IndonesiaRepublic of Indonesia

Fact

• Capital city Jakarta

• Language Indonesian

• Government Unitary presidential constitutional republic

• Legislature People’s Consultative Assembly

• Independence 27 Dec 1949 (From Netherlands)

• Area approx. 1904k km2

• Land 17,508 islands

• Population approx. 237 million

• Currency Rupiah (Rp)

Introduction

• Shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia.

• Neighboring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Palau and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• It is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies.

• Its economy is the world’s 16th largest by GDP.

Etymology

• “Indonesia” came from the Greek words “Indos” and “Nesos”, meaning “island”.

• 1850, George Windsor Earl (an English ethnologist) proposes the terms “Indunesians” and “Malayunesians”.

• James Richardson Logan used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago.

• Since 1900, Indonesia became more common.

History

• Evidences showed that Indonesian archipelago was inhabited by Homo erectus or the “Java Man” between 1.5 million years ago.

• Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago.

• In 2011, found evidence in East Timor showing that 42,000 years ago these early settlers had high-level maritime skills, technology to made ocean crossing to Australia and other islands. It also showed that they consume large numbers and catch of big deep sea fish such as tuna.

Java Man

• In 2000 BCE, Austronesian people migrated to South East Asia from Taiwan.

• They knew how to cultivate very well in wet-field rice.

• 8th century BCE, allowed villages, towns, and small kingdoms to flourish by the 1st century CE.

• 4th and 5th century, Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism arrived in Indonesia, as trade with India intensified under the south Indian Pallava dynasty.

• 7th century, Srivijaya was the most powerful kingdom.

• 8th and 10th centuries, the agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties thrived and declined in inland Java, leaving monuments such as Borobudur and Prambanan.

Borobudur & Prambanan

• Although Muslims traders first traveled through Southeast Asia early in the Islamic era, the earliest evidence of Islamized populations in Indonesia dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra.

• From 16th century, Islam overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences, which shaped the predominant form of Islam in Indonesia, particularly in Java.

• The 1st contact between Europeans and the people of Indonesia began in 1512, when Portuguese traders sought to monopolize the sources of nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku. Dutch and British traders followed.

• In 1602, the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant European power.

• For most of the colonial period, Dutch control over the archipelago.

• Early 20th century, Dutch dominance extend to what was to become Indonesia’s present boundaries.

• Despite major internal political, social and sectarian divisions during the Indonesian National Revolution, Indonesians found unity in their fight for independence.

• Japanese occupation during WW2 ended Dutch rule. UN reported that 4M people died during Japanese occupation.

• August 1945, Japan surrender. Sukarno declared independence and was appointed President.

Geography

• Latitudes 11S and 6N and longitudes 95E and 141E.

• Consists of 17,508 islands, about 6,000 of which are inhabited.

• