres) are significantly cooler, but only the Maoke Mountains of Papua are high enough to receive snow. The diurnal difference of temperature in Jakarta is at least five times as great as the difference between the high and low temperatures of January and July; on an exceptionally hot day in Jakarta the temperature may reach nearly 100 °F (38 °C), while on an especially cool one it may drop to about 65 °F (18 °C).

      Precipitation is more varied in extremes and distribution. Most of Indonesia receives heavy rainfall throughout the year, the greatest amounts occurring from December to March. From central Java eastward toward Australia, however, the dry season (June to October) is progressively more pronounced; the islands of Timor and Sumba receive little rain during these months. The highest amount of precipitation occurs in the mountainous regions of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Celebes, and Papua, where more than 120 inches (3,000 mm) falls annually. The rest of Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Papua, western and central Java, and much of Celebes and the Moluccas average at least 80 inches (2,000 mm) of rainfall per year. Eastern Java, Bali, southern and central Celebes, and Timor generally receive between 60 and 80 inches (1,500 and 2,000 mm), while the Lesser Sunda Islands that are closest to Australia get only 40 to 60 inches (1,000 to 1,500 mm).

      The absolute daily maximum of precipitation can be extremely high, with a number of stations recording between 20 and 28 inches (500 and 700 mm). Local variations, caused in large part by geographic features, are great. For example, Jakarta, which is near sea level, has a mean annual rainfall of 70 inches (1,750 mm), while just 30 miles (50 km) to the south, at an elevation of about 790 feet (240 metres), Bogor records nearly 170 inches (4,300 mm).

      Seasonal variations are caused by monsoonal (monsoon) Asian air drifts and the convergence of tropical air masses from both north and south of the Equator along an intertropical front of low pressure. The monsoon pattern in any given part of the archipelago depends on location either north or south of the Equator, proximity to Australia or mainland Asia, and the position of the intertropical front. During December, January, and February, the west monsoon from the Asian mainland brings heavy rain to southern Sumatra, Java, and the Lesser Sunda Islands. In June, July, and August, these areas are affected by the east monsoon, which brings dry air from Australia. Only the Lesser Sunda Islands and eastern Java have a well-developed dry season, which increases in length toward Australia. By the time the east monsoon has crossed the Equator—becoming the southwest monsoon of the Northern Hemisphere—its winds have become humid and a source of rain. Sumatra and Kalimantan, which are located close to the Equator and far from Australia, have no dry season, although precipitation tends to be slightly lower during July and August. Strong cyclones and typhoons, which normally occur in higher latitudes, are absent in Indonesia, but afternoon thunderstorms are common.

Plant and animal life

      Indonesia's vegetation is similar to that of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. There are some 40,000 species of flowering plants, including 5,000 species of orchids, as well as the monster flower (Rafflesia arnoldii [see Rafflesiceae (Rafflesiaceae)]), which is the world's largest flower. There are more than 3,000 tree species, including durian, which bears large, armoured, odorous yet edible fruit; sandalwood; Shorea macrophylla, which yields illipe nuts, a fruit that contains a fat substance similar to cocoa butter; and valuable timber varieties such as teak and ironwood. Woody rattan ( supplejack) vines are abundant in Indonesia's forests. Thousands of plant species are exploited for economic purposes, either directly or indirectly.

      The most important vegetation type is the mixed lowland and hill tropical rainforest, which occurs below 5,000 feet (1,500 metres). It is characterized by a large number of species, including high-canopied and buttressed trees and woody, thick-stemmed lianas (climbing plants). Epiphytes (plants that derive nourishment from the air and usually live on another plant) such as orchids and ferns, saprophytes (plants that live on dead or decaying matter), and parasites are well developed. Above 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) this forest gives way to temperate upland forest dominated by oak, laurel, tea, and magnolia species. Another typical feature of Indonesian vegetation is the mangrove forest, characterized by the formation of stilt- or prop-rooted trees, which grow only in salty or brackish water along muddy shores. Mangrove swamps are extensively developed along the shallow seas on eastern Sumatra, southern Kalimantan, and southeastern Papua.

      Indonesia is located in the transitional zone between two of the world's major faunal regions (faunal region): the Oriental of Asia in the west and the Australian of Australia and New Guinea in the east. The boundary of these realms, called Wallace's Line, runs between Borneo and Celebes in the north and Bali and Lombok in the south. To the west, the Asian animal community includes such mammals as rhinoceroses, orangutans, tapirs, tigers, and elephants. Animals related to Australian fauna include birds such as cockatoos, bowerbirds, and birds of paradise, as well as marsupials such as bandicoots (small insectivorous, herbivorous marsupial mammals) and cuscuses (brightly coloured, woolly-haired arboreal marsupials).

      Many of the islands contain endemic species. Among these are such birds as the Javanese peacock and the Sumatran drongo. A certain mountain goat, the Sumatran serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), lives on the rugged slopes of the Barisan Mountains of Sumatra. A unique species of proboscis monkey is endemic to Kalimantan, and the babirusa (a large wild pig) and the tamarau (a small wild ox with nearly straight horns) can be found only in Celebes. A giant lizard—the prehistoric Komodo dragon, which attains a length of 12 feet (3.7 metres)—lives on two small islands, Rinca and Komodo, between Sumbawa and Flores.

 Some of these endemic species have become exceedingly rare. Most of the remaining single-horned Javan rhinoceroses, for example, are now restricted to the Ujung Kulon National Park on the western tip of Java. This nearly extinct species is one of the world's most highly protected forms of wildlife. Another such endangered species is the orangutan, which is native to Borneo and Sumatra. Several orangutan rehabilitation centres and programs have been established in an effort to prevent the capture and slaughter of the animals and to train those that have been held captive to return to the wild.

 Indonesia has an enormous and varied insect life that includes many unusual species. Examples include giant walkingsticks (walkingstick) that can attain 8 inches (20 cm) in length, leaf insects (leaf insect) (walking leaves), huge atlas beetles, elegant luna moths, and beautiful birdwing and swallowtail (swallowtail butterfly) butterflies.

 Thousands of species of fish are found in Indonesia's inland waters, and hundreds of these are endemic to the region. Many freshwater and marine fish are used for food, while many others, such as small gouramis (gourami), barbs (barb), and anemone fish (clown fish), are bred as ornamental aquarium fish. The unusual flying gurnard, with its oversized pectoral fins, is common off the coasts of Sulawesi.

People

       Indonesia is situated at the meeting point of two of the world's population groups, Asians in the west and Melanesians in the east. The great majority of Indonesians are related to the peoples of eastern Asia, although over the centuries there also has been considerable mixing with Arabs, Indians, and Europeans. In the eastern islands, however, most of the people are of Melanesian origin.

      The Indonesian national motto, “Bhinneka tunggal ika” (“Unity in diversity”), makes reference to the extraordinary diversity of the Indonesian population that has emerged from the ongoing confluence of peoples, languages, and cultures. The country includes more than 300 different ethnic groups and more than twice as many distinct languages, and most of the major world religions, as well as a wide range of indigenous ones, are practiced there. Notwithstanding this diversity, most of the people are of Malay ancestry, speak Austronesian (Austronesian languages) (Malayo-Polynesian) languages, and profess Islam.

Ethnic groups

      The barriers of the mountains and the sea have protected the character and traditions of many groups. Away from the major cities and areas of dense population, there are significant variations from one valley to the next and almost from one village to the next. In many cases the highland groups of the larger islands—Borneo, Sumatra, and Celebes—were relatively untouched by international influences until the arrival of Christian missionaries during the 19th century; these upland peoples continue to reflect great cultural diversity. Each island or group of islands east of Java also has maintained its own distinct character, in many cases strongly influenced by different religions. In particular, Bali—with its long tradition of Hindu and Buddhist influences rooted in local religious practices—is quite different in character and customs from any other part of Indonesia.

Western islands

      The diverse ethnic populations of western Indonesia generally may be grouped into three broad categories. These are the inland wet-rice (irrigated rice) societies, the coastal trading, farming, and fishing peoples, and the inland societies of shifting cultivators.

      The first group, the historically Hinduized (but now primarily Muslim) wet-rice growers of inland Java, Madura, and Bali, make up nearly three-fifths of the national population. With an ancient culture informed by strong social and agricultural traditions, it includes the Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, and Balinese peoples.

      The Javanese constitute Indonesia's largest ethnic group, accounting for roughly one-third of the total population. Most Javanese live in the densely settled, irrigated agricultural regions of central and eastern Java—the most populous parts of the country. The cities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Solo), in the centre of the island, are strongholds of Javanese culture and maintain traditional rulers, although these leaders have no real political power. Java's western region, including the city of Bandung, is the homeland of the Sundanese, who are related to but quite distinct from the Javanese in language and tradition. The Sundanese are the second largest ethnic group in Indonesia.

 The island of Madura, northeast of Java, is the homeland of the Madurese, Indonesia's third largest ethnic group. In addition to cultivating wet-rice paddies, many Madurese raise cattle. The Balinese, who live just to the east of Java on Bali, are known for their intricate irrigation systems and terraced rice fields. Of the historically Hinduized communities in Indonesia, the Balinese are the only nonimmigrant practitioners of Hinduism.

      The second group, the more strongly Islamized coastal peoples, is ethnically heterogeneous and includes the Malays from Sumatra and, from southern Celebes, the Makassarese and Buginese. The Sumatran Malays inhabit Aceh, a strongly Muslim region at the extreme northern tip of Sumatra that has long been noted for its resistance to European influence; a rich plantation area to the south of Aceh, along Sumatra's northern coast; and Bangka and Belitung (Billiton), two primarily agricultural islands off the southeastern coast of Sumatra. The Makassarese and Buginese live primarily in the coastal regions of southern Celebes. Like most Indonesian peoples, they are rice farmers; however, they are also maritime peoples with a strong tradition of boat making. The Makassarese and Buginese have a pronounced presence in coastal towns throughout Indonesia, although their influence has been strongest outside Java.

 The third group, the inland shifting cultivators (slash-and-burn agriculture), plant swiddens—fields that are cleared, cultivated for a few seasons, and then abandoned for several years to allow the soil to regenerate—in areas where the climate will not support wet-rice farming. These communities tend to be small and relatively isolated, and they represent a wide array of cultures. The most prominent of the swiddeners are the Toraja of southern Celebes, the Batak of the highlands of northern Sumatra, and the various communities of the interior of Kalimantan, such as the Kenyah, Kayan, Ngaju, and Embaloh, who officially (and collectively) are called Dayak.

      There are two major ethnic groups in the western islands of Indonesia that do not fit into this broad scheme of cultural categorization. The Minangkabau, a community of devout Muslim wet-rice farmers in west-central Sumatra, hold a unique position in Indonesia as a matrilineal society, whereby inheritance and descent are reckoned through the female line. The Menadonese (Minahasan) of northern Celebes are also atypical in that they are a historically Hinduized, predominantly Christian coastal community.

Eastern islands

      Eastern Indonesia is characterized by the traditional Melanesian (Melanesian culture) cultural division between coastal, or “beach,” peoples and interior, or “bush,” peoples. The Moluccas reflect this pattern, although their proximity to the western islands makes them a more complex ethnographic and linguistic area. The islands are populated by a number of distinct ethnic groups. Typical of the coastal peoples are the Ambonese, who live along the coasts of Ambon and neighbouring islands, including western Ceram. Some of the people living in the mountainous interior regions have been relocated to coastal areas, but—unlike the coastal peoples—they do not usually engage in fishing activities.

      The distinction between coastal and interior peoples is especially salient in Papua, where maritime trading communities live along the coast, while agrarian, noncommercial societies, with strongly developed and highly localized customs, inhabit the interior. Those in the foothills and on the coast have affinities with other Melanesian cultures (Melanesian culture) to the east and south of New Guinea. In addition, Indonesians from the western islands have mixed with indigenous peoples in the coastal trading settlements. The people of the interior, such as the Asmat and the Dani, on the other hand, remained isolated for a longer period of time. Some groups continue to live in remote areas, where interaction with peoples and cultures beyond their proximate surroundings is limited. Most Papuans of the interior regions live in small communities and maintain a complex of dialects, customs, and social structures that is distinct from that of the coastal peoples.

Chinese and other Indonesian peoples

      The Chinese account for a small but significant portion of the total population and are regarded as an anchor of the country's economy. Most of the Chinese have lived in Indonesia for generations. The majority of them are of mixed (peranakan) heritage, do not speak Chinese, have Indonesian surnames, and through intermarrying with Indonesians have developed distinct dialects and customs. A smaller community considered to be of totally (totok) Chinese descent is clearly Chinese-oriented in terms of language, religion, and custom. Of the total Chinese population, most live in the towns and cities of Java and Sumatra, where they engage in trade. The Chinese also form a significant fraction of the population in western Kalimantan, where many are farmers, fishermen, and urban workers. In the Riau Islands, many continue a tradition of mining that has spanned generations.

      Most of the former Dutch and Eurasian (locally known as Indo) residents left Indonesia after independence. Today, Indians and Europeans are relatively unimportant in numbers, although their influence in business and other areas of Indonesian society is apparent in the major cities.

      Until the early 21st century the Indonesian population was administratively divided into “indigenous” (pribumi) and “nonindigenous” (non-pribumi) peoples. The concept of such a separation had its origin in the Dutch colonial administration's categorization of the population on the basis of ancestry. Especially under the Suharto presidency, the term non-pribumi served primarily to mark those Indonesians who were of Chinese (or part Chinese) descent, regardless of the length of time they and their families had resided on Indonesian soil. The “nonindigenous” label ultimately blocked certain Indonesians from the highest government, military, and academic positions; it also posed obstacles to their obtaining passports and identity cards. In July 2006, however, landmark legislation eliminated the pribumi–non-pribumi distinction. Anyone who was born an Indonesian citizen and had never held citizenship in another country was simply—and officially—Indonesian.

Languages

      Most of the several hundred languages (Indonesian languages) spoken in Indonesia have an Austronesian base. The major exceptions are found in Papua and some of the Moluccas, where different Papuan languages are used. The Austronesian language (Austronesian languages) family is broken into several major groups within which languages are closely related though distinctly different. On Java there are three major languages—Javanese, Sundanese, and Madurese—while on Sumatra there are dozens, many of which are divided into distinct dialects. Within the Toraja group, a relatively small population in the interior of Celebes, several languages are spoken. In eastern Indonesia each island has its own language, which is often not understood on the neighbouring islands. Similarly, languages often differ from one village to the next in the interior of Kalimantan.

      Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the national language. It evolved from a literary style of Malay language that was used in the royal houses of the Riau- Jambi area of eastern Sumatra, but it also has much in common with other Malay dialects that have long served as regional lingua francas. The differences between standard Malay and standard Indonesian reside largely in their idioms and in certain items of vocabulary. In 1972 Indonesia and Malaysia agreed on a uniform revised spelling of the language so that communications could be improved and literature more freely exchanged between the two countries.

      Because it has no distinctive expressions based on social hierarchy and is not associated with one of the dominant ethnic groups, the Indonesian language has been accepted without serious question and has served as a strong force of national unification. Since the early 20th century it has been the main language of print in different parts of the country; it also served as the medium of political communication among members of the nationalist movement leading up to the revolution and declaration of independence in 1945. Writers of ethnic Chinese and Sumatran origins produced novels, plays, and poetry in the language, from which a modern Indonesian literature was born. Today the Indonesian language is the mother tongue for some city dwellers and a second language for most Indonesians. It is the medium of instruction in universities, and it is used in scientific, philosophical, and legal writings and debates. Radio stations, television channels, and films employ it (they rarely use local languages), and most popular songs with a national audience are written in the Indonesian language as well. (There are, however, locally popular groups that write and perform songs in regional languages and dialects.)

Religions

 Some three-fourths of the Indonesian population professes Islam (Islāmic world). There are, however, pockets of Christians (Christianity), who make up about one-eighth of the population, scattered throughout the country, particularly in Flores, Timor, northern Celebes, the interior of Kalimantan, and the Moluccas. Most are Protestant or independent Christian, and the remainder are mainly Roman Catholic. Many Chinese in the cities are also Christian, but some follow Buddhism or Confucianism, sometimes blended with Christianity. Hindus account for less than 5 percent of all Indonesians, although Hinduism is the dominant religion on Bali and has many adherents in Lombok. Local religions are practiced in some remote areas.

      The major religions of Indonesia were all introduced on the coast and, except in such open areas as Java and southern Sumatra (which were free of natural impediments), penetrated slowly inland. Regions such as central Kalimantan and Papua, the mountains of northern Sumatra, and the interiors of other mountainous islands long remained virtually untouched by outside religions. However, much 20th-century Christian missionary activity has focused on these inland-dwelling peoples.

 The earliest recorded Indonesian history shows extensive religious influences from India; the early Indonesian states that centred on Java or Sumatra evolved through many forms of Hinduism and Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. During the 9th century CE, both Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced as court religions; Shiva and Buddha were looked upon as manifestations of the same spiritual being. The blending of the two religions continued until the 14th century, when Islam, brought by Muslim traders primarily from South Asia, emerged as the dominant religion along the coasts of Java and Sumatra. By the 15th century, Islam had gained a firm footing in coastal areas of other islands of the archipelago as well.

      Throughout all the religious changes on the court level, the common people adopted part of each new religion as an additional layer on top of their traditional local beliefs. Consequently, Islam is expressed differently in Indonesia than it is in the Middle East. The religion is most strictly practiced in Aceh, western Sumatra, western Java, southeastern Kalimantan, and some of the Lesser Sunda Islands. On Java, Muslims who follow orthodox practices are referred to as the santri. By contrast, the abangan adhere to a more syncretic tradition, strongly influenced by ancestral beliefs and practices. With the growth of a more religion-conscious middle class, especially since the late 20th century, the abangan way of believing has been in retreat, while more-orthodox Muslim practices have been on the rise. However, the many local rituals connected with birth, death, and marriage are carefully observed by people at all levels, and ceremonies (selamatan) are held on all special occasions.

Settlement patterns

Rural settlement

 Indonesia is largely a rural country, with more than half of the population living in agricultural areas. Because volcanoes play a major role in soil development and enrichment, there is a strong relationship between agricultural development, density of population, and location of volcanoes. The greatest concentration of active volcanoes is on Java, and the greatest population densities occur in areas such as those to the south and east of Mount Merapi, where the soil is enriched by volcanic ash and debris. The same pattern occurs on Bali and in northern Sumatra, where the rich soils are directly related to flows from volcanic eruptions. The islands of Java, Madura, and Bali have a highly systematized rural structure that is based largely on wet-rice cultivation. Other areas of high rural population are found in parts of Sumatra and Celebes. Most of the rest of the country is sparsely settled by small communities that engage in subsistence agriculture.

 On Java the most common settlement is the rural village, with its rice paddies that spread across the flatland and in many places rise up the hillsides in terraces. Scattered throughout the countryside are clusters of coconut, palm, and fruit trees, which indicate the location of villages. In the heavily populated areas of central and eastern Java, there are thousands of such settlements, some of which have sizable populations.

      The people of each village form a group that is homogeneous both in economic conditions and in social interest and outlook. In many cases, particularly in irrigated areas, there is much mutual exchange of labour. Overpopulation in the densely populated areas has led to a decrease in size of the average farm and to an increase in the numbers of landless rural inhabitants, who work mainly as farm labourers, sharecroppers, or temporary workers in the cities.

      Each Javanese village has a stream or a well as its source of water, a mosque and an elementary school, and a network of swept-earth paths. There is little formal commercial activity; goods are obtained from peddlers and small shops (warung) or from the market towns, which often are also local government centres. Houses are well separated and are normally of frame and bamboo with roofs of red tile or coconut fibres; houses constructed of locally made bricks are increasingly common, especially among the wealthier families. Goats, chickens, banana and papaya trees, and a host of small children are characteristic of village life.

 Rural structure varies considerably from region to region. Some Dayak settlements in Kalimantan, for instance, have maintained traditional multiunit longhouses, often alongside the newer single-family homes—the construction of which has been strongly encouraged by the government. Balinese villages are clusters of walled family complexes with Hindu shrines, public buildings, and larger temples. The Batak villages around Lake Toba in northern Sumatra, the Minangkabau villages in western Sumatra, and the Toraja villages in southern Celebes all have their characteristic structures and building styles as well.

 Like settlement structure, rural social patterns vary considerably across the Indonesian archipelago. On Java there are few organized groupings above the level of the household, while villages on neighbouring Bali have an array of groups related to working, dancing, and other functions, many of which are associated with Hindu festivals. Many Dayak communities use a system of reciprocal labour to work the rice fields during particularly labour-intensive phases of the agricultural cycle (e.g., clearing, planting, and harvesting).

 The rural mode of life is controlled by the growing season and by the productivity of the land. Farming practices range from the shifting agriculture of many inland groups through small-scale farming (of sago, cassava, rice, and other crops) to the mechanized agriculture of large plantations. In some cases these activities are combined with some form of cottage industry. Most rural Indonesians are small-scale farmers who operate at or near the subsistence level and sell some produce but usually do not accumulate substantial capital. In general, the villages are small, independent, and largely self-sufficient.

Urban settlement

 The overall level of urbanization in Indonesia is low in relation to other countries that are at a comparable stage of economic growth. This can be explained in part by the phenomenon of nonpermanent, or “circular,” migration on Java and elsewhere: individuals from rural families live and work in the cities, but they return to their homes at least once every six months. Nevertheless, although there is some regional variation in urban growth rates, cities of every population size are, for the most part, growing rapidly.

      With the exception of most of the largest urban areas (e.g., Jakarta, Surabaya, and Medan), few of Indonesia's cities have the heterogeneity of a true urban centre. Instead, they are the economic, governmental, cultural, and social centres for highly populated and distinct regions. The growth of the cities has not been accompanied by a parallel growth of industry, and the outlook of much of the urban population is still rural. Large parts of the population, even in Jakarta, live in settlements that amount to urban kampongs (villages), maintaining rural customs. Urban dwellers generally have a higher standard of living than their rural counterparts, but the availability of adequate housing, potable water, and public transportation services has remained a critical concern.

      Four of Indonesia's five largest cities—Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Bekasi—are on Java; the other, Medan, is located on Sumatra. These five cities may be considered metropolitan areas rather than large provincial towns, since they contain the major government, financial, and business offices. Other large cities, such as Semarang, Padang, Palembang, and Makassar (Ujungpandang), are centres of provincial government and of local trade and, with the exception of Semarang, have relatively limited international ties.

 The cities have individual characters. Jakarta, as the country's capital, largest city, and centre of finance, has well-maintained and historic buildings, broad avenues and large fountains, and an increasing number of high-rise hotels and office buildings. Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city—roughly one-fourth the size of Jakarta's urban centre—is a major port and industrial hub. Bandung, a former resort area and military centre, has much light industry, mostly related to garment production. Bekasi is a rapidly growing city in the greater Jakarta urban agglomeration. Semarang is the administrative capital and commercial core of central Java. Yogyakarta, which was the capital of the revolutionary government between 1946 and 1949, is the seat of the ruling family of the sultan of Yogyakarta. It also is the site of a major university, Gadjah Mada, and of schools of art, traditional dance, and music, and it is the centre of the batik cloth industry. In Sumatra, Medan and its port of Belawan constitute the commercial nexus for the rich northern agricultural districts, and Palembang, Sumatra's second largest city, is a major port for the petroleum industry and for a variety of other industries in the south.

      The ethnic composition of Indonesia's largest cities is highly diverse and reflects the heavy flow of migration from rural areas. Jakarta shows the greatest diversity; while many people may have been born or raised there, they often continue to refer to themselves in terms of their regional heritage—such as Batak, Javanese, or Minangkabau—and it is not uncommon for them to use their local languages at home. These ethnic ties often are strengthened by trips to home villages during times of harvest or during the Muslim month of Ramadan (a period of fasting and atonement).

      Indonesia's urban areas also display great social and economic diversity, which underlies a social hierarchy. The upper class consists of government officials, military officers, and business leaders with a Western orientation; the growing middle class includes civil servants, teachers, and other professionals, as well as skilled workers who typically must struggle to maintain their economic position; and the lower class comprises a larger number of minimally educated and unskilled labourers, traders, and other members of the informal economy who strongly identify with their villages and frequently move back and forth to engage in economic pursuits in both areas. This three-tiered hierarchy also conforms closely to an economic structure that is based on various government opportunities and on formal and informal business activities.

      A transient foreign element of diplomats and company representatives plays a minor role in city structure. There are people born of immigrant families—mainly of Chinese, Indian, or Arab origin—who are more fully integrated, but each group maintains its own social network and patterns of life. Nonetheless, Indonesia is gradually becoming a cosmopolitan society. This is most conspicuous in Jakarta and those parts of Bali that have been fully absorbed into an international socioeconomic matrix. Association with international culture generally implies a degree of wealth and consequently is largely confined to the families of officials, professionals, and prominent businessmen.

James F. McDivitt Thomas R. Leinbach Goenawan Susatyo Mohamad

Demographic trends

      The distribution and density of the population in Indonesia vary considerably from region to region; the bulk of the population lives on the western islands of Java, Bali, and Madura. Overall, the population nearly doubled between the mid-20th and the early 21st century, with a moderately high rate of growth. There have been, however, significant regional contrasts in this rate. In Java, for example, population growth has been significantly less than in the outer islands. A sharp decline in fertility rates also has been evident throughout Indonesia, attributable largely to an increase in the age when people marry and the widespread availability of birth control products. Lower fertility has been especially conspicuous in central Java. Mortality rates have declined substantially since the mid-20th century, largely because of improved health care, better dietary and nutrition practices, and improvements in housing and water quality. The rates of infant and child mortality also have dropped.

      At the beginning of the 21st century, Indonesia's age structure was becoming more evenly distributed. More than one-third of Indonesia's population was under age 15 in 1990, but the proportion has been decreasing steadily since that time. Conversely, the older component of the population has been increasing, but the average life expectancy and the proportion of those age 65 or older have remained lower than in wealthier countries in Southeast Asia.

      Two major migration (human migration) patterns have become prominent in Indonesia. The first involves the growing flow of rural people into urban areas, particularly Jakarta, which has resulted in an overall increase in the proportion of the population living in cities. Temporary, or “circular,” migration between rural and urban areas in connection with employment also has become common. The second pattern is that of people leaving Java for the outer islands. The central government facilitated much of this movement (called transmigration), especially in the last quarter of the 20th century, by sponsoring a program of resettling landless Javanese in sparsely populated areas, such as Kalimantan. The program was terminated in 2000 because of political and administrative constraints.

Economy

 Indonesia has played a modest role in the world economy since the mid-20th century, and its importance has been considerably less than its size, resources, and geographic position would seem to warrant. The country is a major exporter of crude petroleum and natural gas. In addition, Indonesia is one of the world's main suppliers of rubber, coffee, cocoa, and palm oil; it also produces a wide range of other commodities, such as sugar, tea, tobacco, copra, and spices (e.g., cloves). Nearly all commodity production comes from large estates. Widespread exploration for deposits of oil and other minerals has resulted in a number of large-scale projects that have contributed substantially to general development funds.

      Although Indonesia has remained a major importer of manufactured goods, high technology, and technical skills since the early 1970s, the country's economic base has shifted from the primary sector to secondary and tertiary industries—manufacturing, trade, and services. Manufacturing surpassed agriculture in terms of contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) in the early 1990s and has continued to be the largest single component of the country's economy. A significant portion of the national budget has continued to be allocated to agriculture, however; consequently, the country has remained self-sufficient in rice production since the mid-1980s.

      During the early years of Indonesia's independence, economic mismanagement and the subordination of development to political ideals under the “Guided Economy” policy of the country's first president, Sukarno (1949–66), led to financial chaos and to a serious deterioration in the capital stock. With a major change of economic direction after Suharto assumed power in the mid-1960s, some measure of stability was regained, and the conditions for an orderly policy of rehabilitation and economic development were established.

      From 1969 to 1998 a series of five-year plans emphasized the government's role in developing the economic infrastructure of the country, notably in agriculture, irrigation, transportation, and communications. Thus, the government, together with foreign aid, has been a major force in propelling development in areas where private enterprise has not been immediately forthcoming; the state-owned oil company Pertamina was a product of these government initiatives. In the late 20th century, the emphasis in the public sector tended increasingly toward independent, self-financing state enterprises.

      Substantial expansion of the private sector has been evident since the mid-1990s. Prior to that time, growth generally had been confined to a rather small group of conglomerates, most benefiting from the government's favour. Small business was slower to develop. The deregulation of the capital market in the early 1980s triggered spectacular growth in the stock exchange, but despite the increase in domestic investment, direct participation in the stock market remained limited to a very small group of investors.

      Foreign direct investment spiked in the 1990s but rapidly receded in the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis sparked by the collapse of the Thai baht in 1997. The government subsequently inaugurated a four-year national development plan that helped return the economy to its precrisis strength. By 2003 the country was stable enough to allow the expiration of an economic reform program that had been sponsored by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A new development strategy involving liberalization in some areas and limitation of foreign ownership in others has aimed to establish Indonesia as a fully self-sufficient (swasembada) country in the 21st century.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

 The consistent monsoon climate and almost even distribution of rainfall in Indonesia make it possible for the same types of crops to be grown throughout the country. Less than one-fifth of the total land surface, however, is devoted to crop cultivation. Most agricultural land is dedicated to rice or to various cash crops. Intensive cultivation is restricted to Java, Bali, Lombok, and certain areas of Sumatra and Celebes. In Java much of the land of the northern coastal and central plains is planted with rice. In the drier section of eastern Java, crops such as corn (maize), cassava, sweet potatoes, peanuts (groundnuts), and soybeans dominate the small farms, although such cash crops as tobacco and coffee also are grown on plantations.

 Development in Sumatra and in the outer islands is less intensive and consists primarily of estate-raised cash crops. Sumatra accounts for a major portion of the total area under estate production, and most plantations are located in the island's northeastern coastal region. Around Medan there are extensive plantations producing tobacco, rubber, palm oil, kapok, tea, cloves, and coffee, none of which is native to the region. Rice, corn, and cassava are grown in the Padang area in the west and around the oil fields near Palembang in the southeast.

      Since the late 20th century there has been a shift from rice toward less-demanding subsistence crops, such as cassava. Rice has remained the cornerstone of small-scale agriculture, however, and increased production of it has been an important aim of every economic development plan. The government intervenes in the marketing of rice to maintain production at an economically viable level. Various “mass guidance” (bimbingan massal) schemes to broaden the availability of credit and to promote the use of fertilizers and high-yielding varieties have increased rice output. Although the country is self-sufficient in rice production, there has been a persistent tendency since the late 1990s to import additional rice.

      Private enterprises have joined the government in developing Indonesia's palm oil and sugar industries, as well as its fisheries. Large-scale agribusiness is becoming a more important component of the country's economy, with increasing government investment. Export of cultivated shrimp from sizable farms in western Java and southern Sumatra has been a boon to middle-sized businesses. Milkfish also are bred through aquaculture. Scad, tuna, and mackerel are the primary products of open-sea fishing.

      Indonesia has some of the world's largest tracts of exploitable tropical forest, especially in Kalimantan and Papua. There are several small areas of deciduous forest and plantations (mostly teak), but most of the trees are evergreen tropical hardwoods. The production of plywood and veneers has become important for both domestic consumption and export. Major timber operations are located primarily in Kalimantan, but logging also occurs on the other large islands; legitimate companies as well as illegal loggers target certain species, such as meranti (a subspecies of the genus Shorea), which yields an easily workable, relatively lightweight reddish wood. Teak is extracted mainly from Java.

      Since the 1960s the timber industry has grown rapidly, but it has caused considerable damage through deforestation. Also a threat to the environment are frequent large-scale forest fires, most of which stem from “slash-and-burn” (swidden) subsistence agriculture or government clearing for plantations; these fires not only destroy vast areas of vegetation but also generate haze that frequently reaches as far as Singapore and peninsular Malaysia. Deforestation and air quality issues prompted environmentalists to urge the Indonesian government to curtail clear-cutting of trees, to control burning, and to implement reforestation programs.

Resources and power

      Indonesia has a large, and in many cases unprospected, variety of mineral deposits. Mining, including the extraction of oil and natural gas, accounts for roughly one-tenth of the country's GDP, and through exports and taxation it contributes substantially to foreign-exchange earnings and development. The mining industry employs only a tiny fraction of the workforce, however.

      Fossil fuels, including petroleum, natural gas, and coal, constitute a major source of revenue. They are produced primarily in Sumatra and Kalimantan and from offshore sites in the Java and South China seas. Although refinery production since 1968 has been in the hands of the government-owned petroleum company Pertamina, foreign oil companies operate under a production-sharing formula. Under this arrangement, the ownership of oil resources remains with the government of Indonesia, and the foreign companies act as contractors, supplying the necessary capital. Since the last decades of the 20th century, Indonesia has greatly expanded its production of coal, to become one of the world's leading exporters. The sale of liquefied natural gas is also increasingly important.

      In addition to its hydrocarbon reserves, Indonesia's mineral resources contribute significantly to the economy. The country is one of the world's largest producers of tin, deposits of which are found on the islands of Bangka, Singkep, and Belitung and off the southwestern shore of Kalimantan. Bauxite is mined mostly on the Riau Islands and in western Kalimantan and is processed at an aluminum smelter—the first in Southeast Asia—at Kualatanjung in northern Sumatra. Celebes, Halmahera and other islands of the Moluccas, and Papua are sources of nickel. Manganese is present in central Java and on Sumatra, Kalimantan, Celebes, and Timor. Major copper deposits are mined in the Jayawijaya Mountains of Papua; smaller deposits have been found in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, and Celebes. Most of Indonesia's gold comes from Papua.

      The bulk of Indonesia's electrical power is generated from fossil fuels. Until the late 20th century, the majority of the country's power was provided by oil or gas. As the government stepped up its production of coal, however, it also strove to increase the domestic use of that resource. By the early 21st century, less than half the country's power stations were fueled by oil or gas. Many plants were coal-driven, some were hydroelectric, and a small portion of plants were powered by geothermal sources.

Manufacturing

      In the early 1970s import substitution (replacement of foreign-produced goods and services with those produced domestically) and support for the agricultural sector were the two major aims of industrial policy. Import substitution was geared to commodities such as food, textiles, fertilizers, and cement, and this required consistent government protection and controls. This policy proved to be both inefficient and expensive, however, and following the sharp decline in oil revenues in the 1980s, reforms were introduced to increase the competitive position of Indonesian manufactures in international markets. The government launched a series of deregulations and encouraged domestic and international private investment. Although many companies remained in government hands, the state also participated in joint ventures with the private sector.

 As a result, the manufacturing sector has become the single largest contributor to the economy, constituting well over one-fourth of GDP and employing just over one-tenth of the labour force. A significant proportion of production is handled by medium- and small-scale privately owned enterprises, which supply consumer goods. Small-scale workshops manufacture such consumer goods and general products as furniture, household equipment, textiles, and printed matter. Since the mid-1980s there has been a major shift toward developing large-scale and high-technology industries, such as telecommunications and electronics; automobile manufacturing has expanded especially rapidly in the 21st century. The centre of private industry is in western Java, although considerable development has taken place in Jakarta.

 One of the country's principal industries based on imported raw materials is textile manufacturing. Spinning mills are largely state owned or in the hands of foreign companies, while weaving and finishing factories, which are centred in Bandung, are generally small-scale and privately owned by local entrepreneurs. batik production—an Indonesian method of hand-dyeing textiles—is concentrated in central Java. Although production of batik remains a major cottage industry, there are a number of larger-scale operations.

Finance

      Bank Indonesia, the central bank, is responsible for issuing the rupiah, the national currency. Other major government-owned institutions include the state savings bank, banks specializing in rural and industrial development, and a large commercial bank with overseas branches. Each bank is diversified and operates independently. Private domestic banks and foreign banks also operate in Indonesia. Nonbanking financial institutions are restricted. Indonesia has stock exchanges in Jakarta and Surabaya.

      Generally, the aims of the government's credit and fiscal policies have been to provide the conditions for private incentive within the context of financial orthodoxy. Before the 1980s, Indonesia's capital market had been limited to the state-dominated banking system. Subsidized credit and interest rates were used in accordance with general government priorities, and a credit ceiling was imposed to ensure monetary stability. The credit ceiling, however, resulted in excess reserves held by state banks and ultimately triggered a restructuring and deregulation of the banking system.

      In 1983 a reform package decontrolled the interest rate and abolished the credit ceiling system. Further reforms in 1988 liberalized licensing for new banks and lowered reserve requirements. The result was a dramatic expansion in the number of private banks, their branches, and the banks' share of total deposits. The Jakarta Stock Exchange also experienced explosive growth.

      The surge, however, was accompanied by a rise in interest rates (both for deposits and for lending), which effectively stifled domestic investment. In an effort to curb inflation, Bank Indonesia tightened the money supply, a move that further destabilized the country's financial sector. When the Asian monetary crisis struck in 1997, Indonesia's banking industry was among the first casualties.

      In 1998 the government established the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to extricate the financial sector from its monumental debt. IBRA accomplished this task largely through the closure and consolidation of financially precarious banks. The remaining banks then prioritized households and small businesses in their lending, which stimulated growth in the domestic private sphere. By 2004 the banking sector had stabilized, the country had returned to a general pattern of economic growth, and IBRA was dissolved—on schedule.

Trade

      A complex and reasonably well-developed commercial sector has existed in Indonesia for many decades, if not centuries, based on the marketing and exporting of agricultural produce and on supplying consumer goods and services to the domestic market. Historically, trade has been dominated by Indonesian Chinese, although other segments of the population, especially people from western Sumatra and southern Celebes, also have made notable contributions.

      No longer simply an exporter of agricultural produce, Indonesia has become an established international supplier of petroleum and petroleum products; rubber products; garments, shoes, and textiles; wood and wood products (including paper); machinery of various sorts (including automobiles); and other commodities, such as electronic products. Primary imports include petroleum and natural gas, machinery, chemicals, metals, and transport equipment. Indonesia's most important trading partners include Japan, the United States, Singapore, China, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Australia.

Services

      Services constitute a major segment of the Indonesian economy, generating more than one-third of GDP. Tourism in particular has emerged as a major source of income, although the industry's growth suffered setbacks with the Asian economic crisis in 1997–98 and with multiple terrorist attacks and the outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu) in the early 21st century.

Labour

      Indonesia's industrialization has not produced strong organized labour. This is attributable in part to a surplus of labour in the job market; most lower-class Indonesians work in traditional, informal, and marginal jobs. Political repression under the Suharto presidency (1967–98) also discouraged politically motivated associations of workers. Rather, the government sought to incorporate functional groups such as those of farmers and fishermen into a quasi-governmental political party.

Thomas R. Leinbach Goenawan Susatyo Mohamad

Transportation and telecommunications

      Because Indonesia is an island country, sea transport plays a key role in the movement of raw materials and agricultural products from their sources to markets. Although the physical nature of the country has favoured the development of strong sea links for freight and strong air links for passengers, many parts of Indonesia have not been adequately served by the transport network, a factor that has critically hampered economic development. The rapid expansion of telecommunications networks, however, has helped mitigate the insularity of some regions.

Roads and railways

      Road transport is the dominant mode of transportation on Indonesia's islands, especially the smaller ones, such as Java, Bali, and Madura. Some three-fifths of the country's roads are paved, and most of these are on Sumatra, Java, and Bali, where the network of highways meets traffic needs in most areas. Much of the remaining paved mileage is on Madura, Lombok, and Celebes. Western and central Kalimantan have some good roads, but in Papua road transport has not developed evenly, owing to the size of the territory and to the government's budgetary constraints.

      Road traffic has been on the rise as roads have improved and as ownership of automobiles and motorcycles has increased. Trucks and intercity buses, operated by private enterprises, are central to the transportation system; using ferries to cross between islands, some cover distances as far as that between Medan in northern Sumatra and Surabaya in eastern Java. For traveling shorter distances, especially in the urban and semiurban areas, smaller buses and minivans are popular. In the larger cities, taxis are readily available, but most people opt to drive their own car, take a motorcycle, or, as a less expensive alternative, ride one of several types of minivan redesigned to accommodate additional passengers. The least expensive urban transportation services are provided by individual entrepreneurs who drive a single passenger on the back of a small motorcycle. In most towns, the becak (pedicab, or pedaled trishaw) remains a prominent feature of the streets, although this mode of transport is technically prohibited in Jakarta.

      The railway, run by a public enterprise, operates mainly on Java and Madura, with less-extensive service on Sumatra. The demand for train services has remained strong, although geographic features limit the expansion of the railroads. Comfortable, reliable rail transport between major towns in Java has become a popular alternative to intercity buses and airlines.

Water and air transport

      Most of the major population centres are close to the sea, where they can be served and linked by coastal and interisland shipping services. The adjacent seas are relatively calm because Indonesia is outside the belt of typhoons and high winds, and, even where docking facilities are not available, it is usually possible for ships to anchor and discharge and load from lighters and other craft.

      There are numerous ports, some of which have facilities and water depths that allow large vessels to load and unload at quayside. The major dry-cargo ports are Tanjung Priok, the outport of Jakarta; Tanjungperak, the outport of Surabaya; and Belawan, the outport of Medan. Palembang, in southern Sumatra, is the major petroleum port. Other major ports include Semarang and Cirebon on Java, Telukbayur (the outport of Padang) on Sumatra, Manado on Celebes, Ambon in the Moluccas, Jayapura in Papua, and Banjarmasin on the south coast of Kalimantan.

      Although Indonesia has scores of airports, few of them offer international service. Most international flights operate out of Jakarta and Yogyakarta in Java, Medan in Sumatra, Denpasar in Bali, and Balikpapan in Kalimantan. Major cities in Sumatra and Celebes also have limited service to Singapore and Malaysia. Scheduled services are provided by several companies, the most important of which are Garuda Indonesia (the national airline) and the privately owned Lion Air, both of which offer domestic and international flights. Merpati, also state owned, offers domestic service only.

Telecommunications

      Since the late 1970s, immediate links between distant places in Indonesia have been established through telecommunications technology. The use of satellites, purchased by Indonesian public and private telecommunications companies, revolutionized the system. A unique solution to the general lack of telecommunications facilities was the establishment of neighbourhood wartel (“telephone shops”), where customers can make domestic or international calls and send or receive faxes for a time-based fee. However, with the rapidly expanding use of cell phones—which has far outstripped that of standard telephones—the wartel are playing a less critical role in the Indonesian telecommunications system. An increase in Internet usage has been attributable largely to the introduction of warnet (“Internet shops”) in major cities. Like wartel, these shops typically charge by the length of time used.

Government and society

 The Republic of Indonesia was declared in 1945, with a proclaimed jurisdiction over the present area from Sabang in Sumatra to Merauke in Papua, or the entire area of the former Dutch (or Netherlands) East Indies. Although The Netherlands retained possession of a large part of this region (including Papua), a provisional capital was established in Yogyakarta, the stronghold of the revolution.

      With the close of the struggle for independence in 1949, the Republic of the United States of Indonesia was established. The federal system did not last, however, and in 1950 the federated governments unanimously decided to return to a “unitary”—or more centralized—form of government, as well as to the name Republic of Indonesia. After some difficulties, the constitution of 1945 was reinstated by presidential decree. This constitution has remained the basis of Indonesia's government, although some significant amendments were made during a period of reformasi (reformation) around the turn of the 21st century.

Constitutional framework

      The 1945 constitution invests most of the power in the executive branch of the government, particularly in the president, who is assisted by a vice president and a cabinet. The constitution also provides for a body of presidential advisers, called the Supreme Advisory Council (Dewan Pertimbangan Agung)—the advice of which is not legally binding, however—as well as a presidentially appointed Supreme Audit Board (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan), which controls state finance. Until 2002 the president and vice president were elected every five years by the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat; MPR), but in that year a new law decreed that beginning in 2004 both leaders were to be directly elected. In addition, legislation passed in 1999 limited the president to two five-year terms.

      Cabinet ministers are appointed by the president. Ministries manage broad areas, such as economic affairs, foreign affairs, defense, education, agriculture, information, and religious affairs. The number of ministers and the nature of their areas of assignment depend on the president. In addition to appointing the cabinet, the president is the supreme commander of the army, the navy, and the air force. The president also has the authority to introduce bills, issue regulations, implement acts, and make agreements with foreign countries.

      The MPR constitutes the legislative branch of Indonesia's government; it is primarily responsible for interpreting the constitution and the broad lines of state policy. Formerly unicameral, the MPR has been a bicameral body since the elections of 2004, with the Council of the People's Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat; DPR) as the lower house and the Council of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah; DPD) as the upper house. About four-fifths of the MPR's seats belong to the lower house. Members of the DPD are elected directly from a nationwide pool of nonpartisan candidates; members of the DPR are directly elected through a province-based proportional system that allows voters to cast ballots for individuals as well as particular parties. All legislators serve five-year terms.

Local government

      Indonesia is divided into some 30 propinsi, or provinsi (provinces), plus the two semiautonomous daerah istimewa (special districts) of Yogyakarta in central Java and Aceh in northern Sumatra and the daerah khusus ibukota (special capital district) of metropolitan Jakarta, known as Jakarta Raya. On the smaller islands, most administrative regions were created to coincide with traditional regions, the boundaries of which were defined largely by natural geographic features; on the larger islands, by contrast, administrative boundaries were constructed to simplify complex traditional and cultural divisions. The province of Central Java (Jawa Tengah) (Jawa Tengah), for instance, spans not only the core of the island of Java but also the core of Javanese culture. Within the province's borders lie the semiautonomous special district of Yogyakarta and the city of Surakarta (Solo), both of which are historical court centres that maintain traditional rulers (albeit without real political power). Similarly, the provinces of West Java (Jawa Barat) (Jawa Barat) and Banten, on the western part of the island, coincide with the geographic, cultural, and linguistic terrain of the Sundanese people.

      The number of first-order political subdivisions has changed since the end of the 20th century. East Timor (declared a province in 1976) gained its independence in 1999. In addition, largely as a result of the push to decentralize in the early 21st century, several new provinces were created out of the existing structure. The province of Banten (2006) was formed from the western tip of West Java. West Papua (Papua Barat) was created from the western end of Papua. New provinces in Celebes included Gorontalo (2001) on the northern peninsula and West Sulawesi (Sulawesi Barat; 2004) in the island's west-central coastal region. The Riau Islands (Kepulauan Riau; 2003) and Bangka-Belitung (2001) were created from islands off Sumatra's eastern shore.

      Each of the more than 300 second-order subdivisions, kabupaten (regencies), is headed by a bupati (governor) and has a local legislature. More than 5,000 third-order divisions, kecamatan (districts), and several dozen cities have obtained autonomous status and have been recognized as kotamadya (municipalities). Since 1999 district and municipality leaders have been chosen through direct local elections. Members of the Local Councils of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah), which deal more directly with the national legislature, also are selected through general election.

      Villages (kampung) and groups of villages (desa), which exist in both rural and urban areas, provide the link between the people and the central government on the district level. Kampung and desa heads are usually elected in rural areas and appointed in urban ones; they are all local government employees. Normally, a village has two levels of neighbourhood organization, a rukun warga (RW; community association) and rukun tetangga (RT; neighbourhood associations). These bodies elect their chairpersons.

Justice

      In Indonesia's judicial system the Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung) in Jakarta is the final court of appeal; high courts, which are located in principal cities, deal with appeals from district courts. Supreme Court judges are chosen by the president, who selects from nominees presented by the Judicial Commission, a special body whose members are appointed by the upper house. The chief justice and his or her deputies are chosen from among the Supreme Court justices by the justices themselves. According to the original 1945 constitution, the Supreme Court does not have the power of judicial review. In 2003, however, the Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi) was established to review and to rule on cases involving charges against the president. Judges are members of the civil service and are managed by the Supreme Court, but they also are supervised by the Judicial Commission. The National Ombudsman Commission, established in 2000, deals with offenses committed by the state.

      Under the colonial administration, the law was a mixture of Dutch law and local customary law— adat. Since independence, criminal law has been codified for all of Indonesia. Civil law, however, has continued to be based largely on adat, which varies from one region and ethnic group to another. There are four judicial spheres (for general, religious, military, and administrative matters), each with its own courts. The religious, military, and administrative courts deal with special cases or particular groups of people, while the general courts handle both civil and criminal cases. Muslims may choose to use Islamic law in some civil cases; since the mid-1970s religious law has applied to all civil matters dealing with marriage.

Political process

      Indonesia's political process is shaped by the country's turbulent political history. The first election after independence was held in 1955. Almost 170 political parties and factions contested, and 4 major parties obtained the majority of the votes. The election was carried out with little disturbance, but the resulting government was beset by unforeseen political problems. Sukarno—Indonesia's first national figure and first president—dissolved the elected assembly, introduced a concept known as Guided Democracy, and reinstated the 1945 constitution in 1959. The period of Guided Democracy was marked by the creation of a plethora of ministries, by the rise of the Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia; PKI) to a position of political dominance, and by the emergence of the army as a major anticommunist political force. The structure collapsed with an attempted coup d'état in 1965, which led to the downfall of Sukarno. Under Suharto, Sukarno's successor, Indonesia entered a new political era, officially called the New Order.

      After a period of stabilization and restructuring, in which the army played a major role, the second election of the DPR was held in 1971. Contesting this election were nine political parties and the Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups (Sekretariat Bersama Golongan Karya; Sekber Golkar, or Golkar), a government-sponsored organization of nonaffiliated groups—including nonparty associations of farmers, fishermen, civil servants, cooperatives, religious groups, students, the armed forces, and veterans—that was allowed to participate in the electoral process on the same level as political parties. Backed by the power of the military, the bureaucracy, and a large budget, Golkar came out of the poll as a single majority. (Golkar went on to win every subsequent election until 1999, when for the first time in Indonesian history an independently monitored election took place.)

      In the early years of the Suharto presidency the political process was directed primarily by the government; as the New Order matured, however, power came to rest almost exclusively in the person of the president. After the 1971 election, the existing political parties were consolidated to form two officially recognized parties, the United Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan; PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia; PDI). Technically, these parties were to base their political platforms on the national ideology of Pancasila (Five Principles)—belief in one god, nationalism, democracy, humanitarianism, and social justice—also upheld by Golkar. Unlike Golkar, however, the political parties were prohibited from establishing chapters at the grassroots level.

      The end of the New Order and of the Suharto presidency in 1998 triggered a major transformation in Indonesia's political process. New election laws allowed for independent monitoring of elections; restrictions on the creation of political parties were lifted at all levels; members of the bureaucracy were permitted to choose a party other than Golkar; and the military was forbidden from siding with any one political group. The 1999 election was both euphoric and peaceful, with the PDI (now adding “Perjuangan” [“Struggle”] to its name to become the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle; PDIP), Golkar, and the National Awakening Party (Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa; PKB) emerging as the top parties, with no single majority. These three parties have remained strong, although since the end of the 20th century several others have gained popularity alongside them. Among these are the Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat; PD), which became the presidential party in 2004, the National Mandate Party (Partai Amanat Nasional; PAN), and the Justice and Prosperity Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera; PKS).

      The election law states that all citizens who have reached the minimum age of 17 or who have married may vote in general elections. All those who have reached age 21 may stand for elections. Elections are direct and voting is by secret ballot.

Security

      The Indonesian armed forces were founded shortly after the country's declaration of independence in August 1945. The original forces were made up of soldiers who had been trained by the Dutch and Japanese armies as well as the armed militia groups that had fought a guerrilla war to wrest Indonesia permanently from Dutch control. Under the Sukarno and Suharto presidencies, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia (Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia; ABRI) comprised the army, the navy, the air force, and the police.

      Following the Suharto presidency, the armed forces returned to one of their pre-Sukarno names, the National Army of Indonesia (Tentara Nasional Indonesia; TNI), and the police were split into a separate unit. The army, constituting more than three-fourths of the forces, has remained the largest segment of the TNI. Men must be at least 18 years old to join the armed forces; selective compulsory service requires a commitment of two years.

      The political role of the armed forces increased significantly in the second half of the 20th century, with the ABRI, and later the TNI, justifying their political involvement by citing the so-called dwi-fungsi (dual function) doctrine. This doctrine declared it both the right and the duty of the military to take part in most political decision-making processes in Indonesia.

      As the political power of the military grew, however, the allocation of state funds for defense development declined. The government's rationale in cutting its military spending was to promote peaceful relations with neighbouring countries; it meant to establish territorial control through political intervention, with the aid of a powerful intelligence network, rather than through the use of force.

      Its small budget ultimately forced the TNI to find other sources of income. Widespread corruption ensued as the military abused its associations with foundations and government firms. Finally, the TNI was removed from the political process with the reformation of the MPR in 2004: all seats in the legislature that were once reserved for the military were eliminated.

Health and welfare

      Indonesia has a national health care network that offers treatment either free of charge or for a nominal cost through several types of medical facilities. District medical centres, the most comprehensive of which combine general medical clinics with maternal and child-health centres, provide services in family planning, school health, nutrition, communicable-disease control, health statistics, environmental health, health education, dental health, and public-health nursing. The district centres also supervise the community and village health centres (puskesmas), which are the primary health providers in rural areas. A third type of public medical facility is the posyandu, an integrated health-service post that is designed to serve those whose health is most at risk. These posts are more widely available than the village health centres and offer a variety of services to women and children in particular, ranging from immunizations and nutrition counseling to family planning.

      In general, the cost of specialized health care, as provided by private hospitals and doctors, is beyond the reach of Indonesians in both the low- and middle-income groups. A government-sponsored health insurance system for specialized care was introduced in the late 20th century, but has been slow to cover people working in small private companies or in the informal sector. Many companies provide medical assistance to employees, but there is no legal requirement to do so.

      Most of the major communicable diseases in Indonesia are well under control. Malaria and tuberculosis are no longer persistent health problems, but outbreaks of dengue and cholera still occur. Heart problems and strokes have become more common, owing at least in part to changes in diet that have accompanied economic growth since the 1970s. Cancer also has become more widespread. Drug addiction has increased notably, particularly among young people in the urban centres, and there has been a sharp rise in HIV infection and cases of AIDS, especially since the end of the 20th century.

      One of the most serious public health problems is the shortage of medical and paramedical personnel, mainly nurses and midwives. Although all new graduates of the government's medical schools are required to work for one year in rural areas, few doctors choose to stay in such regions after fulfilling their service obligation. Outside the major urban centres, many people use traditional healers, called dukun. An indigenous midwife (paraji or dukun beranak), often with limited training, assists many of the births in Indonesia; extensive training programs have been implemented to bring the paraji toward the standards of qualified midwives. Such programs contributed to a significant drop in the infant mortality rate—from well above to well below the world average—from the mid-20th to the early 21st century.

      Another important public health issue, family planning (planned parenthood) (keluarga berancana; commonly called “KB”), conceptually runs counter to traditional views, and there was much resistance to such programs when they were introduced. A massive attempt has been made to provide information on family planning to women of childbearing age, typically through clinics that are run by the Department of Health. This program has achieved considerable success, particularly in Java and Bali, and has come to be considered a model in Asia.

Housing

 In rural areas the floors of dwellings consist of pounded earth, concrete, or raised wood, while wooden framing supports walls of woven bamboo matting; the roofs are of dried palm fibre, tiles, or wood. In urban areas floors are of cement or tile, the framing of the dwellings is of teak or meranti wood, the walls are of brick and plaster, and the roofs are of tile or shingle.

      Although most of the population is nonurban, the major housing problems are in the cities. In their desire to escape the restraints of the traditional rural life and seek the opportunities of the cities, most rural-to-urban migrants tolerate living conditions that are less attractive than those of the country.

      The larger cities, such as Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, are the ones with the greatest housing problems. While there has been tremendous suburban housing development, pitched primarily to new members of the middle class, the urban areas themselves lack satisfactory housing, as well as a dependable supply of water and adequate school and health facilities. Pockets of substandard temporary housing in densely populated lower-income urban areas have become permanent settlements, blending with established neighbourhoods. Such lower-income settlements, called kampung in the manner of their rural counterparts, typically consist of a cluster of small brick houses that procure their own water and often tap electricity illegally from the power supply of the national electric company. Subsidized housing is provided by some employers, including government ministries, for a limited number of employees.

Education

 Before the country's independence, educational opportunities for Indonesians were limited even on the primary and secondary levels. The Dutch colonial government did not provide university-level education to most Indonesians. Only a select few received their degrees in The Netherlands. Although a postsecondary technical school—now the Bandung Institute of Technology—was established in 1920, student enrollment was extremely limited. Since independence, however, the government has placed great emphasis on primary, secondary, and higher education for all people. By the early 21st century, the great majority of Indonesians were literate.

 Responsibility for education is centred in the Department of National Education, but other government bodies, especially the Department of Religious Affairs, also administer extensive educational programs. The national educational system involves six years of primary education, beginning at age seven, followed by six years of secondary education, which are divided into two three-year blocks. Since the early 1990s the first nine years have been compulsory. Although the economic crisis of the late 1990s prevented many children from furthering their formal studies, Indonesians are generally inclined to allocate a high percentage of their family budget for education, since schooling has become a reliable path to improved socioeconomic standing.

      Higher education includes dozens of public institutions and thousands of private postsecondary schools, with the private institutions expanding most rapidly since the 1970s. Enrollment is about evenly distributed between men and women. Major universities include the Bogor Agricultural University, the Bandung Institute of Technology, the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Hasanuddin University in Makassar (Ujungpandang), and Airlangga University in Surabaya. While a number of universities offer postgraduate education, many students go abroad—especially to North America, Europe, and Australia—to pursue doctoral degrees.

Cultural life

Cultural milieu

      Indonesia exhibits a rich diversity of cultural practices and products. The remote interior regions of Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua feature ritualized speech and local epic narrative traditions, while in Java and Bali the visual and performing arts are heavily influenced by the Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana (Rāmāyaṇa). In the cities, the mellifluous calls to prayer radiating from mosques, many of which display a markedly Muslim architectural style, coexist with the flashing lights and vibrant sounds of urban popular culture. These are just a few examples of Indonesia's truly complex heritage.

 The aura of long-gone Hindu-Buddhist empires lingers in many parts of Indonesia, particularly in Java, Sumatra, and Bali. From the 8th through the 10th century CE, extensive temple complexes (candi) were built in central Java. Most of these were buried or in ruins, but the government has actively engaged in their restoration. The remains of the first of the great central Javanese monuments, the Shaivite temple of the Diyeng (Dieng) Plateau, date to the early 8th century. The Shailendra dynasty, which ruled Java and Sumatra (8th–9th centuries), built the great Mahayana Buddhist monuments, including that of Borobudur. Late in the 9th century the kings of Mataram built the Hindu monuments around Prambanan. Commonly called Prambanan Temple, the complex consists of six main temples; the three large ones along the west, dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, contain fine statues. Of the three smaller temples along the east, the middle one contains a statue of Nandi, the bull of Shiva. The main temples are heavily ornamented with stone carvings of the gods and other heavenly beings, and there is a series of relief panels depicting the Ramayana.

 Borobudur, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991, is one of the finest Buddhist monuments in the world. It stands on a hill about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Yogyakarta and rises to a height of approximately 115 feet (35 metres) from its square base, which measures 403 feet (123 metres) on each side. The monument consists of a lower structure of six square terraces (including its base) and an upper structure of three circular terraces, combining the ancient symbols of the circle for the heavens and the square for the earth. In the centre of each side of the square terraces is a staircase leading to the next level. The inner wall on each level has niches containing statues of Buddha. Bas-reliefs covering the inner walls and the balustrades depict stories from Buddhist teachings; many of the images symbolize phases of human life, moving from the sensual stage at the lower level to the spiritual stage at the top. The circular terraces are not decorated but contain 72 bell-shaped stupas (stupa), each housing a statue of Buddha. In the centre of the upper terrace is the main stupa, which stands 23 feet (7 metres) high. It contains no statues, other visual images, or relics of any kind.

      Between the 10th and 16th centuries, the centre of power in the archipelago shifted to eastern Java, and Buddhism merged with Hinduism, which later gave way to Islam. Literature in old Javanese (Javanese language) (kawi) flourished during this period, and a number of large temple complexes were constructed, none of which, however, approached the grandeur of Borobudur or Prambanan. The most imposing complex is Panataran Temple near Blitar, which was constructed at the peak of the Majapahit (Majapahit empire) empire in the 14th century. With the ascendancy of Islam through the 15th and 16th centuries, the temples fell into ruins, and Hindu culture shifted to Bali, where it remains today.

The arts

Literature (Indonesian literatures)

      Indonesia possesses a wealth of verbal art. Much of this material, such as the didong poetry of Aceh or the tekena' epic tales of the Kenyah of East Kalimantan, is transmitted through oral-traditional performance, as opposed to printed text. A largely nonwritten tradition of reciting expressive, often witty quatrains called pantun is common in most Malay areas throughout the archipelago. Some pantun performances are narrative; the kentrung traditions of central and eastern Java, for instance, use pantun structure to recount religious or local historical tales to the accompaniment of a drum. In central Java macapat, a metric and melodic form, is used to present tales from ancient Hindu-Javanese literature as well as stories, images, and ideas from local sources; the songs may be performed solo or with instrumental accompaniment. Indeed, much of Indonesia's traditional literature forms the foundation of complex mixed-genre performances, such as the randai of the Minangkabau of western Sumatra, which blends instrumental music, dance, drama, and martial arts in ceremonial settings.

      Contemporary Indonesian literature was initiated in the early 1930s by a small group of young writers, who created the journal Poedjangga Baroe (“The New Writer”). Published in the Indonesian language, as opposed to Dutch, this literary periodical was devoted to disseminating new ideas and expressions that ran counter to the type of writing sanctioned by the colonial government. Under the intellectual leadership of S. Takdir Alisjahbana, a poet, novelist, and philosopher, the contributors to Poedjangga Baroe were committed to the nationalist cause—to the establishment of a new, modern Indonesia, free from the constraints of local patterns of cultural expression.

      The true modernist temper, however, emerged in the works of Indonesian poets of the early 1940s, with Chairil Anwar as the leading figure. Although he died young, Chairil transformed the Indonesian literary scene through the intense imagery of his poetry and through his rebellious stance toward religion and social convention.

      The growth of Indonesian literature suffered some setbacks in the second half of the 20th century under the Sukarno and Suharto regimes, both of which imposed restrictions on literary activity. Some writers, such as the internationally recognized novelist and journalist Mochtar Lubis, were jailed for their nonconformity to governmental ideals and policies. A cinematic work based on a novel by Alisjahbana was prohibited; Alisjahbana later left the country to live in Malaysia. Especially during the first half of the Suharto administration, politically liberal writers were imprisoned; the renowned novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer was detained for more than a decade.

      Despite some tumultuous moments in its history, Indonesian literature has remained vibrant. Literary groups in the larger cities often publish local poetic works. Jakarta produces two of the most prestigious journals of letters and ideas: Horison (“Horizon”), published since 1966, and Kalam (“The Word”), published since 1994.

Theatre and dance

 Most of Indonesia's oldest theatre forms are linked directly to local literary traditions (oral and written). The prominent puppet (puppetry) theatres—wayang golek (wooden rod-puppet play) of the Sundanese and wayang kulit (leather shadow-puppet play) of the Javanese and Balinese (Bali)—draw much of their repertoire from indigenized versions of the Ramayana (Rāmāyaṇa) and Mahabharata. These tales also provide source material for the wayang wong (human theatre) of Java and Bali, which uses actors. Some wayang golek performances, however, also present Muslim stories, called menak.

      In puppet performances the narrator (dalang) is also the puppeteer and the principal artist of the show. To animate the characters, the dalang uses an array of vocal qualities and speech styles, from the most refined and lyrical to the most coarse and colloquial. An evening of wayang golek or wayang kulit is inevitably a mixture of poetic elegance and base humour. Javanese and Sundanese performances normally last all night, starting about 8:00 PM and ending near dawn. Balinese performances are usually shorter.

      Playwrights trained in the Western tradition have worked to broaden Indonesians' experience with theatre. In the 1960s the company of Willibrordus Rendra was instrumental in inaugurating a stream of innovative, modernist, and controversial theatre performances that were based to a large extent on Western models. Much of Rendra's work involved the adaptation for Indonesian audiences of works by Western playwrights such as Sophocles, William Shakespeare (Shakespeare, William), Federico García Lorca (García Lorca, Federico), Bertolt Brecht (Brecht, Bertolt), and Samuel Beckett (Beckett, Samuel).

      Some theatrical traditions incorporate dance to such an extent that they are typically termed “dance-dramas.” Of these traditions, the wayang wong and wayang topeng (masked theatre) of Java and Bali, as well as the Balinese plays recounting the tale of the witch Calonarang, are among the most widely known. Since independence, Indonesian choreographers trained at the country's performing arts academies have been well versed in Western classical ballet and modern dance, in addition to local styles. Consequently, some have adapted local dance-dramatic works for contemporary audiences. The sendratari, for example, is essentially an updated form of traditional dance-drama that combines elements of local theatrical genres (including puppet theatre) with movements, staging, and costumes derived from contemporary styles; in Java, the form is associated with the Prambanan Temple.

 Apart from its crucial role in dance-dramas, Indonesian dance serves many diverse functions, from the ritual to the purely recreational. Performances may be subtle and stylized like the female court genres of pakarena in southern Celebes and srimpi in central Java, graceful yet masculine like the seudati of Aceh and the kancet laki of the Kenyah of eastern Kalimantan, or demonstrative, dynamic, and interactive like the Balinese jangger, which is performed by a mixed group of men and women. The vigorous silat (martial arts) traditions, for which the Minangkabau of western Sumatra and the Sundanese of western Java are renowned, also embody an element of dance, in that they are performed to a particular type of music and use conventional movements and choreographies.

Music

      Puppet theatre, dance-drama, and some nondance theatrical performances are typically accompanied in Java and Bali by a gamelan, a metallic percussion ensemble consisting mainly of gongs, metallophones, xylophones, and drums. Some ensembles also include one or more flutes, zithers, bowed lutes, and vocalists. When present, one or two kendang (drums) lead the ensemble, giving cues and tempi to the musicians, while also articulating the movements of the puppets or dancers. Female singers, in Java called pesinden, sit among the musicians and create the mood for different parts of the narrative. Male singers typically form a chorus called gerong. In all-night performances, the pesinden usually banter with the puppeteer during the comic interlude around midnight; the audience also may request particular musical pieces at that time.

 Although performances of the metallic gamelan ensembles of Java and Bali are the most nationally and internationally prominent of Indonesia's musical traditions, a great variety of other traditions are found throughout the archipelago. While some of these traditions are, like the gamelan, gong-based, others are centred on stringed instruments, wooden or bamboo wind instruments, or drums, xylophones, or other nonmetallic percussion instruments. For instance, a matrix of related plucked lute traditions—most known by a term similar to sampé' or kacapi—stretches from Sumatra through Kalimantan to Celebes. The Toba Batak people of Sumatra are known for their tuned drum ensembles, gondang. In eastern Kalimantan, xylophone-based dance music is a favorite among Kenyah communities.

      Many well-established musical traditions of Indonesia incorporate instrumental and vocal elements from international sources. The gamelan ensemble accompanying a wayang kulit performance may use horns to signal the battle scene. The Batak in northern Sumatra and the Ambonese in the Moluccas, both widely recognized for their vocal virtuosity, use the guitar to accompany most of their singing. Kroncong music, which flourished during the colonial era and retained its popularity following independence, was a product of the confluence of western European (particularly Portuguese) and Indonesian cultures; while the guitar and other Western string instruments constituted the core of kroncong, the manner in which these instruments were played was reminiscent of gamelan music.

      Contemporary Indonesian popular music, consumed mostly (but not entirely) by the young, has made kroncong a thing of the past. Dangdut, a synthesis of Indian film music, a type of Sumatran Malay music called orkes Melayu (Malay orchestra), kroncong, and Euro-American popular music, was pioneered in the 1970s primarily by the former rock-and-roll musician Rhoma Irama. The style has continued to develop and has retained a broad following not only in Indonesia but also in Malaysia. As a type of recreational dance music, dangdut animates city pubs and various rural festivities across the country.

Visual arts

 Encompassing sculpture and carving, painting, textile design, beadwork, basketry, and other forms, the visual arts of Indonesia are as abundant as they are diverse. Some of these forms have been shaped by ancient cultures of Asia, including those of late Zhou-dynasty (Zhou dynasty) China (12th–3rd centuries BC) and of Dong Son (Dong Son culture) Indochina (3rd century BC). Others have drawn influences from more-recent cultural contacts. Such interaction, combined with local artistic and aesthetic sensibilities, has produced a spectrum of styles that are unique to the various peoples and regions of the country.

 Carving and painting are among the best known of Indonesia's visual art traditions. Bali long has been of special interest culturally because it has maintained Hindu traditions for centuries within a predominantly Muslim environment. Carvings are visible at nearly every turn; images depicting natural and supernatural entities from Hindu and indigenous traditions adorn temple entrances, animate masked-dance and puppet performances, overlook the grounds of offices and homes, and populate the shelves and walls of galleries in the towns and cities. In Java the leather puppets for wayang kulit performances are fastidiously carved and painted so as to cast a lightly tinted, lacelike shadow when held against an illuminated screen. In the Dayak villages of Kalimantan some of the important structures are elaborately and colourfully decorated with dense patterns of intertwined curls. Since the late 20th century the carved wooden shields, statues, paddles, and drums of the Asmat people in the interior of Papua have gained international recognition.

 Indonesia also has an especially rich and varied tradition of textile design. batik making, practiced almost exclusively on Java, involves a complex wax-resistance process in which all parts of a cloth that are not to be dyed are coated on both sides with wax before the cloth is dipped into the dye. Using a penlike wax holder called a canting, it is possible to create intricate designs. It is a time-consuming process, and batik fabrics that are patterned entirely by hand take several weeks to complete. To speed up the process and lower the cost, a copper stamp (cap) may be used in lieu of the canting to apply the wax. Large-scale production of such stamped batik has become an economically viable business.

      On woven (weaving) fabric, which is made everywhere from Sumatra through the eastern islands, the most characteristic element is the key-shaped figure combined with other geometric figures. The rhombus (an equilateral parallelogram usually having oblique angles) frequently occurs together with straight lines, equilateral triangles, squares, or circles, which permit an enormous number of variations, including stylized representations of human beings and animals. Each island or region has its characteristic patterns, which serve to identify the area in which the cloth is made.

 The art of weaving is highly developed. It includes the famous ikat method, in which the thread is dyed selectively before weaving by binding fibres around groups of threads so that they will not take up colour when the thread is dipped in the dyebath. This process may be applied to the warp (foundation threads running lengthwise), which is most common and is found in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sumba. Weft (threads running widthwise) ikat is found mainly in south Sumatra, and the complex process of double ikat is still carried on in Tenganan in Bali, where such cloth has great ceremonial significance.

Cultural institutions

      Although the arts of Indonesia are not—and likely cannot be—documented and preserved exhaustively, a number of museums house notable collections. The Indonesian National Museum in Jakarta not only possesses collections of prehistoric and contemporary arts and artifacts from Indonesia, including textiles, stamps, sculptures, bronzework, and maps, but also contains a major collection of ancient Chinese ceramics. The Wayang Museum, also in Jakarta, contains important collections that chronicle the history and development of the country's traditions of puppet theatre. Other museums documenting regional culture have been established in major cities (often the provincial capitals) throughout the country.

      The Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park (Taman Mini Indonesia Indah; “Taman Mini”), in Jakarta, is a “living museum” that highlights the current diversity of Indonesia's peoples and lifestyles. The park contains furnished and decorated replicas of houses of various ethnic groups in Indonesia; each of these structures is staffed with appropriately costumed “inhabitants.” Completed in 1975, Taman Mini was one of the first such institutions in the region; in subsequent decades similar museums were established in other parts of Indonesia, as well as in other countries of Asia.

      An important arts venue in Jakarta, established by the municipal government in 1968, is Ismail Marzuki Park (Taman Ismail Marzuki; TIM), named after a prominent Jakarta-born composer. The centre has generated a fresh approach to both tradition and modernism. While offering regular performances of local and regional arts, TIM also produces modernist theatrical works that typically fuse Indonesian and international idioms. In 1987 the Indonesian government completed the renovation of colonial Schouwburg Weltevreden (1821) theatre to become the Jakarta Arts Building (Gedung Kesenian Jakarta); this institution also hosts major musical and theatrical productions from across the globe. Both institutions sponsor an array of international festivals featuring music, dance, film, spoken word, and other arts.

Sports and recreation

      Football (soccer) is among the most popular team sports in Indonesia. Open fields with two goals are common sights across the country, and even in big cities children and other football enthusiasts find space to play. Indonesia has won medals at several Southeast Asian Games.

 Many of the traditional sports of the archipelago are forms of martial arts. Pencak silat, which is especially popular on Java and West Sumatra, features weapons, such as knives and sticks. In the Tana Toraja region of South Sulawesi, sisemba is a handless form of combat, in which battlers attempt to kick their opponent into submission. Most spectator sports centre around gambling, and cockfighting is common on Bali and Kalimantan. Madura is known for its bull racing.

 Indonesia formed an Olympic committee in 1946 and debuted at the 1952 Games in Helsinki. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, the country won its first medal, a silver in archery. Badminton, the national passion of Indonesia, was introduced as an Olympic sport at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, and the country dominated the events, capturing five medals, including two golds. The gold medals were won by Alan Budi Kusuma and Susi Susanti.

Media and publishing

      Dozens of daily newspapers circulate in Indonesia, primarily in Java and Sumatra. Most are published in Indonesian, but there are also a few in the English language. Among the dailies with the widest readership are Pos Kota (“The City Post”), out of Jakarta, Suara Merdeka (“Voice of Freedom”), out of Semarang, and Sinar Indonesia Baru (“Ray of a New Indonesia”), out of Medan. Since the relaxation of government regulations at the end of the 20th century, most major Indonesian newspapers have been accessible through the Internet. The government publishing house, Balai Pustaka, is in Jakarta; numerous private publishers also operate in Jakarta, as well as in other large cities, mainly on Java.

      Broadcasting is regulated by the Directorate-General of Radio, Television, and Film in Jakarta. Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) and Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI), the country's largest radio and television networks, were government-owned until 2000, when they were passed into public hands. Private television stations have been permitted to operate since the late 20th century, and their number has grown rapidly.

James F. McDivitt Thomas R. Leinbach Goenawan Susatyo Mohamad

History

The archipelago: its prehistory and early historical records

 Remains of Homo erectus (originally called Pithecanthropus, or Java man) indicate that the ancestors of humans already inhabited the island of Java roughly 1.7 million years ago, when much of the western archipelago was still linked by land bridges. Some 6,000 years ago a rapid postglacial rise in sea level submerged these bridges. What remained was the largest island complex in the world: the Indonesian archipelago.

      Not surprisingly, the sea has greatly influenced Indonesian history, and the boat has long been a pervasive metaphor in the arts and the literary and oral traditions of the islands. monsoon winds, blowing north and south of the Equator, have facilitated communication within the archipelago and with the rest of maritime Asia. In early times timber and spices of Java and the eastern islands were known afar, as were the resins from the exceptionally wet equatorial jungle in the western islands of Sumatra and Borneo. By the first centuries CE, goods were already being shipped overseas, and navigable rivers had brought the Indonesian hinterland into contact with distant markets.

      Although records of foreign trade begin only in the early centuries CE, it is possible that people from the Indonesian archipelago were sailing to other parts of Asia much earlier. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder's Natural History suggests that, in the 1st century CE, Indonesian outriggers were engaged in trade with the east coast of Africa. Indonesian settlements may have existed at that time in Madagascar, an island with distinct Indonesian cultural traits. The geographer Ptolemy, in the following century, incorporated information from Indian merchants in his Guide to Geography concerning “Iabadiou,” presumably referring to Java, and “Malaiou,” which, with its variants, may be a rendition of “Malayu,” a term once broadly applied to various interior regions and kingdoms of Sumatra. (In contemporary usage and spelling, the term Melayu refers to Malay peoples.)

      Regular voyages between Indonesia and china did not begin before the 5th century CE. Chinese literature in the 5th and 6th centuries mentions western Indonesian tree produce, including camphor from northern Sumatra. It also refers to two Indonesian resins as “Persian resins from the south ocean,” which suggests that the Indonesian products had been added to the existing seaborne trade in resins from western Asia. It is likely that Indonesian shippers of the time were exploiting southern China's economic difficulties, incurred as a result of the region's having been cut off from the ancient trade route of Central Asia (Central Asia, history of). Small estuary kingdoms were beginning to prosper as international entrepôts. Although the locations of these kingdoms are unknown, the commercial prominence of Palembang in the 7th century suggests that the Malays of southeastern Sumatra had been active in the “Persian” trade with southern China.

      Easy overseas communication did not, however, result in the formation of territorially large kingdoms. The many estuaries of Sumatra and Borneo, facing the inland seas, possessed an abundance of nutritious seafood that made possible a settled mode of life, and for the people of these estuaries, contact with their neighbours was more important than any connections they could make with overseas lands. Local groups, endowed with more or less comparable resources, were most concerned with protecting their separate identities. Such provincial interests similarly prevailed on the island of Java, where the lava-enriched soil, watered by gently flowing rivers, encouraged wet-rice production and a patchwork pattern of settled areas in the river valleys separated by mountains and jungle.

      Long before records began, many of the coastal and riverine groups of the Indonesian archipelago were evolving an elementary form of hierarchy, accompanied by artistic symbols of rank. No single group, however, was large or powerful enough to overrun and occupy neighbouring territories; rather, the various peoples' energies were absorbed by ever more intensive exploitation of their own natural resources. While those living on or close to the sea knew that geographic isolation was out of the question, they regarded their maritime environment as a means of enhancing their well-being through imports or new skills. Their outward orientation, then, ultimately encouraged the pursuit of local interests rather than inculcating any sense of belonging to a larger community. Indeed, the structure of Indonesian written and oral sources suggests that the origins of kingdoms on the coasts of the Java Sea were associated with the success of local heroes in turning the arrival of foreign trading treasure to their advantage.

      Many Indonesian place-names have remained unchanged since the beginning of documented history. In such places, which were often in close proximity to each other, each leader saw himself at the centre of the world that mattered to him, which was not, until later, the archipelago or even a single island but his own strip of coast or river valley. Some centres achieved local hegemony, but never to the extent of extinguishing permanently the pretensions of rival centres. Thus, the early history of Indonesia comprises many regional histories that only gradually intersect with each other.

      The historical fragmentation of the archipelago, which was sustained by its rich climate and accentuated (rather than diminished) by easy access to the outside world, is evident in Indonesia's linguistic diversity. The speakers of Austronesian languages almost certainly drifted into the region in small groups from the Asian mainland or the Pacific Islands over long periods of time. When they reached the coasts and rivers of the archipelago, they did not suddenly assume a common identity. On the contrary, they remained scattered groups, sometimes coexisting with descendants of earlier populations of the Pleistocene Epoch (roughly 1,800,000 to 10,000 years ago), who in their turn had also learned to make economic use of their environment over an immense span of cultural time. The hundreds of languages within the western branch of the Austronesian family (which includes most languages of Indonesia) are an index of the manner in which the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago submitted to the social, economic, and natural realities of their environment.

      Stone or metal inscriptions, together with surviving copies of early religious texts, are the most important sources of documentary information. However, because these documents are always concerned with specific places, construction of a comprehensive narrative history of any extensive area is virtually impossible. The reality behind many interregional relationships, then, necessarily remains a riddle. Nevertheless, the ideas of noblemen, as articulated in architecture and literature, reflect varying degrees of exposure to influences from beyond the archipelago. Moreover, they reveal points of intersection in the beliefs and practices of communities throughout the region; all groups maintained basic assumptions concerning the dependence of humans on the goodwill of supernatural entities.

Indonesian “Hinduism”

The arrival of Hindu religious conceptions

      The ultimate effects of these cross-cultural (and commercial) exchanges with western and especially southern Asia are usually described collectively as “Hinduization.” It is now held that Hinduism was taken to Indonesia not by traders, as was formerly thought, but by Brahmans (Brahman) from India who taught Shaivism and the message of personal immortality. Sanskrit (Sanskrit language) inscriptions, attributed to the 5th and 6th centuries, have been found in eastern Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), a considerable distance from the international trade route, and also in western Java. They reveal that Indian literati, or their Indonesian disciples, were honoured in some royal courts. The rulers, called raka, were prominent heads of groups of villages in areas where irrigation and other needs had stimulated intervillage relationships and the development of supravillage authority; the inscriptions, and also Chinese sources, indicate that some of these rulers were involved in warfare, perhaps in an effort to extend their influence. The Shaivite Brahmans supervised the worship of the phallic symbol of Shiva, the linga (lingam), in order to tap the god's favours on behalf of their royal patrons. These Brahmans were representatives of an increasingly influential devotional movement ( bhakti) in Indian Hinduism of the time, and they probably taught their patrons how to achieve a personal relationship with the god through “austerity, strength, and self-restraint,” in the words of one inscription from Kalimantan. The rulers, therefore, were encouraged to attribute their worldly successes to Shiva's grace; the grace was obtained through devotional exercises offered to Shiva and was likely regarded as the guarantee of a superior status in the life after death. These Shaivite cults were marks of a privileged spiritual life and a source of prestige and royal authority.

Indonesian religious conceptions

      Indonesians, who had been accustomed to constructing terraced temples—symbolizing holy mountains—for honouring and burying the dead, would not have been perplexed by the Brahmans' doctrine that Shiva also dwelt on a holy mountain. Megaliths that had already been placed on mountain terraces for ritual purposes would easily have been identified with Shiva's natural stone linga, the most prestigious of all lingas. Indonesians, who were already concerned with funerary rites and welfare of the dead and who considered the elaborate rituals of metalworking as a metaphor for spiritual transmutation and liberation of the soul, would have paid particular attention to Hindu devotional techniques for achieving immortality in Shiva's abode. The meditative ascetic of Hinduism may have been preceded in Indonesia by the entranced shaman (priest-healer). In addition, the notion that water was a purifying agent because it had been cleansed by Shiva's creative energy on his mountaintop would have been intelligible to mountain-venerating Indonesians, especially if they already endowed the water flowing from their own gods' mountain peaks with divinely fertilizing qualities.

      The entrance of the Brahmans into the Indonesian religious framework was likely paved by earlier Buddhist missionaries to the archipelago, who shared the Hindu concern for religious salvation. The perspectives of those who first listened to the Brahmans, however, were certainly informed by indigenous religious concepts. Revered especially as teachers (gurus), the Brahmans gained the confidence of Indonesians by demonstrating ways to achieve religious goals that were already important in the indigenous system of beliefs.

      Nevertheless, Indonesian circumstances and motivation underlay the adoption of Indian forms. The use of Hindu terminology in the inscriptions represents no more than Indonesian attempts to find suitable metaphoric expressions from the sacred Sanskrit literature for describing their own realities. Sanskrit literature, imported from India on manuscripts or as oral tradition, would have been drawn from especially when courtly literati were seeking to describe those rulers who had achieved an intense personal relationship with Shiva. The Indonesians, like other early Southeast Asian peoples, had no difficulty in identifying themselves with the universal values of Hindu civilization as represented by the sacred literature. While Indian literary and legal works provided useful guidelines for Indonesian creative writing, they did not bring about a thoroughgoing Hinduization of the archipelago any more than Indian Brahmans were responsible for the formation of the early kingdoms of the archipelago.

      India, then, should be regarded as an arsenal of religious skills, the use of which was subordinated to the ends of the Indonesians. Expanding communication meant that increasing numbers of Indonesians became interested in Indian thought. The first reasonably well-documented period of maritime Malay history provides further evidence of the Indonesian adaptation of Indian religious conceptions.

The Malay kingdom of Srivijaya-Palembang

 The kingdom of Srivijaya (Śrivijaya empire) is first mentioned in the writings of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim I-ching, who visited it in 671 after a voyage of less than 20 days from Canton. He was on the first stage of his journey to the great teaching centre of Nalanda (Nālanda) in northeastern India. The ruler of Srivijaya assisted I-ching on his journey.

      Archaeological surveys undertaken since the late 20th century immediately to the west of Palembang city have revealed such a quantity of materials as to make it practically certain that this was Srivijaya's heartland in the 7th and subsequent three centuries. Surface remains of more than a thousand shards of Chinese ceramics, many of which are datable from the 8th to the 10th century, have been recovered from several sites. Shards from the 11th to the 14th century found elsewhere in the area may represent shifts of political and commercial activity in the Palembang region. Shards found on nearby Seguntang Hill (Bukit Seguntang), on the other hand, span all these centuries. A piece of Romano-Indian rouletted ware, attributable to the early centuries CE, has been discovered in Palembang near the river; the same ware has been found in Java near Jakarta. Moreover, the sheer bulk of Buddhist, Hindu, and other statuary that has been recovered from the Musi River region has suggested that the basin contained the site of a polity near the sea that enjoyed considerable international contacts. Finally, stupa remains have been unearthed at the foot of Seguntang Hill. These discoveries reinforce the textual evidence that Palembang was indeed the centre of the Srivijaya empire.

Buddhism in Palembang

      Srivijaya-Palembang's importance both as a trade nexus and as a Southeast Asian centre for the practice of Buddhism has been established by Arab and Chinese historical sources spanning a long period of time. Its own records, in the form of inscriptions in Old Malay ( Malay language written in an Indian-based script), are limited almost entirely to the second half of the 7th century. The inscriptions reveal that the ruler was served by a hierarchy of officials and that he possessed wealth. The period when the inscriptions were written was an agitated one. Battles are mentioned, and the ruler had to reckon with disaffection and intrigue at his capital. Indeed, the main theme of the inscriptions is a curse on those who broke a loyalty oath administered by drinking holy water. The penalty for disloyalty was death, but those who obeyed the ruler were promised eternal bliss.

      I-ching recommended Palembang, with more than a thousand monks, as an excellent centre at which to begin studying Buddhist texts. The 7th-century inscriptions, however, are concerned with less-scholarly features of Buddhism. Showing influences of Vajrayana (Vajrayāna), or Tantric Buddhism, they deal largely with yantras (yantra), symbols to aid magical power that were distributed by the ruler as favours to faithful servants. (Some of the ruler's adversaries also dispensed yantras, however.) The Talang Tuwo inscription of 684, which records the king's prayer that a park he has endowed may give merit to all living beings, is especially indicative of the presence of Buddhism within the context of royal power. The language and style of this inscription, incorporating Indian Tantric conceptions, make it clear that the ruler was presenting himself as a bodhisattva—one who was to become a buddha himself—teaching the several stages toward supreme enlightenment. This is the first instance in the archipelago's history of a ruler's assumption of the role of religious leader.

      The inscriptions show that the teachings of the Tantric school of Mahayana Buddhism, with its magical procedures for achieving supernatural ends, had reached Palembang before the end of the 7th century. Tantric Buddhism came into prominence in India only in the 7th century, and the synchronism of its appearance in Palembang reflects not only the regularity of shipping contacts between Sumatra and India but, more important, the Malays (Malay)' quick perception of Tantrism as a source of personal spiritual power. The word for “curse” in the inscriptions is Malay, and it is reasonable to suppose that the Malays grafted Tantric techniques onto indigenous magical procedures. The prestige that was accorded the sacred Seguntang Hill, a site visited by those in search of spiritual power, probably also reflects the vitality of Malay religion; it is unlikely that the site would have become such a spiritual centre merely as a result of traffic in Tantric conceptions during the 7th century. The agitation and adversity revealed in the inscriptions, then, are less likely to have been the growing pains of a rising kingdom than the efforts of an already important kingdom to achieve, or perhaps recover, hegemony in southern Sumatra.

The maritime influence

      In the centuries before they undertook long voyages overseas, the Chinese relied on foreign shipping for their imports, and foreign merchants from afar required a safe base in Indonesia before sailing on to China. This seaborne trade, regarded in China as “tributary” trade with the “emperors' barbarian vassals,” had developed during the 5th and 6th centuries but languished in the second half of the 6th century as a result of the civil war in China that preceded the rise of the Sui (Sui dynasty) and T'ang (Tang dynasty) dynasties. Chinese records for the first half of the 7th century mention several small harbour kingdoms in the region, especially in northeastern Sumatra, that were pretending to be Chinese vassals. As illustrated by the militancy of the ruler in the Old Malay inscriptions, however, the rulers of Palembang, hoping for a revival of trade under the new T'ang dynasty, were eager to monopolize the China trade and eliminate their rivals. They indeed succeeded in their aim; before I-ching left Southeast Asia in 695, Srivijaya had gained control of the Strait of Malacca (Malacca, Strait of).

      The subsequent power of the higher-ranking rulers—the maharajas—of Srivijaya depended on their alliance with those who possessed warships. The fact that Arab accounts make no mention of piracy in the islands at the southern end of the Strait of Malacca suggests that the seafaring inhabitants of these islands identified with the interests of the maharajas; the islanders therefore refrained from molesting merchant ships, and they cooperated in controlling Srivijaya's potential competitors in northern Sumatra. The maharajas offered their loyal subjects wealth, posts of honour, and—according to the inscriptions—supernatural rewards. But the grouping of maritime Malays in this geographically fragmented region survived only as long as the Palembang entrepôt was prosperous and its ruler offered enough largesse to hold the elements together. His bounty, however, depended on the survival of the Chinese tributary trading system, which needed a great entrepôt in western Indonesia. Early Malay history is then, to an important extent, the history of a Sino-Malay alliance. The maharajas benefited from the China trade, while the emperors could permit themselves the conceit that the maharajas were reliable imperial agents.

      The Palembang rulers' exact span of territorial influence is unknown. The Bangka Strait and the offshore islands at the southern entrance of the Strait of Malacca would have been essential to their maritime power. According to 7th-century inscriptions, the rulers also had influence in southern Sumatra on the Sunda Strait. Elsewhere in the hinterland, including the Batanghari River basin, which came to be known as Malayu (along with other regions of Sumatra's interior), their authority would have been exercised by alliances with local chiefs or by force, with decreasing effect the farther these areas were from Palembang.

      Malay unity under the leadership of the maharajas was inevitably undermined when, as early as the 10th century, Chinese private ships began to sail to centres of production in the archipelago, with the result that the Chinese market no longer depended on a single Indonesian entrepôt. Toward the end of the 11th century, Srivijaya-Palembang ceased to be the chief estuary kingdom in Sumatra. Hegemony had passed, for unknown reasons, to the neighbouring estuary town of Jambi, on the Batanghari River, which was probably controlled by the Minangkabau people of the island's west-central interior. With the decline of the tributary trade with China, a number of harbours in the region became centres of international trade. Malayu-Jambi never had the opportunity to build up naval resources as Srivijaya-Palembang had done, and in the 13th century a Javanese prince took advantage of the power vacuum.

Central Java from c. 700 to c. 1000

 Eastern Javanese inscriptions throw little light on happenings before the 10th century, but the evidence from south-central Java, especially from the Kedu Plain in the 8th and 9th centuries, is more abundant. This period in central Java is associated with the Shailendra dynasty and its rivals. An Old Malay inscription from north-central Java, attributed to the 7th century, establishes that the Shailendras were of Indonesian origin and not, as was once suspected, from mainland Southeast Asia. In the middle of the 9th century, the ruler of Srivijaya-Palembang was a Shailendra who boasted of his Javanese ancestors; the name Shailendra also appears on the undated face of an inscription on the isthmus of the Malay Peninsula; the other face of the inscription—dated 775—is in honour of the ruler of Srivijaya.

      In spite of ambiguous references to Shailendra connections overseas, there is no solid evidence that the territories of the central Javanese rulers at this time extended far beyond central Java, including its north coast. Yet the agricultural wealth of this small kingdom sustained vast religious undertakings; the monuments of the Kedu Plain are the most famous in Indonesia. The Borobudur temple complex, in honour of Mahayana Buddhism, contains 2,000,000 cubic feet (56,600 cubic metres) of stone and includes 27,000 square feet (2,500 square metres) of stone bas-relief. Its construction extended from the late 8th century to the fourth or fifth decade of the 9th. Shiva's great temple at Prambanan, though not associated with the Shailendra family, is less than 50 miles (80 km) away, and an inscription dating to 856 marks what may be its foundation stone. The two monuments, which have much in common, help to explain the religious impulses in earlier Javanese history.

      Borobudur is a terraced temple surmounted by stupas, or stone towers; the terraces resemble Indonesian burial foundations, indicating that Borobudur was regarded as the symbol of the final resting place of its founder, a Shailendra, who was united after his death with the Buddha. The Prambanan temple complex is also associated with a dead king. The inscription of 856 mentions a royal funeral ceremony and shows that the dead king had joined Shiva, just as the founder of the Borobudur monument had joined the Buddha. Divine attributes, however, had been ascribed to kings during their lifetimes. A Mahayana inscription of this period shows that a ruler was said to have the purifying powers of a bodhisattva, the status assumed by the ruler of Srivijaya in the 7th century; a 9th-century Shaivite inscription from the Kedu Plain describes a ruler as being “a portion of Shiva.”

      The divine qualities of these kings (sacred kingship), whether of Mahayana or of Shaivite persuasion, had important implications in Javanese history and probably in the history of all parts of the archipelago that professed the forms of Indian religion. The ruler was now and henceforth seen as one who had achieved union with the supreme god in his lifetime. Kingship was divine only because the king's soul was the host of the supreme god and because all the king's actions were bound to be the god's actions. He was not a god-king; he was the god. No godlike action was more important than extending the means of personal salvation to others, always in the form of union with the god.

      The bas-relief of the Borobudur monument, illustrating Mahayana texts and especially the Gandavyuha—the tale of the tireless pilgrim in search of enlightenment—is a gigantic exposition of the Mahayana path to salvation taken by the king; it may be thought of as a type of yantra to promote meditation and ultimate union with the Buddha. But Borobudur can also be identified as a circle, or mandala, of supreme mystical power associated with the Vairocana Buddha (one of the self-born Dhyani-Buddhas (Dhyāni-Buddha)), according to the teachings of Vajrayana (Vajrayāna) Buddhism. The mandala was intended to protect the Shailendra realm for all time. The pedagogical symbolism of the Prambanan temple complex is revealed in its iconography, dominated by the image of the four-armed Shiva, the Great Teacher—the customary Indonesian representation of the supreme deity. Prambanan affirms the Shaivite path to salvation; the path is indicated in the inscription of 856, which implies that the king had practiced asceticism, the form of worship most acceptable to Shiva. Thus, in Java, Shaivism as well as Mahayana Buddhism had become hospitable to Tantric influences. An almost contemporary inscription from the Ratu Baka plateau, which is not far from the Prambanan complex, provides further evidence of Tantrism; it alludes to special rites for awakening Shiva's divine energy through the medium of a ritual consort.

      These royal tombs taught the means of salvation. The royal role on earth was similar. The kings, not the religious elite, bore the responsibility of ensuring that all could worship the gods, whether under Indian or Indonesian names. Every god in the land was either a manifestation of Shiva or a subordinate member of Shiva's pantheon, and worship therefore implied homage to the king, who was part of the god. The growing together, as a result of Tantric influences, of Shaivism and Mahayana Buddhism meant that over the centuries the divine character of the king was continually elaborated. His responsibility was the compassionate one of maintaining his kingdom as a holy land. The bodhisattva-king was moved by pity, as were all bodhisattvas, while the Shiva-like king, as an inscription of the 9th century indicates, was also honoured for his compassion. Compassion was expressed by providing an environment wherein religion could flourish. Keeping the peace, protecting the numerous holy sites, encouraging religious learning, and, above all, performing purification rituals to render the land acceptable to the gods were different aspects of a single mission: the teaching of the religious significance of life on earth. The lonely status of the ruler did not separate him from the religious aspirations of his subjects; Prambanan provides a recognition of the community of interest between ruler and ruled. The 856 inscription states that a tank of purifying water, filled by a diverted river, was made available as a pilgrimage centre for spiritual blessings. Hermitages had been built at the Prambanan complex, and the inscription states that they were “to be beautiful in order to be imitated.”

      The great monuments of the 9th century suggest something of the cultural ambience within which events took place. One new development in central Java was that capable raka (local rulers) were gradually able, when opportunities arose, to fragment the lands of some raka and absorb the lands of others. At the same time, they established lines of communication between themselves and the villages in order to guarantee revenue and preserve a balance between their own demands and the interests of the independent and prosperous agricultural communities. When a ruler manifested divine qualities, he would attract those who were confident that they would earn religious merit when they supported him. Local princes from all over the Kedu Plain constructed small shrines around the main Prambanan temple in a manner reminiscent of a congregation gathered around a religious leader. The inscription of 856 states that they built “cheerfully.”

Eastern Java and the archipelago from c. 1000 to c. 1300

 Documentation in the form of inscriptions and monuments ceased in central Java after the beginning of the 10th century. For a period of more than 500 years, little is known of events in central Java, and simultaneous developments in western Java and in the eastern hook of the island have also remained a mystery. Evidence of the events of these years comes almost exclusively from the Brantas River valley and the adjacent valleys of eastern Java. This abrupt shift in the locus of documentation has never been satisfactorily explained.

Government and politics

      Eastern Java did not form a natural political unit. No single town was so exceptionally endowed in local resources as to emerge as a permanent capital; instead, the residencies of defeated kings were simply abandoned. There remains no trace of the location of some of these royal compounds. The problems of government in these conditions are illustrated by the events of the 11th century.

      In 1016 the city of the eastern Javanese overlord was destroyed, likely by a rebellious vassal, in what an inscription of 1041 (called the “Calcutta” inscription) described as “the destruction of the world.” The kingdom consequently fell apart, but it was restored by the dead king's son-in-law Erlangga (Airlangga), a half- Balinese prince. Erlangga lived with hermits, probably practicing asceticism, from 1017 to 1019, the year in which he was hailed as ruler of the small principality of Pasuruan, near the Brantas delta. He could not take the military offensive until 1028, however, and his final success was not before 1035; he dispatched his last opponent by provoking an uprising in the manner taught by Kautilya, the master of Indian statecraft who recommended the use of subversion against an enemy. Erlangga's victories gradually vindicated his claims to divine power, and in the “Calcutta” inscription he expressed the hope that all in the land would now be able to lead religious lives.

      Erlangga then undid the results of his achievement. Foreseeing that two of his sons might quarrel, he divided his kingdom so that one son should rule over the southern part, known as Panjalu, Kadiri (Kaḍiri), or Daha, and the other over the northern part, Janggala. Erlangga's sons refused to honour their father's intentions. Fighting broke out, and the Kadiri rulers were unable to establish their uneasy domination over the kingdom until the early 12th century. The consequences of Erlangga's decision to split the kingdom are mourned in the Nagarakertagama (Nāgarakṛtāgama), a poem written in 1365 that survives in a manuscript found in Lombok at the end of the 19th century.

      The chain of command between the capital and the villages—and the number of officials involved—had grown since the central Java period. The ideal of a greater Javanese unity, protected by a divine king, was probably cherished most by the villagers, since they especially would benefit from peace and safe internal communications. Inscriptions sometimes acknowledge the king's gratitude for villagers' assistance in times of need. The villages were prosperous centres of local government. As a result of increasing contacts with the royal court, village society had now become more stratified, with elaborate signs of status. But local lords could make difficulties for the villages by tampering with the flow of the river or exacting heavy tolls from traders. In comparison with these local vexations, the royal right to the villagers' services and part of their produce was probably not resented. No document was more respected than the inscription that recorded a village's privileges.

      The king's chief secular responsibility was to safeguard his subjects' lands, including the estates of the temples and monasteries that were so conspicuous a feature of the Javanese landscape. When the king wanted to build a temple on wet-rice land, he was expected to buy the land, not confiscate it. At court he was assisted by a small council of high-ranking officials, whose services were rewarded with appanages from royal lands. Of the council members, the king's heir seems to have been the most important. Council officials conveyed royal decisions to subordinates, typically by visiting village elders while making a circuit of the country.

      Royal rule was probably not harsh. The protests that have been preserved were probably prompted by unusually weak government. A reasonable relationship between ruler and villagers may be seen in a Balinese inscription of 1025 that records a king's sale of his hunting land to a village after the villagers had complained of their lack of land. Village elders sat with the officers of royal law in order to guarantee fair trials and verdicts reflecting the consensus of local opinion. Customary law was incorporated into the royal statutes. Aggrieved individuals could appeal to the king for redress; groups of villages sought his assistance for large-scale irrigation works. The villages paid taxes to the ruler, who thus enjoyed an economic advantage over other regional lords. Everything depended on the ruler's energy and a general agreement that his government served the interests of all.

      The Kadiri princes of the 12th century ruled over a land that was never free from rebellion. In 1222 the king Kertajaya was defeated by an adventurer, Ken Angrok. A new capital was established, with Ken Angrok as king, at Kutaraja—later renamed Singhasari (Singhasāri)—near the harbours of east Java.

The empire of Kertanagara

      Changed economic circumstances in the archipelago had an important impact on Java beginning in the 13th century. Long before the 12th century, Chinese shipping had become capable of distant voyages, and Chinese merchants sailed directly to the numerous producing centres in the archipelago. The eastern Javanese ports became more prosperous than ever before. A smaller entrepôt trade developed on the coasts of Sumatra and Borneo and in the offshore islands at the southern entrance to the Strait of Malacca. Heaps of Chinese ceramics from the 12th to the 14th century attest to the existence of an important trading centre at Kota Cina, near present-day Medan on the northeast coast of Sumatra. As a result of these shifts in the trade pattern, the Minangkabau princes in the hinterland of central Sumatra, heirs to the pretensions of the great overlords of Srivijaya-Palembang, were unable to develop their port of Jambi as a rich and powerful mercantile centre. A power vacuum thus opened in the seas of western Indonesia, and the Javanese kings aspired to fill it.

      Java had probably long been regarded as the centre of a brilliant civilization, and Old Javanese (Kawi) became the language of the inscriptions of the island of Bali in the 11th century. The grafting of Tantric ritual onto a megalithic shrine at Bongkisam in Sarawak (part of Malaysian Borneo), sometime after the 9th century, is indicative of Javanese cultural diffusion to the maritime fringes of Indonesia. Javanese cultural influence in other islands almost certainly preceded political domination.

      Disunity in the Malay world and the cultural fame of Java are not sufficient to explain why the Javanese king Kertanagara (reigned 1268–92) chose to impose his authority on Malayu in southern Sumatra in 1275. It has been suggested that the king's concern was to protect the archipelago from the threat of the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan by organizing a religious alliance. But Kertanagara probably imposed his political authority as well, though his demands would have been limited to expressions of homage and tribute.

      The king's activities overseas were almost certainly intended to enhance his prestige in Java itself, where he was never free from enemies. His political priorities are reflected in a Sanskrit inscription of 1289, attached to an image of the king (sacred kingship) in the guise of the wrathful Aksobhya Buddha (a self-born Dhyani-Buddha (Dhyāni-Buddha)), claiming that he had restored unity to Java; his overseas exploits are not mentioned.

      The precise doctrinal contents of Kertanagara's Tantric cult are unknown. In his lifetime and after his death, his supporters revered him as a Shiva-Buddha. They believed that he had tapped within himself demonic forces that enabled him to destroy the demons that sought to divide Java. The 14th-century poet Prapancha (Prapañcā), author of the Nagarakertagama and a worshipper of Kertanagara, on one occasion referred to the king as the “Vairocana Buddha” and associated him with a ritual consort who was, however, the consort of Aksobhya Buddha. Prapancha also admired the king's scholarly zeal and especially his assiduous performance of religious exercises for the good of mankind.

      The role of the royal ascetic had long been a familiar feature of Javanese kingship. The king who had been buried in the 9th-century mausoleum of Prambanan was identified with Shiva (Shaivism), the teacher of asceticism. Early in the 13th century King Angrok, according to a later chronicle, regarded himself as the Bhatara Guru, the divine teacher who was equated with Shiva. Shaivite and Mahayana priests had been under royal supervision from at least as early as the 10th century. Consequently, the Tantric concept of a Shiva-Buddha, taught by Kertanagara, was not regarded as extraordinary. Javanese religious speculation had come to interpret Shaivism and the Mahayana as identical programs for personal salvation, with complementary gods. Union with divinity, to be achieved here and now, was the goal of all ascetics, including the king, who was regarded as the paragon of ascetic skill.

      Kertanagara's religious status, as well as his political problems and policies, were in 13th-century Java by no means eccentric or contradictory features. Indeed, such religious and political authority enabled Kertanagara to take advantage of circumstances stemming from Chinese trade in the archipelago to extend his divine power beyond Java itself. By the 14th century the homage of overseas rulers to the Javanese king was taken for granted.

The Majapahit era

  In 1289 the Javanese king Kertanagara maltreated Kublai Khan's envoy, who had been sent to demand the king's submission. The Mongol emperor organized a punitive expedition in 1292, but Kertanagara was killed by a Kadiri rebel, Jayakatwang, before the invaders landed. Jayakatwang in his turn was quickly overthrown by Kertanagara's son-in-law, later known as Kertarajasa, who used the Mongols to his own advantage and then forced them to withdraw in confusion. The capital city of the kingdom was moved to Majapahit (Majapahit empire). For some years the new ruler and his son, who regarded themselves as successors of Kertanagara, had to suppress rebellions in Java; not until 1319 was Majapahit's authority firmly established in Java with the assistance of the renowned soldier Gajah Mada. Gajah Mada was the chief officer of state during the reign of Kertanagara's daughter Tribhuvana (c. 1328–50), and in these years Javanese influence was restored in Bali, Sumatra, and Borneo. Kertanagara's great-grandson, Hayam Wuruk, became king in 1350 under the name Rajasanagara.

      Hayam Wuruk's reign (1350–89) is remembered in the archipelago as the most glorious period in Javanese history. Prapancha (Prapañcā)'s poem the Nagarakertagama (Nāgarakṛtāgama) provides a rare glimpse of the kingdom from a 14th-century point of view. The poem, originally called the Desa warnana (“The Description of the Country”), describes itself as a “literary temple” and endeavours to show how royal divinity permeates the world, cleansing it of impurities and enabling all to fulfill their obligations to the gods and therefore to the holy land—the now undivided kingdom of Java. The poem resembles an act of worship rather than a chronicle. The poet does not conceal his intention of venerating the king, and, in the tradition of Javanese poetry, he may have begun it under the stimulus of pious meditation intended to bring him into contact with the divinity that was embodied in the king.

      The core territories of Hayam Wuruk's polity were probably considerably more extensive than those of his predecessors. Important territorial rulers, bound to the royal family by marriage, were brought under surveillance through their incorporation into the court administration. Although a network of royal religious foundations was centred in the capital, it remains unclear whether a more centralized and enduring structure of government was introduced or whether the unity of the realm and the ruler's authority still depended on the ruler's personal prestige. Prapancha, at least, did not ascribe to Hayam Wuruk an unrealistic degree of authority, even though his poem is an undisguised representation of the attributes of royal divinity and the effects of divine rule in Java. In their travels around the kingdom, subordinate officials asserted their royal authority in such matters as taxes and the control of religious foundations. A sign of the king's prestige was his decision to undertake a land survey to ensure that his subjects' privileges were being maintained. In the absence of an elaborate system of administration, the authority of the government was strengthened by the ubiquity of its representatives, and no one set a more strenuous example than the king himself. According to Prapancha, “the prince was not for long in the royal residence,” and much of the poem is an account of royal progresses. In this way Hayam Wuruk was able to assert his influence in restless areas, enforce homage from territorial lords, reassure village elders by his visits, verify land rights, collect tribute, visit holy men in the countryside for his own spiritual enlightenment, and worship at Mahayana, Shaivite, and ancient Javanese holy sites. His indefatigable traveling, at least in the earlier years of his reign, meant that many of his subjects had the opportunity to come into the presence of one whom they regarded as the receptacle of divinity.

      One of the most interesting sections of the Nagarakertagama concerns the annual New Year (New Year festival) ceremony, when the purifying powers of the king were reinforced by the administration of holy water. The ceremony, attended by scholarly Indian visitors, enabled the poet to assert that the only famous countries were Java and India because both contained many religious experts. At no time in the year was the king's religious role more emphatically recognized than at the New Year, when the notables of the kingdom, the envoys of vassals, and village leaders went to Majapahit to pay homage and to be reminded of their duties. The ceremony ended with speeches to the visitors on the need to keep the peace and maintain the rice fields. The king explained that only when the capital was supported by the countryside was it safe from attack by “foreign islands.”

      Since the poem venerates the king, it is not surprising that more than 80 places in the archipelago are described as vassal territories and that the mainland kingdoms, with the exception of Vietnam, are said to be protected by the king. Prapancha, believing that the king's glory extended in all directions, delineated in detail what he perceived to be the limits of relevant space. No fewer than 25 places in Sumatra are noted, and the Moluccas, whose spices and other products were a source of royal wealth, are well represented. On the other hand, northern Celebes (Sulawesi) and the Philippines are not mentioned.

      During Hayam Wuruk's lifetime Javanese overseas prestige was undoubtedly considerable, though the king demanded no more than homage and tribute from his more important vassals, such as the ruler of Malayu in Sumatra. In 1377, when a new Malayu ruler dared to seek investiture from the founder of the Ming dynasty in China, Hayam Wuruk's envoys in Nanking convinced the emperor that Malayu was not an independent country. Javanese influence in the archipelago, however, depended on the ruler's authority in Java itself. When Hayam Wuruk died in 1389, the Palembang ruler in southeastern Sumatra saw an opportunity to repudiate his vassal status. He had noted the Ming dynasty's restoration of the long-abandoned tributary trading system and its prohibition of Chinese voyages to Southeast Asia and supposed that foreign traders would again need the sort of entrepôt facilities in western Indonesia that Srivijaya-Palembang had provided centuries earlier. He may even have announced himself as a bodhisattva and heir of the maharajas of Srivijaya. The Javanese expelled him from Palembang, and he fled to Singapore and then to Malacca (Malacca, sultanate of) on the Malay Peninsula.

Islamic (Islāmic world) influence in Indonesia

Muslim kingdoms of northern Sumatra

 Foreign Muslims had traded in Indonesia and China for many centuries; a Muslim tombstone in eastern Java bears a date corresponding to 1082. However, substantial evidence of Islam in Indonesia exists only from the end of the 13th century, in northern Sumatra. Two small Muslim trading kingdoms existed by that time at Samudra-Pasai and Perlak. A royal tomb at Samudra-Pasai, dating to 1297, is inscribed entirely in Arabic (Arabic language). By the 15th century the beachheads of Islam in Indonesia had multiplied with the emergence of several harbour kingdoms, ruled by local Muslim princes, on the north coast of Java and elsewhere along the main trading route as far east as Ternate (Ternate Island) and Tidore (Tidore Island) in the Moluccas.

      The establishment of the first Muslim centres in Indonesia was probably a result of commercial circumstances. By the 13th century, in the absence of a strong and stable entrepôt in western Indonesia, foreign traders were drawn to harbours on the northern Sumatran shores of the Bay of Bengal (Bengal, Bay of), distant from the dangerous pirate lairs that had emerged at the southern end of the Strait of Malacca as Srivijaya lost its influence. Northern Sumatra had a hinterland rich in gold and forest produce, and pepper was being cultivated at the beginning of the 15th century. It was accessible to all archipelago merchants who wanted to meet ships from the Indian Ocean. By the end of the 14th century, Samudra-Pasai had become a wealthy commercial centre, but it gave way in the early 15th century to the better-protected harbour of Malacca on the southwest coast of the Malay Peninsula. Javanese middlemen, converging on Malacca, ensured the harbour's importance.

      Samudra-Pasai's economic and political fame depended almost entirely on foreigners. Muslim traders and teachers were likely associated with the kingdom's administration from the beginning, and religious institutions were introduced to make the foreign Muslims feel at home. The first Muslim beachheads in Indonesia, especially Pasai, were to a considerable extent genuine Muslim creations that commanded the loyalty of the local population and encouraged scholarly activities. There were similar new harbour kingdoms on the northern coast of Java, several of which—including Cirebon, Demak, Japara, and Gresik—were mentioned by 16th-century Portuguese writer Tomé Pires in his Suma Oriental. These Javanese kingdoms existed to serve the commerce with the extensive Muslim world and especially with Malacca, an importer of Javanese rice. Similarly, the rulers of Malacca, though of prestigious Palembang origin, had accepted Islam precisely in order to attract Muslim and Javanese traders to their port. This profitable network of communication with the Muslim world of Asia, combined with Islam's assertion of the equality of all believers, helped propel such areas from the fringe of Shaivite-Mahayana culture toward positions of influence within the Indonesian archipelago.

      However, events of the 15th and 16th centuries were not merely a consequence of the influence of new ideas; the political ambitions of many regional princes also catalyzed rapid, agitated, and erratic change. Aceh, which succeeded Samudra-Pasai in the 16th century as the leading harbour kingdom in northern Sumatra, became a self-consciously Muslim state, although “Hindu” notions of divine kingship might have persisted locally as late as the 17th century. Aceh had contacts with Muslim India and its own heterodox school of Muslim mysticism; its sultans also sought an alliance with the Ottoman Empire against the Portuguese, who had conquered Malacca in 1511. The Malay princes of Malacca had installed Muslim vassals on the east coast of Sumatra in the 15th century, but when Malacca was captured by the Portuguese, the princes transferred their capital southward on the Malay Peninsula to Johor (Johore) and gradually became involved in a conflict not only with the Portuguese but also with the Acehnese for control of the Strait of Malacca. Aceh, for its part, was unable to impose its faith on the Batak highlanders in the interior. The most notable gain for Islam in Sumatra was in the Minangkabau country, where Shaivite-Mahayana Tantric cults had flourished in the 14th century; by the beginning of the 17th century, Islam had advanced far into Minangkabau territory by way of the Acehnese coast.

Muslims in Java

      The Sumatran centres of Islam had commercial ties with other parts of the region, but they were not closely involved in events outside their immediate neighbourhoods. On Java, on the other hand, the negligible distance between the Muslim powers of the coastal fringe and the established kingdoms of the interior allowed tension to develop. The Muslims did not overthrow the kingdom of Majapahit (Majapahit empire); rather, the kingdom, weakened by feuds within its royal family and exclusion from overseas commerce, merely withered away and disappeared in the early 16th century. The passing of Majapahit hegemony, however, left a power void in Java that triggered outright conflict not only between Muslim and non-Muslim communities but also between Islamic power hierarchies and those of the traditional aristocracy.

      The 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries constituted an extremely agitated period in Javanese history. The militant character of coastal Islam was evident in the enforced imposition of the new faith on western Java and also on Palembang in southern Sumatra. With the spread of Islam came an expansion of its power structure. The impact of this expansion, especially from a political perspective, was evident in the fury with which Mataram, the great Muslim kingdom of 17th-century Java, lashed out against the princes and Muslim notables of the northern coast.

      The conflict apparently began with the determination of the coastal rulers of the Islamic sultanate of Demak in the first half of the 16th century to rule over a great Javanese kingdom. Especially as their harbours grew richer and their dynasties older and more confident, the coastal princes came to see themselves not only as Muslim leaders but as Javanese royalty. Their pretensions are reflected in Tomé Pires' statement that they cultivated the “knightly” habits of the ancient aristocracy. But when Demak sought to expand inland, bringing with it Islam, its armies were halted in the mid-16th century by the kingdom of Pajang. Some years later the central Javanese kingdom of Mataram came to the fore. The climax of the conflict occurred in the first half of the 17th century, when Agung, ruler of Mataram, took the offensive and destroyed the coastal states and with them the basis of Javanese overseas trade.

      The Islam that came to Indonesia from India, perhaps from southern India, brought the heterodox mystic sects of Sufism (Ṣūfism), the character of which was probably not foreign to the Javanese ascetics. Both a Sufi “saint” (wali) and a Javanese guru likely understood and respected each other's yearning for personal union with God. The Javanese tradition, by which small groups of disciples were initiated by a teacher into higher wisdom, was paralleled in the Sufi teaching methods. For Muslim theologian and Javanese scholar alike, the concern was always less with the nature of the divine than with skills for communicating with God. Arabic texts, moreover, tended eventually to be recited as meditative aids, just as the Tantric mantras had been.

      The earliest Javanese disciples of Islam were, however, not the thoughtful representatives of earlier religious systems in Java but humble men of the coast who had been left outside the traditional teachings of the courts and the anchorites. These men doubtless saw in Islam a simple message of hope, offering them not only a congenial personal faith but also opportunities for secular advancement in a trading society where rank was not as important as fervour. Early Muslim literature has a theme of the wandering adventurer who comes from obscure origins, makes good, and seeks the consolations of Islam. For Muslim disciples such as these, the times offered boundless means for achieving success, either in trade or in the service of ambitious princes. These princes, parvenu aristocrats and also the product of Islam, needed guardians of their conscience, courtly advisers, and, above all, military commanders. For the new elite, the progress of coastal Islam brought both spiritual and material gain.

      All of this was greatly disturbing to those in the interior who had been nurtured in older traditions and saw no reason for abandoning their Shaivite-Mahayana values. For the aristocrats of the interior, the memories of Majapahit's hierarchical system of government under a godlike king represented standards of civilized behaviour that had to be asserted at all cost against the forces of confusion released by the coastal population. Contacts between wandering Sufi dervishes (dervish) and peasants, at a time of acute distress caused by warfare, and the pretensions of Muslim court officials, some of whom claimed a privileged religious status without precedent in Javanese history, seemed to threaten the foundations of society. The ruler of the interior kingdom of Pajang is depicted in the Javanese chronicles as an ascetic and as the son and grandson of ascetics. He was, in this respect, a true Javanese king. When, several generations later, the ruler of Mataram destroyed the coastal states, he was ultimately seeking to destroy the forces that disunited Java. This was in the tradition of earlier Javanese kings. His conquests were as much a part of his mission as Kertanagara's had been in the 13th century.

      Under Mataram's hegemony in the 17th century, Islam in Java was permitted to survive only on Javanese royal terms. Its innovating effects were postponed until the end of the 19th century. As one of several religious activities, Islam therefore became tolerable in Javanese eyes. Muslim officials in the court of Mataram became well-rewarded and obedient servants of the ruler. In time, scholars returned to the study of the earlier genres of Javanese literature, including texts that taught the nature of government according to the values of the “Hindu-Javanese” world. In the countryside, Islam remained influential in times of social distress, as it preached to aggrieved peasants of the coming of the messiah. As a literary influence Islam survived in the form of mystical texts and poems, romantic tales, and, later, borrowings by inland court historians of material from the Serat Kanda (“Universal Histories”) of the coastal culture. The borrowings are a testament not only to the impact of Islam in Java but also to the nature of its incorporation into traditional power hierarchies.

Oliver W. Wolters

Expansion of European influence (colonialism, Western)

      Although the presence of Portuguese traders in the archipelago was relatively unimportant in 16th-century Java, the fall of Malacca on the Malay Peninsula to the Portuguese in 1511 was a turning point in Indonesian history. By the end of the century, the level of Muslim Indonesian trade with the Middle East, and thence with Europe, was the greatest it had ever been. As commerce expanded, the Portuguese strove to secure control of trade with the Moluccas—the Spice Islands.

      At the end of the 16th century, however, an increase in Dutch and British interests in the region gave rise to a series of voyages, including those of James Lancaster (Lancaster, Sir James) (1591 and 1601), Cornelis de Houtman and Frederik de Houtman (Houtman, Cornelis and Frederik de) (1595 and 1598), and Jacob van Neck (1598). In 1602 the Dutch East India Company (formal name United East India Company [Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie; VOC]) received its charter, two years after the formation of the English East India Company. The VOC then inaugurated an effort to exclude European competitors from the archipelago—called the East Indies by Europeans. It also sought to control the trade carried on by indigenous Asian traders and to establish its own commercial monopoly.

      Monopoly itself was not an innovation in the archipelago; Aceh, for example, had controlled trade on the northwest and east coasts of Sumatra. The company's monopoly, however, was more extensive and came to form the basis of the Dutch territorial empire. For these reasons many have tended to see either 1511 or the turn of the 17th century as the beginning of a period of European domination that lasted until the 20th century.

      Since the 1930s, however, some historians have criticized the view that Europeans were the major factor in shaping the history of the East Indies from the 17th century onward. By contrast, they have stressed an essential continuity of Indonesian history and have argued that the VOC at first made little change in traditional political or commercial patterns. Traditional Asian commerce, according to one view, was a noncapitalistic peddling trade, financed by patrician classes in Asian countries and conducted by innumerable small traders who collected spices and pepper in the Indies for disposal in the port cities of Asia. In this view the VOC was seen, in effect, as merely another merchant prince, gradually inserting itself into the existing trade patterns of the Spice Islands and accommodating itself to them. As Batavia (now Jakarta) became the headquarters from which it established factories (trading posts) in the Spice Islands and elsewhere, the company gradually became a territorial power, but it was, at first, only one power among others and not yet ruler of the region. Only during the 19th century did new economic forces, the product of industrial capitalism, burst upon the islands and submerge them under a new wave of European imperialism.

Growth and impact of the Dutch East India Company

      Regardless of whether Europeans constituted the primary historical force in 17th-century Indonesia, their presence undoubtedly initiated changes that in the long run were to be of enormous importance. The VOC itself represented a new type of power in the region: it formed a single organization, traded across a vast area, possessed superior military force, and, in time, employed a bureaucracy of servants to look after its concerns in the East Indies. In sum, it could impose its will upon other rulers and force them to accept its trading conditions. Under the governor-generalship of Jan Pieterszoon Coen (Coen, Jan Pieterszoon) and his successors, particularly Anthony van Diemen (Diemen, Anthony van) (1636–45) and Joan Maetsuyker (Maetsuyker, Joan) (1653–78), the company laid the foundations of the Dutch commercial empire and became the paramount power of the archipelago.

      During the 17th century the VOC went far toward establishing commercial control in the Indonesian islands. It captured Malacca from the Portuguese (1641), confined the British—after a period of fierce rivalry—to a factory at Bencoolen (now Bengkulu), in southwestern Sumatra, and established a network of factories in the eastern islands. Though it may have wished to limit its activities to trade, the company was soon drawn into local politics in Java and elsewhere, and, in becoming the arbiter in dynastic disputes and in conflicts between rival rulers, it inevitably emerged as the main political entity in the archipelago.

      In the 1620s Sultan Agung, ruler of the central Javanese kingdom of Mataram and representative of the old and highly sophisticated Javanese civilization, sought to extend his power over Bantam (near present-day Banten) in western Java. This brought him into conflict with the Dutch, and he laid siege to the Dutch fortress at Batavia. Although Agung's forces were eventually compelled to withdraw, the result of the confrontation was inconclusive and left both the Dutch and the Javanese warily respectful of each other's strength. Dutch intervention in Javanese affairs increased in the later 17th and early 18th centuries, however, owing to internal dissensions within Mataram and a series of wars of succession between pretenders to the throne. In return for its services in 1674 to Amangkurat I, Sultan Agung's successor, and then to Amangkurat II shortly afterward, the VOC received the cession of the Preanger regions of western Java.

      This was the first of a series of major territorial advances. In 1704 Dutch forces assisted in replacing Amangkurat III with his uncle, Pakubuwono I, in return for which further territory was ceded. In this way almost all of Java gradually came under Dutch control, and by 1755 only a remnant of the kingdom of Mataram remained. This was divided into two principalities, Yogyakarta (Jogjakarta) and Surakarta (Solo), which survived until the end of Dutch rule. In an attempt to control the pepper trade in Sumatra, the VOC established footholds in western Sumatra and in Jambi and Palembang over the course of the 17th century, and it interfered in local conflicts in support of rulers who favoured it. The main Dutch expansion in Sumatra did not take place until the 19th century, however.

      In acquiring territorial responsibilities, the company did not at first establish a close administrative system of its own in the areas that were under its direct control. In effect, the VOC replaced the sovereign of the royal court and, in so doing, inherited the existing structure of authority. An indigenous aristocracy administered the collection of tribute on behalf of the company, and only gradually was this system converted into a formalized bureaucracy. The VOC, like the royal court before it, drew revenue in the form of produce from the peasantry within its domain.

      To implement its commercial monopoly, the VOC established company factories for the collection of produce, pressured individual rulers to do business solely with the company, controlled the sources of supply of particular products (clove production, for example, was limited to Ambon, nutmeg and mace to the Banda Islands), and, in the 18th century, pushed through a system of forced deliveries and contingencies. Contingencies constituted a form of tax payable in kind in areas under the direct control of the company; forced deliveries consisted of produce that local cultivators were compelled to grow and sell to the company at a set price. There was little difference between the devices. In theory, forced deliveries were thought of as a form of trade in which goods were exchanged, but they were, in fact, as the British scholar J.S. Furnivall described it, “tribute disguised as trade,” while contingencies were “tribute undisguised.” In effect, the whole system of company trade was designed to extract produce from the East Indies for disposal in a European market—but without stimulating any fundamental technological change in the area's economy. The profits belonged to the company, not to the producers. The indigenous traders of the region were pushed aside by the VOC as it gained control of more and more of the export trade of the archipelago. The growth of Batavia resulted, for example, in the decline of the north coast ports of Java, through which much of the spice trade had been channeled since before the 15th century. In this way the traditional pattern of trade was checked and distorted.

      During the 18th century the VOC ran into financial difficulties from a variety of causes: the breach of the company's monopoly by smuggling, the growing administrative costs as the company came to shoulder greater responsibilities of government, and the corruption of the company's servants. Further complicating matters, the Netherlands (Netherlands, The) (at the time, the Dutch Republic) succumbed to France during the French revolutionary wars (French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars) and was restructured and renamed the Batavian Republic in 1795. In 1799 the (Dutch) government of the republic terminated the affairs of the Dutch East India Company.

The French and the British in Java, 1806–15

      The fall of the Netherlands to France and the dissolution of the company led in due course to significant changes in the administration of the East Indies. Under Napoleon I the Batavian Republic became the Commonwealth of Batavia and then the Kingdom of Holland, with one of Napoleon's marshals, Herman Willem Daendels (Daendels, Herman Willem), serving as governor-general. Daendels strengthened Javanese defenses, raised new forces, built new roads within Java, and improved the internal administration of the island. He attempted to formalize the position of the Javanese regents, subordinating them to Dutch prefects and emphasizing their character as civil servants of a central government rather than as semi-independent local rulers.

 In 1811 Java fell to a British (British Empire) East India Company force under Baron Minto (Minto, Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st earl of, Viscount Melgund Of Melgund), governor-general of India, who, after the surrender, appointed Thomas Stamford Raffles (Raffles, Sir Stamford) lieutenant governor. Raffles approached his task with the conviction that British administrative principles, modeled in part on those developed in Bengal, could liberate the Javanese from the tyranny of Dutch methods; he believed that liberal economic principles and the cessation of compulsory cultivation could simultaneously expand Javanese agricultural production, improve revenue, and make the island a market for British goods. Along with his liberalism, Raffles brought to his task a respect for Javanese society. Before his appointment he had been a student of Malay literature and culture, and during his period in Batavia (Jakarta) he encouraged the study of the society he found about him. Raffles rediscovered the ruins of the great Buddhist temple Borobudur in central Java and published his History of Java in 1817, a year after his return to England.

      Raffles carried further the administrative centralization begun by Daendels and planned to group the regencies of Java into 16 residencies. By declaring all lands the property of the government and by requiring cultivators to pay a land rent for its use, he proposed to end the compulsory production system. This, he believed, would free the peasants from servility to their “feudal” rulers and from the burden of forced deliveries to the Dutch and allow them to expand their production under the stimulus of ordinary economic motives. Raffles oversimplified the complexities of traditional land tenure, however. He misread the position of the regents, whom he at first mistakenly believed to be a class of feudal landholders rather than an official aristocracy. (The regents, in fact, had no proprietary rights in the land of their subjects.) But despite a series of adjustments in his original plan, Raffles was unable to devise an effective means of applying his theories before the return of Java to Dutch hands as part of the general settlement following the defeat of Napoleon.

Dutch rule from 1815 to c. 1920

      Before the 19th century, Indonesian societies had experienced considerable pressure from Europeans, but they had not been consumed by Western influences. The political order of Mataram had been eroded, and the first steps had been taken toward administrative centralization in Java. In the outer islands, local rulers had been forced to submit in some measure to the will of the Dutch headquartered in Batavia (Jakarta). The trading patterns of the archipelago had been changed and constricted. Nevertheless, these were superficial developments when seen against the continuing coherence and stability of Indonesian societies. They were superficial, also, compared with the Western impact still to come.

      When the Dutch returned to Indonesia in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars, their main concern was to make the colony self-supporting. During the interregnum, both exports and revenue had declined sharply, despite Raffles's hopes for his land-rent system. The costs of government in Java were rising as a result of the growing complexity of administration. In restoring their authority, the Dutch retained the main outlines of the British system of residencies, regencies, and lower administrative divisions, though they did not, at first, follow exactly the attempts of Daendels and Raffles to turn the regents into salaried officials, specifically responsible to the residents. Rather, they saw the local regent as the “younger brother” of the Dutch resident. This difference in theory was perhaps of slight practical effect, since the tendency in lower levels of territorial administration continued in the direction of an increasingly centralized control. Several factors contributed to the trend: one was the need to deal with a series of disturbances, primarily in Java and western Sumatra but also on a smaller scale in Celebes, Borneo, and the Moluccas; a second was the new economic policy, adopted in 1830, which increased the economic responsibilities of local officials.

      The Java War of 1825–30 precipitated from a number of causes. In part, it was the product of the disappointed ambitions of its leader, Prince Diponegoro (Dipo Negoro, Pangeran), who had been passed over for the succession to the throne of Yogyakarta. It was also attributable, however, to growing resentment among the aristocratic landholders of Yogyakarta, whose contracts for the lease of their lands to Europeans had been canceled by the governor-general. There was support too from Islamic leaders, as well as other hidden factors—such as the expectation of the coming of a messianic Just Ruler, who would restore the harmony of the kingdom—that undoubtedly added to the climate of discontent. From this agitated atmosphere erupted a revolt that, through the skillful use of guerrilla tactics, continued to challenge Dutch authority for five years, until the Dutch seized Diponegoro during truce negotiations and exiled him to Celebes.

      About the same time, the Dutch in western Sumatra were drawn into the so-called Padri War (named for Pedir, a town in Aceh through which Muslim pilgrims usually returned home from Mecca). Basically, the war was a religious struggle in Minangkabau country between revivalist Islamic leaders (called Padris) and the local adat (“customary law”) leaders, who were supported by the Dutch. Under Tuanku Imam Bonjol (Imam Bondjol), the Padri forces resisted Dutch pressure from the early 1820s until 1837. For the Dutch the effect of this involvement was inevitably a strengthening of administrative commitment in western Sumatra.

The Culture System

      The formation in 1824 of the Netherlands Trading Society (Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij; NHM)—a company embracing all merchants engaged in the East Indies trade and supported by the government of The Netherlands (Netherlands, The) with the king as its chief shareholder—did not produce the hoped-for commercial expansion. In 1830, however, a newly appointed governor-general, Johannes van den Bosch (Bosch, Johannes, graaf van den), devised a new method by which the government could tap the resources of the archipelago. This was the so-called Culture System, or Cultivation System (Cultuurstelsel).

      The Culture System provided that a village set aside a fifth of its cultivable land for the production of export crops. These crops were to be delivered to the government as land rent. Land rent, then, was the measure of the amount to be produced by each village. If a village, through the growing of export crops on a fifth of its land, returned an amount in excess of the land rent for which it had been assessed, it would be free of land rent and would be reimbursed to the extent of the excess; on the other hand, if a village produced less than the assessed amount of land rent, it would have to make up the difference.

      From the government's point of view, the Culture System was an overwhelming success. Exports soared, rising from 13 million guldens (the Dutch currency) in 1830 to 74 million a decade later. The products were disposed of through the Netherlands Trading Society, and between 1840 and 1880 their sale brought to the Dutch treasury an annual average of 18 million guldens, approximately a third of the Dutch budget.

      The effects of the system for the Javanese were, however, of more dubious value. Though its founder believed that, by stimulating agricultural production, the Culture System would ultimately benefit the people of Java as well as the home government, it later came to be considered both by Dutch critics and by outside observers a particularly harsh and burdensome policy. Van den Bosch's expectations were not entirely false, however. The policy did extend village production in certain areas, and the population of Java increased from 6 million to 9.5 million during the full operation of the system. The range of exports from Java was broadened, and indigo and sugar were the first items to be made the subject of compulsory cultivation; coffee, tea, tobacco, and pepper were subsequently added. Nevertheless, the system placed a heavy burden on the cultivators and tended to amplify social and economic inequities within rural society. Dominant peasants, members of a rural elite, were able to manipulate the system to their advantage. And while the Culture System brought the islands of the archipelago into contact with a wider overseas market, the East Indies government stood between producer and market, and the annual surplus added to Dutch, not Javanese, prosperity. The system did nothing to stimulate technological change or economic development for the Javanese people. An increasing commercial role was played not by the indigenous population but by Chinese immigrants, who fit into colonial rule as a separate caste, engaged in tax collection, moneylending, and small trading.

      There were other consequences. The Culture System accentuated the differences between Java and the outer islands, and in Java it led to a considerable tightening of the administrative system. The regent became the kingpin of the system, responsible to the resident for the delivery of crops from his regency. Secure in the knowledge that they were backed by Dutch power, regents in some cases imposed additional burdens upon their subjects—a development that received trenchant criticism in the novel Max Havelaar (1860), written under the pseudonym Multatuli by the Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker, a former official of the East Indies government. But the long-term effect of the new functions imposed on regents was to reduce their independence and to hasten the process, started by Daendels, by which a loosely structured administrative aristocracy was gradually converted into a salaried civil service. Regents were no longer able to draw their revenues from their subjects, and the lines of authority were clearly demarcated. Regents, aided by a junior Dutch official (the controleur), became clearly responsible to the Dutch residents above. By 1860 the administrative divisions of Java had been firmly established, and the service that staffed them had acquired the character it was essentially to preserve for the remainder of the colonial period.

      In the 1860s the Culture System came under attack not only from humanitarian quarters but also from private business interests in The Netherlands. The latter appealed to liberal economic principles in support of their right to share in the riches of the East Indies; their pressure was effective. Although the Culture System was not abolished and continued for a number of years to make its contribution to the Dutch treasury, the decision was taken to encourage also the entry of private investment. The Liberal Policy, as it was called, was effectively inaugurated in 1870 by the adoption of an agrarian law that provided that European investors could acquire land under long-term leasehold, either from Indonesian landholders or, in the case of unoccupied land, from the government. Certain safeguards were provided for the Indonesian landholders: the provision that Europeans lease rather than purchase land was intended to prevent the alienation of Indonesian land, and the government was charged also with preventing Europeans from leasing land that was needed for the subsistence of village populations.

      Within this framework Dutch capital began to flow to the East Indies on a scale that was to transform the character of the Indonesian economy and society. During the next 60 years there was a 10-fold increase in the value of exports (from 107 million guldens to 1.16 billion). There was a change also in kinds of products exported. Such exports as coffee, sugar, tea, and tobacco continued to expand, but such industrial raw materials as rubber, copra, tin, and oil soon came to dominate the export economy. These remarkable developments were in large measure the product of a totally different system of production. Under the company, during the interregnum, and, later, under the Dutch crown working through the Culture System, export crops were grown by Indonesian cultivators on their own land. Under the Liberal Policy, however, the new crops were the subject of estate production. Much economic expansion took place in Sumatra rather than Java, and Sumatra's east-coast residency became the seat of a vast new plantation economy. The estates were company-owned, and the economic developments of the late 19th century were indeed the product of corporate, rather than individual, enterprise.

Dutch territorial expansion

      Rapid economic development was accompanied by territorial expansion. Although the Dutch had established their control effectively over Java by the mid-18th century and had gradually expanded their original holdings in Sumatra over the course of the 19th, their control over the rest of the archipelago was patchy and incomplete. It was exercised, in the main, through agreements with local rulers rather than through direct control over territory. In the closing years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th, rapid moves were made to round out the Dutch empire and extend it effectively over the whole of the East Indies.

      In northern Sumatra, warfare with the people of Aceh that lasted with varying degrees of intensity from 1873 to 1908 brought the northern tip of Sumatra under Dutch control. In Celebes and the Moluccas, where the Dutch had long exercised a general authority, a new instrument—the Short Declaration (in contrast to the earlier Long Contract)—bound local rulers to accept the control of Batavia. Dutch authority was extended in this way over Bone and Luwu in the Celebes, over central Borneo, over Bali and the Lesser Sunda Islands, and over Ternate (Ternate Island), Ceram, and Buru in the Moluccas. Footholds were established also over parts of western New Guinea. Communications were developed—roads and railways in Java and Sumatra and expanded shipping services to link Java to the outer islands—to serve the needs of the new plantation economy. Between 1870 and 1910 the Dutch had thus effectively completed the process of converting the East Indies into a unified colonial dependency and, indeed, of laying the foundations of the future Indonesian republic.

      The “new imperialism” of the late 19th century may be seen as part of a worldwide movement whereby the industrial countries of western Europe partitioned among themselves the hitherto undeveloped areas of the globe. In Africa, in the South Pacific, and in Burma (Myanmar), Indochina, and Malaya, as well as in Indonesia, a new “forward movement” was taking place that stood in dramatic contrast to the earlier patterns of commercial empire. If the European presence created a veritable watershed in Indonesian history, it is to be discerned about 1870 (as opposed to 1511, which marked the establishment of a European base in the archipelago).

      The social impact of these developments upon Indonesian society was tremendous. The economic and political expansion brought a new Dutch population to the East Indies: civil servants to staff the growing services of government, managers to run the new estates, and clerks to staff the import-export houses and other businesses. These new Dutch communities came to form European enclaves within the major cities, and their presence underscored the social divisions in what was increasingly a caste society divided along racial lines. The Dutch, however, were not merely a community of expatriates who were eager to retire as soon as possible to The Netherlands. Many of them regarded the East Indies as their home. Their sense of belonging was very different, for example, from that of the British in India, and it was to give an added bitterness to the later struggle to retain the colony after World War II.

      From the Indonesian point of view, the growing cities became the home of a new urban way of life and stimulated social change. A new elite emerged under the influence of the expanding Western impact. So did a new class of unskilled and semiskilled workers who found employment as domestic servants or as labourers in the light industries that began to develop. Rural society, though more sheltered, was also altered by the currents of change. Although agrarian law and the later labour legislation had provisions to protect existing customary rights over land and to guarantee fairness of contracts for labourers, the mere fact of contract employment on the estates affected the village society from which workers were drawn and played its part in hastening the growth of a disoriented population, divorced increasingly from the shelter of traditional village society but not absorbed into the new urban culture.

The Ethical Policy

      Dutch liberals confidently assumed that, just as freedom of enterprise would maximize welfare at home, so the application of European capital to the task of developing colonial resources would gradually improve the lot of colonial peoples. By the end of the 19th century, 30 years of the Liberal Policy in Indonesia did not appear to have achieved that miracle. Growing criticism of the Dutch record in the East Indies was given particularly influential expression by Conrad Theodor van Deventer (Deventer, Conrad Theodor van), a Liberal Democratic member of the parliament of The Netherlands, who argued that the Dutch had been draining wealth from the East Indies and had incurred thereby a “Debt of Honour” that should be repaid. His suggestion was that The Netherlands turn from its strictly laissez-faire policy in the East Indies to pursue instead a positive welfare program supported by funds from the metropolitan treasury. In 1901 a change of government in The Netherlands provided the opportunity for a new departure in policy along the lines suggested by van Deventer. According to the Ethical Policy, as it was called, financial assistance from The Netherlands was to be devoted to the extension of health and education services and to the provision of agricultural extension services designed to stimulate the growth of the village economy.

      The Ethical Policy was seen by its most fervent supporters as a noble experiment designed to transform Indonesian society, to enable a new elite to share in the riches of Western civilization, and to bring the colony into the modern world. Its ultimate goals were, of course, not clearly defined. Van Deventer looked to the emergence of a Westernized elite who would be “indebted to the Netherlands for its prosperity and higher Culture” and who would gratefully recognize the fact. Others hoped for the growth, by “cultural synthesis,” of a new East Indian society based on a blending of elements of Indonesian and Western cultures and able to enjoy a large measure of autonomy within the framework of the Dutch empire.

      Despite these rather grandiose visions, the achievements of the Ethical Policy were much more modest. It neither checked declining living standards nor promoted an agrarian revolution. It did provide agricultural assistance and advice, but this was directed to the improvement of techniques of irrigation and cultivation within the existing wet-rice technology of Java. Its effect, therefore, was to confirm the gulf between the European economy of the estates, mines, oil wells, and large-scale commerce and the traditional, largely subsistence, Indonesian economy of wet-rice or shifting cultivation. In education a little was done to provide a greater degree of opportunity at primary, secondary, and even tertiary levels, but at the end of the 1930s only a handful of high school graduates were produced locally, and the literacy rate was calculated at just over 6 percent.

      The goals of the Ethical Policy were set too high, and the devices adopted to implement them were too modest. Given the inertia of traditional societies, it was not to be expected that a new order would be created as easily as the proponents of the policy had hoped. Nevertheless, during the years of its operation, the East Indies were exposed to tremendous forces of social change. These forces, however, resulted not from the conscious plans of the Ethical Policy but from the undirected impact of Western economic development. Java's population, which had risen from about 6 million to almost 30 million over the course of the 19th century, increased to more than 40 million by 1920. The population increase, together with urbanization, the penetration of a money economy to the village level, and the labour demands of Western enterprise combined to disrupt traditional patterns. Where the Ethical Policy was most effective, despite the limitations of its educational achievement, was in producing a small educated elite that could give expression to the frustration of the masses in a society torn loose from its traditional moorings. Western currents of thought had their impact also within Islamic circles, where modernist ideas sought to reconcile the demands of Islam and the needs of the 20th century. It is against this background that a self-conscious nationalist movement began to develop.

Toward independence

The rise of nationalism

      Indonesian nationalism in the 20th century must be distinguished from earlier movements of protest; the Padri War, the Java War, and the many smaller examples of sporadic agrarian unrest had been “prenationalistic” movements, the products of local grievances. By contrast, the nationalism of the early 20th century was the product of the new imperialism and was part of wider currents of unrest affecting many parts of Africa and Asia that remained the subjects of Western colonialism (colonialism, Western). In Indonesia nationalism was concerned not merely with resistance to Dutch rule but with new perceptions of nationhood—embracing the ethnic diversity of the archipelago and looking to the restructuring of traditional patterns of authority in order to enable the creation of Indonesia as a modern state. It derived in part from specific discontents, the economic discriminations of colonial rule, the psychological hurt arising from the slights of social discrimination, and a new awareness of the all-pervading nature of Dutch authority. Important too was the emergence of the new elite, educated but lacking adequate employment opportunities to match that education, Westernized but retaining still its ties with traditional society.

      The formation in 1908 of Budi Utomo (“Noble Endeavour”) is often taken as the beginning of organized nationalism. Founded by Wahidin Sudirohusodo, a retired Javanese doctor, Budi Utomo was an elitist organization, the aims of which—though cultural rather than political—included a concern to secure a mutual accommodation between traditional culture and contemporary society. Numerically more important was Sarekat Islam (Sarekat Islām) (“Islamic Association”), founded in 1912. Under its charismatic chairman, Omar Said Tjokroaminoto (Tjokroaminoto, Omar Said), the organization expanded rapidly, claiming a membership of 2,500,000 by 1919. Later research suggests that the real figure was likely to have been no more than 400,000, but even with this greatly reduced estimate, Sarekat Islam was clearly much larger than any other movement of the time. In 1912 the Indies Party (Indische Partij)—primarily a Eurasian party—was founded by E.F.E. Douwes Dekker; banned a year later, it was succeeded by another Eurasian party, calling itself Insulinde, a poetic name for the East Indies. In 1914 the Dutchman Hendricus Sneevliet (Sneevliet, Hendricus) founded the Indies Social Democratic Association, which became a communist party in 1920 and adopted the name Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia; PKI) in 1924.

      By the end of World War I, there had thus emerged a variety of organizations, broadly nationalist in aim, but differing in their tactics and immediate goals and in the sharpness of their perceptions of independent nationhood. In the absence of firm party discipline, it was common for individuals to belong simultaneously to more than one organization, and, in particular, the presence of Indies Social Democratic Association members in Sarekat Islam enabled them to work as a “bloc within” the larger movement. The idea that the time was not yet ripe for communist parties to assume independent leadership of colonial nationalism later led the Soviet-founded Communist International (also known Comintern or the Third International (International, Third)) to formulate the strategy of cooperation with anti-imperialist “bourgeois” parties.

      At the end of World War I, the Dutch, in an effort to give substance to their promise to associate the Indonesian community more closely with government, created the People's Council ( Volksraad). Composed of a mixture of appointed and elected representatives of the three racial divisions defined by the government—Dutch, Indonesian, and “foreign Asiatic”—the People's Council provided opportunities for debate and criticism but no real control over the government of the East Indies. Some nationalist leaders were prepared to accept seats in the assembly, but others refused, insisting that concessions could be obtained only through uncompromising struggle.

      In 1921 the tension within Sarekat Islam between its more conservative leaders and the communists came to a head in a discipline resolution that insisted that members of Sarekat Islam belong to no other party; this, in effect, expelled the communist “bloc within,” and there followed a fierce rivalry between the two for control of the grassroots membership of the organization. The PKI, once it had committed itself to independent action, began to move toward a policy of unilateral opposition to the colonial regime. Without the support of the Comintern, and even without complete unanimity within its own ranks, it launched a revolt in Java at the end of 1926 and in western Sumatra at the beginning of 1927. These movements, which had elements of traditional protest as well as of genuine communist insurrection, were easily crushed by the East Indies government, and communist activity was effectively ended for the remainder of the colonial period.

      The defeat of the communist revolt and the earlier decline of Sarekat Islam left the way open for a new nationalist organization, and in 1926 a “general study club” was founded in Bandung, with a newly graduated engineer, Sukarno, as its secretary. The club began to reshape the idea of nationalism in a manner calculated to appeal to Indonesia's new urban elite. After the failure of the ideologically based movements of Islam and communism, nationalist thinking was directed simply to the idea of a struggle for independence, without any precommitment to a particular political or social order afterward. Such a goal, it was believed, could appeal to all, including Muslims and communists, who could at least support a common struggle for independence, even if they differed fundamentally about what was to follow. Nationalism, in this sense, became the idea that the young Sukarno used as the basis of his attempt to unify the several streams of anticolonial feeling. The ideas of the Bandung Study Club were reinforced by currents of thought emanating from Indonesian students in The Netherlands (Netherlands, The). Their organization, restructured in 1924 under the self-consciously Indonesian (as opposed to Dutch) name Perhimpunan Indonesia (Indonesian Union), became a centre of radical nationalist thought, and in the mid-1920s students returning from The Netherlands joined forces with like-minded groups at home.

      The new nationalism required a new organization for its expression, and in July 1927 the Indonesian Nationalist Association, later the Indonesian Nationalist Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia; PNI), was formed under the chairmanship of Sukarno. The PNI was based on the idea of noncooperation with the government of the East Indies and was thus distinguished from those groups, such as Sarekat Islam, that were prepared to accept People's Council membership. Sukarno, however, while seeking to create a basis of mass support for the PNI, also attempted with some success to work together with more-moderate leaders and succeeded in forming in the party a broadly based, if rather precarious, association of nationalist organizations.

      The nationalist sentiment resonated beyond political parties, however. On Oct. 28, 1928, a number of representatives of youth organizations issued the historic Youth Pledge (Sumpah Pemuda), whereby they vowed to recognize only one Indonesian motherland, one Indonesian people, and one Indonesian language. It was a landmark event in the country's history and also is considered the founding moment of the Indonesian language.

      At the end of 1929, Sukarno was arrested with some of his colleagues and was tried, convicted, and sentenced to four years in prison. He was released at the end of 1931, but by then the united movement he helped to create had begun to disintegrate. The PNI dissolved itself and reformed as Partindo. A number of other groups came together to form a new organization, the Indonesian National Education Club, known as the New PNI. While Partindo saw itself as a mass party on the lines of the old PNI, the New PNI, under the leadership of Mohammad Hatta (Hatta, Mohammad) and Sutan Sjahrir (Sjahrir, Sutan), aimed at training cadres who could maintain continuing leadership of the movement should its leaders be arrested.

      In 1933 Sukarno was arrested again and exiled to Flores; he later was transferred to Bengkulu in southern Sumatra. Repressive action followed against other party leaders, including Hatta and Sjahrir, who were also exiled. In the later 1930s nationalist leaders were forced to cooperate with the Dutch, and such moderate parties as Parindra accepted People's Council membership. In 1937 a more radical party, Gerindo, was formed, but it considered support of The Netherlands against the threat of National Socialism (Nazism) more important than the question of independence.

       World War II changed the situation. The fall of the East Indies to Japan early in 1942 broke the continuity of Dutch rule and provided a completely new environment for nationalist activity.

Japanese occupation

      Japanese military authorities in Java, having interned Dutch administrative personnel, found it necessary to use Indonesians in many administrative positions, which thus gave them opportunities that had been denied them under the Dutch. In order to secure popular acceptance of their rule, the Japanese sought also to enlist the support of both nationalist and Islamic leaders. Under this policy Sukarno and Hatta both accepted positions in the military administration.

      Though initially welcomed as liberators, the Japanese gradually established themselves as overlords. Their policies fluctuated according to the exigencies of the war, but in general their primary object was to make the East Indies serve Japanese war needs. Nationalist leaders, however, felt able to trade support for political concessions. Sukarno was able to convince the administration that Indonesian support could be mobilized only through an organization that would represent genuine Indonesian aspirations. In March 1943 such an organization, Putera (Pusat Tenaga Rakjat; “Centre of the People's Power”), was inaugurated under his chairmanship. While the new organization enabled Sukarno to establish himself more clearly as the leader of the emergent country, and while it enabled him to develop more-effective lines of communication with the people, it also placed upon him the responsibility of sustaining Indonesian support for Japan through, among other devices, the romusha (forced-labour) program. Later in the year Indonesian opinion was given a further forum in a Central Advisory Council and a series of local councils. At a different level, Indonesian youths were able to acquire a sense of group integrity through membership in the several youth organizations established by the Japanese. Of great importance also was the creation in October 1943 of a volunteer defense force composed of and officered by Indonesians trained by the Japanese. The Sukarela Tentara Pembela Tanah Air (Peta; “Volunteer Army of Defenders of the Homeland”) would become the core military force of the Indonesian revolution.

      In March 1944 the Japanese, feeling that Putera served Indonesian rather than Japanese interests, replaced it with a “people's loyalty organization” called Djawa Hokokai, which was kept under much closer control. Six months later the Japanese premier announced the Japanese intention to prepare the East Indies for self-government. In August 1945, on the eve of the Japanese surrender, Sukarno and Hatta were summoned to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in Vietnam, where Terauchi Hisaichi, commander of the Japanese expeditionary forces in Southeast Asia, promised an immediate transfer of independence.

      On their return to Batavia (now Jakarta), Sukarno and Hatta were under pressure to declare independence unilaterally. This pressure reached its climax in the kidnapping of the two men, for a day, by some of Jakarta's youth leaders. On the morning of Aug. 17, 1945, after the news of the Japanese surrender had been confirmed, Sukarno and Hatta proclaimed Indonesia an independent republic.

The revolution

 The proclamation touched off a series of uprisings across Java that convinced the British troops entrusted with receiving the surrender of Japanese forces that the self-proclaimed republic was to be taken seriously. At the level of central government, the constitution adopted by the leaders of the new Republic of Indonesia was presidential in form, but the widely representative Central Indonesian National Committee became, in effect, an ad hoc parliament. Sukarno, as president, agreed to follow parliamentary conventions by making his cabinets dependent upon their ability to command the committee's confidence.

      The spontaneous character of the Indonesian revolution was demonstrated by a number of incidents, notably the struggle for Bandung in late 1945 and early 1946 and the Battle of Surabaya in November 1945; in Surabaya Indonesian fighters resisted superior British forces for three weeks. Fighting also broke out in Sumatra and Celebes. Although the Dutch had expected to reassert their control over their colony without question, and although they were able to play upon the fears of the outer islands (generally, islands other than Java and Madura) of a Java-based republic, they eventually were compelled to negotiate with republican representatives led by Sjahrir, who by then was prime minister. The Linggadjati Agreement (drafted Nov. 15, 1946, and signed March 25, 1947), by which the Dutch agreed to transfer sovereignty in due course to a federal Indonesia, appeared to offer a solution to the conflict. (The Dutch claimed that a federation was necessary because of the diversity of the East Indies and the difference between heavily populated Java and the more sparsely populated outer islands.) Differing interpretations, however, made the agreement a dead letter from the beginning. In July 1947 the Dutch, in an attempt to settle matters by force, initiated what they termed a police action against the republic. Its effect was to evoke United Nations (UN) intervention in the form of a commission known as the Good Offices Committee, and it ended in the precarious Renville Agreement of January 1948. In December 1948 a second police action was launched.

      Meanwhile, the government of the republic faced some domestic opposition. In 1946 a left-wing plot was organized by followers of Ibrahim Datuk Tan Malaka (Tan Malaka, Ibrahim Datuk), who opposed the policy of negotiation with the Dutch. This so-called July 3rd Affair was easily crushed. In September 1948 a more serious challenge, in the form of a communist revolt (the Madiun Affair), was also defeated.

      The second police action aroused American concern. It also closed Indonesian ranks firmly behind the republic. In these circumstances The Netherlands, at a roundtable conference at The Hague (Hague, The), finally agreed in August 1949 to transfer sovereignty over its colony (with the exception of western New Guinea) to the independent United States of Indonesia in December 1949; a decision about the ultimate fate of western New Guinea was to be the subject of future negotiation.

Independent Indonesia to 1965

The years of constitutional democracy

      The initial federal constitution of 1949 was replaced in 1950 by a unitary but still provisional constitution. It was parliamentary in character and assigned an essentially figurehead role to the president. From the revolutionary period, Indonesia had inherited a multiparty system. The main parties after independence were the major Muslim party, Masyumi (Masjumi); the Muslim theologians' party, Nahdatul Ulama (NU), which seceded from Masyumi in 1952; the Nationalist Party (PNI); the Communist Party (PKI); the “national communist” party, Murba; the lesser Muslim parties, Perti and Partai Sarekat Islam Indonesia (PSII); and the Socialist Party (PSI). Until the first elections were held, in 1955, the parliament was filled by appointment under an informal agreement between parties as to their probable electoral strengths. The elections of 1955, a remarkable and technically successful experiment in the exercise of political choice by a largely nonliterate population, confirmed the position of Masyumi, NU, the PNI, and the PKI as the country's four leading political parties.

      With the exception of the PKI, the parties did not represent clearly opposing interests or programs, although some broad patterns of occupational, regional, and cultural support could be seen. The PNI was particularly strong in the ranks of the civil service, while Masyumi tended to find its support in market towns and among the trading classes; NU was stronger in rural areas. The PSI, an influential party until it was virtually eliminated in the elections, had strong support in the higher ranks of the army and bureaucracy. In terms of the regional distribution of party strengths, the PNI, NU, and the PKI were essentially Java-based parties, while Masyumi drew most of its strength from outside Java, particularly from western Sumatra and southwestern Celebes. Masyumi's support within Java was to be found mainly in the province of West Java (Jawa Barat) (Jawa Barat), the home of the Sundanese, as opposed to the ethnic Javanese population. (When resistance reached the point of open revolt in 1958, the regional character of Indonesian political rivalry was especially important.) Party affiliations also to some extent corresponded to a broad cultural opposition between the hierarchical rice-based society of Java and the more strongly Muslim areas where commerce rather than agriculture was (and still is) dominant. Major social streams (aliran) in Indonesian society that spanned various interests, classes, and regions were similarly reflected in political parties and their suborganizations; the division within Java between the santri (devout Muslim) and abangan (syncretic Muslim) orientations was integral to the rivalry between NU and Masyumi on the one hand and the PNI and the PKI on the other.

      In the early and mid-1950s, there was a rapid succession of governments under a series of prime ministers: Hatta (December 1949–August 1950), Mohammad Natsir (September 1950–March 1951), Sukiman Wirjosandjojo (April 1951–February 1952), Wilopo (April 1952–June 1953), Ali Sastroamidjojo (July 1953–July 1955), Burhanuddin Harahap (August 1955–March 1956), and Ali once again (March 1956–March 1957). This instability created a growing disillusionment with the fruits of independence and a sense of contrast between the heroism of the revolution and the self-seeking party rivalry that followed it. In particular, conflict between the export-producing outer islands and the heavily populated island of Java was becoming more marked. In December 1956 these factors of discontent led to movements of regional dissidence, supported by local military commanders, in western Sumatra, the Minahasa Peninsula of northern Celebes, and elsewhere.

Introduction of Guided Democracy

      Against a background of geographically scattered yet salient dissent, Sukarno, resentful of his circumscribed position as figurehead president, began to interfere more frequently in the constitutional processes. In 1956 Vice President Hatta, who had been considered Sukarno's partner in leadership, announced his resignation, and in February 1957 Sukarno announced his own concept for Indonesia's government. Criticizing Western liberal democracy as unsuited to Indonesian circumstances, he called for a political system of “democracy with guidance” based on indigenous procedures. The Indonesian way of deciding important questions, he argued, was by way of prolonged deliberation (musyawarah) designed to achieve a consensus (mufakat); this was the procedure at the village level, and it should be the model for the country. He proposed a government based on the four main parties plus a national council representing not merely political parties but functional groups—urban workers, rural farmers, intelligentsia, national entrepreneurs, religious organizations, armed services, youth organizations, women's organizations, etc.—through which, under presidential guidance, a national consensus could express itself.

      The next two years were a period of almost continuous crisis. The resignation of the second Ali government was followed by a proclamation of a “state of war and siege” and the formation of a nonpartisan government under Djuanda Kartawidjaja. At the end of 1957, in a series of direct actions across the country, Dutch property was seized as part of a campaign for the recovery of western New Guinea, which the Dutch had retained even after formally granting Indonesia independence; the Indonesian government in due course took over the operation of the confiscated Dutch enterprises. The army itself was drawn into the management of estates, and military entrepreneurs came, in time, to play a continuing economic role.

      Early in the following year, leaders from western Sumatra launched a direct challenge to Jakarta in the form of an alternative government of the republic, the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia. The rebellion, supported by some senior Masyumi leaders, was backed also by the military commander of the province of North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara) (Sulawesi Utara; North Celebes). The central government acted swiftly and successfully to suppress the rebellion, however. With the regions defeated, the parties discredited, and the army's prestige enhanced by its recent success against the rebels, Sukarno once more took up the idea of Guided Democracy. Backed by the army chief of staff, Gen. A.H. Nasution, he proposed a return to the 1945 constitution—a presidential type of government within which he believed it would be possible to implement the principles of deliberation and consensus. When the Constituent Assembly (elected in 1955 to draft a permanent constitution) failed to agree to this proposal, Sukarno introduced it by presidential decree on July 5, 1959.

Sukarno's policies

 Under the 1945 constitution, Sukarno possessed executive responsibility as well as ceremonial functions as head of state. He quickly created a new government with Djuanda Kartawidjaja, now prime minister, at its head. Pending elections under a new electoral law, he appointed (in accordance with the functional representation principle) members of the legislative bodies required by the constitution: the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat; MPR) and the Supreme Advisory Council (Dewan Pertimbangan Agung; DPA). In 1960, when the MPR rejected the government's budget, he replaced it with a provisional nominated parliament.

      Sukarno's central purpose was the preservation of the country's unity and the restoration of a sense of national identity, goals he pursued through an increasingly flamboyant style. Sukarno's concern with symbols of greatness—expressed in grandiose buildings, national monuments, evocative slogans, and prestigious acts such as the hosting of the Fourth Asian Games (1962)—was not accompanied by an attempt to come to grips with the country's economic problems. The damage done to the economy by the seizure of Dutch enterprises in 1957 and by the extravagances of his later search for grandeur was justified in his eyes as integral to the task of making Indonesians proud of themselves and of their independence. Nevertheless, he was evidently oblivious to the economic consequences of his policies, showing no recognition of foreign indebtedness, declining exports, or accelerating inflation in the early 1960s.

      During the years of Guided Democracy, Sukarno's power depended in great measure on the preservation of a balance between the army and the PKI. The period was one of growth in the communists' prestige, and Sukarno consistently protected the PKI from moves made against it by the army. He opposed military attempts to prohibit the PKI's congresses and to suppress its newspapers. He banned movements opposing the party and advanced PKI leaders to positions of national leadership. To many observers he appeared to be preparing the way for the communists to come to power. To others he appeared merely to be redressing a balance that was in constant danger of being tilted against the PKI.

      In foreign policy Indonesia adopted a neutralist (neutralism) stance. At the Bandung Conference (Asian-African Conference) in 1955, the country staked a claim to leadership of the developing world. By the early 1960s, however, Indonesia had a new interpretation of the global order; in ideological terms Sukarno had sketched the world, as he saw it, as a conflict between Nefos and Oldefos (New Emerging Forces and Old Established Forces). In this analysis was embodied his ongoing hostility to the West.

      In 1962 Indonesia's campaign to recover western New Guinea achieved final success. An agreement was reached with The Netherlands for the transfer of the territory to Indonesia after a period of UN administration—but with the provision that the inhabitants of the territory make an Act of Free Choice before the end of 1969 regarding their inclusion in the republic. This choice was eventually made by representative councils, which confirmed the continuance of western New Guinea ( Papua)—renamed Irian Barat (West Irian)—as part of Indonesia.

      The resolution of this issue was followed by the development of Indonesia's opposition to the formation of Malaysia and its commitment, after an erratic series of changes of mood, to a policy of “confrontation” toward the new Malaysian federation in September 1963. The confrontation policy was followed by Indonesia's sudden withdrawal from the UN in January 1965 in reaction to the seating of Malaysia on the UN Security Council.

John David Legge

Indonesia from the coup to the end of the New Order

The coup

 In the early hours of Oct. 1, 1965, a group of army conspirators calling itself the September 30th Movement kidnapped and murdered six army generals. A seventh, Nasution, escaped. The following morning the movement announced that it had seized power to forestall a coup against the president by a council of generals. In the meantime, General Suharto, commander of the army's strategic reserve, began to gather the reins of power into his own hands. By evening he had seized the initiative from the conspirators.

      The PKI maintained that the coup attempt was an internal affair of the army. The army leadership, on the contrary, insisted that it was part of a PKI plot to seize power and subsequently embarked on a mission to purge the country of the perceived communist threat. In the following month the military slaughtered communists and alleged communists across Java and in Bali, with estimates of the number of people killed ranging from 80,000 to more than 1,000,000. In the following years communists, alleged communists, and their families were frequently denied basic rights (e.g., right to a fair trial, right to equal opportunity in employment, and freedom from discrimination). Between 1969 and 1980, approximately 10,000 persons, primarily known or purported communists, were detained without trial on Buru Island in the Moluccas.

      With the destruction of the PKI, one of the elements of balance that had supported the Sukarno regime was eliminated, and the president himself came under increasing pressure. In March 1966, against a background of student action, the army forced Sukarno to delegate extensive powers to Suharto, now chief of staff of the army. With his new authority, Suharto banned the PKI and moved gradually to consolidate his position as the effective head of government. In March 1967 the MPR installed Suharto as acting president, and in March 1968 he was appointed to the presidency in his own right. Sukarno was kept under house arrest until his death on June 21, 1970.

Suharto's New Order

      Suharto immediately began to reverse many of Sukarno's policies. The confrontation with Malaysia was quickly ended, and Indonesia rejoined the UN. In addition, Indonesia was a major participant in the creation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) in 1967. Domestically, the support of the army enabled Suharto to achieve a political stability that had been lacking under Sukarno. But the major policies initiated by the new regime, which Suharto designated as the New Order, had to do with economic rehabilitation. Successful negotiations secured a rescheduling of Indonesia's foreign debts and attracted aid through a group of donor countries. The complex regulations governing economic activity were simplified. In 1967 a new foreign investment law provided a framework for new private capital investment.

Economic development

      The results of Suharto's reformulated economic policies were soon apparent. The rate of inflation decreased, and the national currency, the rupiah, stabilized; manufacturing expanded rapidly; and petroleum production increased, owing partly to exploration by a number of foreign companies operating through Pertamina, the monolithic state oil corporation. (Pertamina's position as the centrepiece of Indonesia's economic expansion ended in 1975, however, when the government rescued the company from its indebtedness.) Military entrepreneurs played a significant part in these developments. In the mid-1980s the decline in oil prices led to a shift in economic emphasis toward private-sector investment and the production and export of manufactured goods to reduce reliance on oil and other traditional export commodities.

      These new policies had their critics, both inside and outside the country. To some it seemed that the republic was becoming economically dependent on Western capital and, in particular, on large transnational corporations, that direct foreign investment had created an Indonesian merchant class that boosted its affluence and influence through dealings with foreign companies, and that new wealth had exaggerated existing inequalities rather than removing them. Others, however, argued that long-term improvement depended on the economic growth that would flow from policies designed to encourage large-scale investment rather than small-scale labour-intensive developments.

      In any case, the economic achievements of New Order policies were spectacular. They transformed the developmental patterns of the archipelago during the 1970s and '80s, especially outside Java. Historically the political centre and economic hub of the East Indies, Java seemed to retain that position within the modern republic, commanding about three-fourths of all new investment projects (excluding oil exploration) from the late 1960s to the early '80s. The expansion of manufacturing during that period was also concentrated in Java. This apparent dominance, however, was undermined by the density of the island's population. In terms of its per capita share of foreign investment, Java was outstripped by some of the outer provinces. North Sumatra (Sumatera Utara) (Sumatera Utara), the home of the great plantation expansion of the late 19th century, added mining and oil and natural gas exploration to its estate agriculture. Mining and oil had an even greater impact on the development of Aceh, Riau, and East Kalimantan (Kalimantan Timur) (Kalimantan Timur), as well as Indonesian New Guinea, called Irian Jaya during this period. Again in per capita terms, East Kalimantan, with timber in addition to oil, natural gas, and coal, attracted high levels of both foreign and domestic investment, and it became one of the most rapidly developing provinces of the republic. By contrast, the provinces of the Lesser Sunda Islands—West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat) (Nusa Tenggara Barat), East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur) (Nusa Tenggara Timur), and East Timor (Timor Timur; now an independent country)—were economically the least developed in both absolute and per capita terms. Successive five-year plans implemented by the Indonesian government emphasized the importance of redressing regional disparities and spreading economic growth more evenly.

      Free enterprise grew rapidly during the 1990s, the last decade of the New Order, but the principal business owners were the sons and daughters of the president. Suharto claimed that his children, as citizens of the Republic of Indonesia, had the right to run their businesses; the problem was that they received immense privileges in their business dealings. Members of the Suharto family ultimately controlled the full range of strategic economic sectors—not only the petroleum industry but also toll roads, banking, television broadcasting, and billboard advertising. Moreover, their economic activities extended into all realms—international, national, and provincial. The bureaucracy typically had no choice but to accept the business proposals of the Suharto family, usually without going through the proper bidding procedures. Discontent grew among the public.

Political developments

      Politically, the New Order continued to be a stable regime, partly because of economic development across the archipelago but mainly because of its military underpinnings. It would be incorrect, however, to describe the New Order as a military regime, and Suharto, in the early years of his presidency, was concerned with observing constitutional forms. His initial government had strong civilian components in the persons of Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX of Yogyakarta and the statesman Adam Malik (Malik, Adam) (both of whom later served as vice president). But military strength, allied closely with bureaucracy, was apparent nonetheless, and the government developed clear authoritarian characteristics.

      Suharto acted to control and discipline, and ultimately to rationalize, the political parties. In 1973 the four Muslim parties were amalgamated to form the United Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan; PPP), and the five non-Muslim parties were amalgamated to form the Indonesian Democratic Party (Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle) (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia; PDI). More formidable than either was a government-sponsored organization, the Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups (Sekretariat Bersama Golongan Karya; Sekber Golkar, or Golkar). In theory, Golkar was a nonpartisan organization representing, like Sukarno's functional groups, the elements of which the nation was composed; in practice, it was a government party, and its sweeping electoral successes owed much to pressure exerted on voters by government agencies. In 1971 it secured more than three-fifths of the seats in the lower house of the legislature, the Council of the People's Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat; DPR), and its dominance was confirmed in subsequent elections in 1977, 1982, and 1987. Important also as a measure of political control was the government's imposition of the Pancasila, or the Five Principles (belief in one God, nationalism, humanitarianism, democracy, and social justice), originally formulated by Sukarno, as the national ideology.

      Between 1971 and 1998, parliamentary elections were followed by the unopposed reelection of Suharto for successive presidential terms. These results were not achieved without effort. Suharto's economic policies and, in particular, the attempt to spread development more evenly across the archipelago contributed to reducing the strong regional feelings of the 1950s, although there remained perceptions that the regime was dominated by Java. Irian Jaya (Papua) presented a special challenge to the New Order. Even after the 1969 Act of Free Choice had evidently confirmed the desire of western New Guinea to remain a part of Indonesia, the Suharto government still had to contend with frequent outbreaks of violence instigated by the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka; OPM). Encouragement of immigration to Irian Jaya from Java and elsewhere and the extension of educational opportunities to residents of the region were intended to integrate the province more fully into the country. These initiatives, however, were locally interpreted as examples of cultural imperialism. The exploitation of the resources of the province—oil, natural gas, copper, and timber—was also a source of resentment.

      Unlike Irian Jaya, which had always been claimed by Indonesia as a part of the republic, the Portuguese colony on the island of Timor (settled by the Portuguese beginning in the 16th century) had not been the subject of any such claim until political changes in Portugal threw the future of the colony into doubt. In 1975–76 Indonesia forcibly intervened and established Timor Timur ( East Timor) as an Indonesian province in a fashion that drew domestic as well as foreign criticism. This invasion of the former Portuguese colony effectively engaged the government in an ongoing (and particularly harsh) struggle to quell the resistance of the Fretilin (Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente), the movement for an independent East Timor. Subsequently, tens of thousands of pro-independence East Timorese died resisting Indonesian control.

      In addition to these areas of specific resistance, there was some Islamic opposition to the regime. Muslim thought tended increasingly to blur the old stereotyped distinction between modernist and traditionalist, or fundamentalist, thinking. Although these shifts dealt essentially with theological issues, their effect was felt as a movement of Islamic renewal both within and outside the Muslim PPP. Focused initially on dislike of the essentially secular ideology of Pancasila, the PPP came to represent a more general ambivalence toward the government. Especially within some circles of Muslim intellectuals and students, there were criticisms of the corruption that was seen not only as built into the structure of the economy but also as extending to the highest levels of the regime. There were examples of open discontent, as when students chose the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei in 1974 to initiate demonstrations against Suharto and against the role of foreign capital in Indonesia; the demonstrations developed into open rioting in Jakarta. In 1978, before the reelection of Suharto for a third term, the government closed sections of the press and arrested student leaders.

      In the late 1990s interethnic conflicts, which up to that point had been suppressed successfully, began to resurface. These conflicts, too, manifested to some degree along political lines. Large-scale deadly uprisings broke out in Sanggau Ledo, in West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat), and the unrest spread to other parts of the province just prior to the May 1997 general election. The violence erupted between the local Dayak groups, who generally supported the non-Muslim PDI, and the Madurese, who mostly belonged to the Muslim PPP. This agitation in West Kalimantan soon triggered uprisings in other regions, most notably in West Java. Such ethnopolitical antagonisms were ultimately a boon for the ruling party, Golkar.

Changes in Indonesian society

      The economic successes of the Suharto regime were accompanied by some shifts in the balance of Indonesian society. Social change accelerated under the New Order in a way that tended to confirm, rather than modify, the structure of power in Suharto's Indonesia. Traditional aristocracies declined in influence. In their place, however, arose a new bureaucracy, an Indonesian business class, and Chinese business interests, some of which operated in association with civilian or military Indonesian entrepreneurs. The army, moreover, grew more prominent in politics, administration, and commercial activity. These developments indicated that a new—albeit extremely diverse—middle class was emerging, defined variously by economic function, access to political power, and a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption. Whether it encompassed one class or several, and whether it simultaneously embraced wealthy capitalists and small rural traders, senior bureaucrats and low-level clerks, and military officers and civil professionals, the boundary of the middle class was in constant motion.

      The picture was further complicated by the special position of the Chinese in rural and urban trade. Increased Chinese immigration during the 20th century confirmed the distinction between peranakan and totok communities (i.e., between ethnic Chinese who had been in Indonesia for generations and had adopted Indonesian customs and language and those who had arrived more recently, retained their language, and maintained a predominantly Chinese cultural identity). Unevenly spread across the archipelago and an ethnic minority playing a major economic role, the Chinese tended to attract Indonesian hostility, which was expressed in part by intermittent outbreaks of anti-Chinese sentiment. Such adversity notwithstanding, the Chinese continued under the New Order to expand their participation both in retail trade and in large-scale commerce and finance.

International relations

      Indonesia's relative domestic stability under Suharto was accompanied by moderation in external policies. The country's standing as a leader of the industrializing world was enhanced in 1985 when it hosted a second Asian-African Conference to commemorate the one held in 1955. Together with Papua New Guinea, Indonesia sought to contain incidents on the border between the two countries. In 1989 it reached agreement with Australia on the exploitation of seabed resources. More generally, Indonesia participated increasingly in the affairs of the Asian and Pacific region. Through ASEAN it took a firm stand against Vietnam's 1978 invasion and occupation of Cambodia, and in 1989–90 it played a major role in exploring the possibility of resolving the Indochina crisis through negotiation.

      In addition to its involvement in ASEAN, Indonesia figured prominently in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), an organization committed to promoting free trade throughout the region. In 1992 Jakarta hosted the 10th conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, an assembly of politically neutral countries dedicated to the needs of the developing world; Suharto also served a term as the organization's chair (1992–95). In 1994 Indonesia hosted the APEC summit that produced the Bogor Declaration, a timetable for the liberalization of trade and investment in the region within the first two decades of the 21st century. These activities, along with international accolades for various successes in agriculture, family planning, and other areas, helped generate a popular view that Suharto's accomplishments at the international level had paralleled, if not surpassed, those of his predecessor, Sukarno.

John David Legge Asvi Warman Adam

Economic crisis, public unrest, and the fall of Suharto

      In July 1997 Thailand was struck by a monetary crisis that rapidly spread to other countries in East and Southeast Asia. Indonesia's economy was particularly vulnerable because the rupiah was closely tied to the U.S. dollar and most of the loans in the private sector were short-term. The Indonesian public, moreover, harboured a growing distrust of the country's banking system. The Asian economic crisis effectively crippled the Indonesian economy. To secure much-needed loans, Suharto signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Before funds would be disbursed, however, Indonesia was required to fulfill certain obligations—something Suharto evidently had no real intention of doing. Instead, he sought other ways to extricate the country from its financial crisis.

      Especially after the death of his wife, Siti Hartinah Suharto, in 1996, much of the Indonesian public began to wonder when Suharto would step down. The president's health began to deteriorate, and as it did, the economy also weakened. Indeed, the rupiah's exchange rate and the composite index at the stock exchange were both determined to a large degree by Suharto's physical condition. Yet despite this atmosphere of uncertainty, Suharto was once again elected to the presidency in March 1998.

      As the economic situation continued to deteriorate, Suharto left the country on May 9, 1998, to attend a conference in Cairo. In his absence Jakarta was racked by violence, in which some 1,000 people lost their lives. The tragedy had been sparked by the shooting of four students of Trisakti University in Jakarta, allegedly by members of the armed forces. After the burial of the victims, angry masses filled the streets, looting and burning certain sectors of the capital city. The riots started almost simultaneously in different parts of the city, which suggested that the uprisings were engineered. No provocateurs were identified, however.

      On May 20, 1998, a mass gathering was to take place at the National Monument (Monas; Monumen Nasional) in the centre of Jakarta. Before dawn on the day of the event, however, Amien Rais, the promoter of the rally, suddenly canceled it. Students who had prepared to join the rally then went to the legislative compound instead and managed to occupy the buildings. Also on that day 14 ministers declined to take office in the new cabinet to be inaugurated by Suharto. The country was in a state of political turmoil.

      On May 21, 1998, Suharto announced his resignation from the presidency, and Vice Pres. Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie was sworn in as the new president. Habibie inherited a country whose political and economic currents had grown considerably stronger—but ever more turbulent—under some three decades of the New Order.

Indonesia after Suharto

 Between the elections of 1998 and 2004, Indonesia had four presidents, none of whom served a full five-year term. Suharto remained in office for just two months following his reelection in 1998. Habibie, his successor, served for only one year. Abdurrahman Wahid (1999–2001), who followed Habibie, was replaced after two years in office by Megawati Sukarnoputri (Sukarnoputri, Megawati) (2001–04). Dubbed an age of reformation (reformasi), these unsettled years immediately following the end of the New Order were characterized by increased freedom of the press, public demands for the development of a strong democracy and effective law enforcement, and calls by some regions for a greater degree of independence. Meanwhile, various areas in eastern Indonesia were destabilized by ethnic and religious conflicts.

      When Suharto resigned, the obligation of delivering the presidential accountability report, a speech that he had made about every five years while in office, fell to Habibie, who presented the address in 1999. The report was rejected by the parliament, however, owing largely to the controversy surrounding East Timor, which had seceded from the republic during Habibie's presidency. Following this rejection, Habibie declared that he would not stand for reelection to the presidency.

      The next president, Wahid, was an intellectual, newspaper columnist, and leader of Nahdatul Ulama, an organization of Muslim religious scholars. Popularly known as Gus Dur (“Gus” being a reference to both his nobility and his devotion to Islam), Wahid was the first candidate to win the presidency through a vote by the People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat; MPR), as opposed to the earlier consensus-seeking process (musyawarah). With liberal views on religion and politics, he was able to garner votes from both Muslims and non-Muslims in the MPR to defeat Megawati, the presidential candidate of the single party with the most seats in the parliament and daughter of the late president Sukarno. Once in office, however, Wahid was unable to promote cooperation between parliamentary factions, the military, and other political forces beyond his own party. He also was implicated in a number of scandals. In 2001, just 19 months after he won the presidency, Wahid was impeached by the parliament.

      Wahid was succeeded in office by his vice president, Megawati (Sukarnoputri, Megawati), who maintained some of his presidential priorities. Among these were the preservation of the integrity of Indonesian territory and the recovery of the economy. On the domestic level, Megawati strove to resolve conflict in restless regions such as East Timor, Aceh, and Irian Jaya (Papua). East Timor achieved full sovereignty in 2002. Aceh and Irian Jaya were given special autonomy and an increased budget; Irian Jaya became Papua in 2002 and was divided to become two provinces, Papua and West Papua, in 2003. In an effort to solicit foreign investment and explore additional export opportunities, Megawati traveled extensively during her first year in office, visiting the nine members of ASEAN, the United States, Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea, India, and other countries.

      Despite Megawati's accomplishments, continuing economic problems, violence associated with separatists, and political corruption all eroded confidence in her government. In July 2004 she survived the initial round of voting in the country's first-ever direct presidential election, but she was easily defeated by her opponent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (her former security minister), in a runoff vote. Yudhoyono's administration soon faced a major crisis when, in late December 2004, a severe earthquake off the northwest coast of Sumatra triggered a large tsunami that inundated the island's western coastal areas, notably in Aceh province, causing widespread death and destruction.

Asvi Warman Adam

Additional Reading

Geography

General overviews of physical and human geography are provided by Charles A. Fisher, South-East Asia: A Social, Economic, and Political Geography, 2nd ed. (1966, reissued 1971), a classic work with a dated though very useful perspective on Indonesia that details economic, social, political, and physical variations; G.J. Missen, Viewpoint on Indonesia: A Geographical Study (1972), an older but well-written historical economic geography that traces agriculture, both traditional and commercial, from the Dutch period until independence and discusses the problems of the economy and urbanization; Donald W. Fryer and James C. Jackson, Indonesia (1977), a broad survey of the physical environment and an analysis of the country's complex history, with an exploration of the dichotomy between indigenous agriculture and the contemporary economy, especially as it involves oil; Hassan Shadily (ed.), Ensiklopedi Indonesia, 7 vol. (1980–84); William H. Frederick and Robert L. Worden (eds.), Indonesia: A Country Study, 5th ed. (1993); and the relevant section in The Far East and Australasia (annual).R.W. Van Bemmelen, The Geology of Indonesia, 2 vol. in 3, 2nd ed. (1970), is an exhaustive survey of the country's geology and natural resources, with detailed information on individual islands. Also useful are Warren Hamilton, Tectonics of the Indonesian Region (1979); and E.C.J. Mohr, F.A. Von Baren, and J. Van Schuylenborgh, Tropical Soils: A Comprehensive Study of Their Genesis, 3rd rev. and enlarged ed. (1973), with most examples drawn from Indonesia. Detailed regional studies include Anthony J. Whitten, Muslimin Mustafa, and Gregory S. Henderson, The Ecology of Sulawesi (1987, reissued 2002); and Anthony J. Whitten et al., The Ecology of Sumatra (1987, reissued 2000).W.F. Wertheim, Indonesian Society in Transition: A Study of Social Change, 2nd rev. ed. (1959, reissued 1979); and Ruth T. McVey (ed.), Indonesia (1963), provide introductions to Indonesian society. N. Iskandar, Some Monographic Studies on the Population of Indonesia (1970), contains a review of the 1961 census and projections; also important is Widjojo Nitisastro, Population Trends in Indonesia (1970, reissued 2006), which covers the period 1775–1961. Universitas Indonesia, The Population of Indonesia (1974), is the World Population Year monograph commissioned by the UN Committee for International Coordination of National Research in Demography; and Werner Rutz, Cities and Towns in Indonesia: Their Development, Current Positions, and Functions with Regard to Administration and Regional Economy (1987; originally published in German, 1985), is a study of late 20th-century urbanization based on the 1980 census. Christine Drake, National Integration in Indonesia: Patterns and Policies (1989), examines integration and cohesiveness in a country with a varied social fabric; and Victor T. King (ed.), Essays on Borneo Societies (1978), discusses the Dayak peoples.Hal Hill, Foreign Investment and Industrialization in Indonesia (1988), is a good analysis of historical and current economic development. Hal Hill (ed.), Unity and Diversity: Regional Economic Development in Indonesia Since 1970 (1989), and Indonesia's New Order: The Dynamics of Socio-Economic Change (1994), focus on problems and progress in regional development. Colin MacAndrews (ed.), Central Government and Local Development in Indonesia (1986) discusses the evolution of development policies under the New Order government, with attention given to increasing trends toward decentralized decision making, governmental processes, and the implementation of development policies at the national and local levels. Graeme J. Hugo et al., The Demographic Dimension in Indonesian Development (1987), analyzes in detail population growth and trends, fertility and mortality, mobility and urbanization, and the growth of the labour force in the late 20th century. Wolf Donner, Land Use and Environment in Indonesia (1987), describes the country's geographic and demographic contour and analyzes the social and environmental “catastrophe” confronting Java; it also analyzes the environmental side effects of nonagricultural land use development. Thomas R. Leinbach and Chia Lin Sien, South-East Asian Transport: Issues in Development (1989), offers a developmental approach to the evolution of transport in the region; the Indonesian chapter traces investment and planning and discusses air, road, rail, and sea sectors.Useful works on Indonesian government and politics include Benedict Anderson and Audrey Kahin (eds.), Interpreting Indonesian Politics (1982); David Bourchier and John Legge (eds.), Democracy in Indonesia: 1950s and 1990s (1994); and Andrew J. MacIntyre, Business and Politics in Indonesia (1990). Michael R.J. Vatikiotis, Indonesian Politics Under Suharto: The Rise and Fall of the New Order, 3rd. ed. (1998), traces Indonesia's political and economic dynamics through the second half of the 20th century.Cultural material is presented in Miguel Covarrubias, Island of Bali (1937, reissued 1986); Ruth T. McVey (ed.), Indonesia (1963), a scholarly reference work; Niels A. Douwes Dekker, Tanah Air Kita: A Book on the Country and People of Indonesia, 5th rev. ed. (1965?), a popular pictorial review of the islands but one that contains an accurate cultural description of Indonesia in the mid-20th century; Frits A. Wagner, Indonesia: The Art of an Island Group, rev. ed., trans. from Dutch (1967); Claire Holt, Art in Indonesia: Continuities and Change (1967); and Jacques Dumarçay, Borobudur, trans. from French, 2nd ed. (1991). Virginia Matheson Hooker (ed.), Culture and Society in New Order Indonesia (1993); and David Hill, The Press in New Order Indonesia (1994), address Indonesian culture and media specifically during the Suharto era.Goenawan Susatyo Mohamad

History

General treatments of Indonesian history in the context of the broader history of Southeast Asia include D.G.E. Hall, A History of South-East Asia, 4th ed. (1981); Paul Wheatley, Nāgara and Commandery: Origins of the Southeast Asian Urban Traditions (1983); Kenneth R. Hall, Maritime Trade and State Development in Early Southeast Asia (1985); and David Steinberg (ed.), In Search of Southeast Asia: A Modern History, rev. ed. (1987). Histories of the country alone may be found in Bernard H.M. Vlekke, Nusantara: A History of Indonesia, rev. ed. (1959); Benjamin Higgins and Jean Higgins, Indonesia: The Crisis of the Millstones (1963); Ailsa Zainu'ddin, A Short History of Indonesia, 2nd ed. (1980); M.C. Ricklefs, A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1200, 3rd ed. (2001); and Louis Fischer, The Story of Indonesia (1959, reissued 1973). J.D. Legge, Indonesia, 3rd ed. (1980), examines some historiographical problems.F.D.K. Bosch, Selected Studies in Indonesian Archaeology (1961), contains selected translations of some of Bosch's distinguished contributions to the study of Indonesian culture. G. Coedès, The Indianized States of Southeast Asia (1968, reissued 1975; originally published in French, 1944), includes sections dealing with Indonesia that provide basic information on early Indonesian history and discuss its implications in a judicious manner. N.J. Krom, Hindoe-javaansche Geschiedenis, 2nd ed. (1931), is not only the first but also a very detailed critical account of information on early Indonesian history; though parts of the analysis are now dated, it remains the basic work on the subject. Theodoor G. Pigeaud (ed.), Java in the 14th Century: A Study in Cultural History, 3rd ed. rev., 5 vol. (1960–63), a translation of the 14th-century Nagarakertagama, accompanied by an extensive commentary, is indispensable reading for the study of Java, especially in the 13th and 14th centuries. Soedjatmoko (ed.), An Introduction to Indonesian Historiography (1965, reissued 2007), is an important survey and discussion of the skills and contributions of a variety of scholarly disciplines in the field of Indonesian history. Pierre-Yves Manguin (compiler), Bibliography for Sriwijayan Studies (1989), is a valuable resource for the study of the early history of the Indonesian archipelago.Trade patterns of the early period of European contact are discussed in J.C. Van Leur, Indonesian Trade and Society: Essays in Asian Social and Economic History, 2nd ed., trans. from Dutch (1960); M.A.P. Meilink-Roelofsz, Asian Trade and European Influence in the Indonesian Archipelago Between 1500 and About 1630 (1962); and Anthony Reid, Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450–1680 (1988–93). M.C. Ricklefs, Jogjakarta Under Sultan Mangkubumi, 1749–1792: A History of the Division of Java (1974), examines 18th-century Javanese politics against the background of the Dutch presence. Christine Dobbin, Islamic Revivalism in a Changing Peasant Economy: Central Sumatra, 1784–1847 (1983); and Heather Sutherland, The Making of a Bureaucratic Elite: The Colonial Transformation of the Javanese Priyayi (1979), examine social change in the 19th century in Sumatra and in Java, respectively. Jean Gelman Taylor, The Social World of Batavia: European and Eurasian in Dutch Asia (1983), explores European adaptation to the local scene in the 18th and 19th centuries. Clive Day, The Policy and Administration of the Dutch in Java (1904, reprinted as The Dutch in Java, 1972), remains an interesting treatment of the Cultivation System and Liberal Policy. The best survey in English of Dutch economic policies in the 19th and 20th centuries is still J.S. Furnivall, Netherlands India (1939, reissued 1983). Other valuable resources on the topic are G.C. Allen and Audrey G. Donnithorne, Western Enterprise in Indonesia and Malaya: A Study in Economic Development (1954, reissued 2003); and G. Gonggrijp et al., Indonesian Economics: The Concept of Dualism in Theory and Policy, 2nd ed. (1966), which is a collection of Dutch economic writings. Robert Van Niel, The Emergence of the Modern Indonesian Elite (1960, reissued 1984), examines the theory and operation of the Ethical Policy. Deliar Noer, The Modernist Muslim Movement in Indonesia, 1900–1942 (1973), surveys Islamic thought in the late colonial period.The Japanese occupation is examined in Harry J. Benda, The Crescent and the Rising Sun: Indonesian Islam Under the Japanese Occupation, 1942–1945 (1958, reissued 1983); and Benedict R. O'G. Anderson, Some Aspects of Indonesian Politics Under the Japanese Occupation: 1944–1945 (1961). Anderson's Java in a Time of Revolution: Occupation and Resistance, 1944–1946 (1972, reissued 2006), gives a close study of the opening period of revolution.George McTurnan Kahin, Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia (1952, reissued 2003), remains the standard study of the rise of nationalism and the struggle for independence. Anthony Reid, The Indonesian National Revolution, 1945–1950 (1974, reprinted 1986), is a more recent survey of the revolution. Ruth T. McVey, The Rise of Indonesian Communism (1965, reissued 2006), is an authoritative history of the Indonesian Communist Party to the revolts of 1926–27. Bernhard Dahm, Sukarno and the Struggle for Indonesian Independence (1969; originally published in German, 1966), explores the development of Sukarno's thinking up to 1945. Taufik Abdullah (ed.), The Heartbeat of Indonesian Revolution (1997), analyzes the Indonesian national revolution from a comparative perspective.The standard account of the early years of independence is Herbert Feith, The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia (1962, reissued 2007). Daniel S. Lev, The Transition to Guided Democracy (1966), carries the story from 1957 to 1959; and Rex Mortimer, Indonesian Communism Under Sukarno (1974, reissued 2006), continues it from 1959 to 1965. J.D. Legge, Sukarno: A Political Biography, new ed. (2004), also covers the period. J.A.C. Mackie, Konfrontasi: The Indonesia-Malaysia Dispute, 1963–1966 (1974), examines closely a significant episode of Indonesian foreign policy.The essays in Claire Holt (ed.), Culture and Politics in Indonesia (1972), provide illuminating treatment of aspects of Indonesian history and culture into the early years of the New Order. The role of the army is examined in Salim Said, The Genesis of Power: General Sudirman and the Indonesian Military in Politics: 1945–1949 (1991); and Harold Crouch, The Army and Politics in Indonesia, 2nd ed. (1993). David Jenkins, Suharto and His Generals: Indonesian Military Politics, 1975–1983 (1984), is a study of Suharto in a military context. The New Order is also the focus of Karl D. Jackson and Lucian W. Pye (eds.), Political Power and Communications in Indonesia (1978); Richard Robison, Indonesia: The Rise of Capital (1986), which gives a radical interpretation of New Order economic policy; and David Reeve, Golkar of Indonesia: An Alternative to the Party System (1985), which examines the background of the political ideas of the era. Charles A. Coppel, Indonesian Chinese in Crisis (1983), is a study of the contemporary Chinese community. Arief Budiman (ed.), State and Civil Society in Indonesia (1990), assesses the role of organizations outside the government in Indonesia's development; and William Liddle, Leadership and Culture in Indonesian Politics (1996), offers an account of the cultural aspects of the country's politics. The end of the New Order is examined in Geoff Forrester and R.J. May (eds.), The Fall of Soeharto (1998); Edward Aspinall, Herb Feith, and Gerry van Klinken (eds.), The Last Days of President Suharto (1999); and Geoff Forrester (ed.), Post-Soeharto Indonesia: Renewal or Chaos? (1999).Michael Leifer, Indonesia's Foreign Policy (1983), continues to be a standard textbook for those interested in Indonesia's foreign policy. Two other important works are Franklin B. Weinstein, Indonesian Foreign Policy and the Dilemma of Dependence: From Sukarno to Suharto (1976); and Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung, Twenty Years Indonesian Foreign Policy: 1945–1965 (1973; reissued 1990). Audrey R. Kahin and George McTurnan Kahin, Subversion as Foreign Policy: The Secret Eisenhower and Dulles Debacle in Indonesia (1995), assesses the role of the CIA in Indonesia. More-recent surveys of Indonesia's foreign policy include Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Indonesia in ASEAN, Foreign Policy, and Regionalism (1994); and Rizal Sukma, Islam and Foreign Policy in Indonesia: Internal Weaknesses and Dilemma of Dual Identity (1999). Biographies of major figures in Indonesia's history, including Sukarno, Sutan Sjahrir, Suharto, and others, are compiled in Angus McIntyre (ed.), Indonesian Political Biography: In Search of Cross-Cultural Understanding (1993). More-recent biographies are offered in R.E. Elson, Suharto: A Political Biography (2001); and Greg Barton, Gus Dur: The Authorized Biography of Abdurrahman Wahid (2002).The journals Indonesia (semiannual) and The South East Asian Review (semiannual) contain useful articles on current scholarship.Asvi Warman Adam

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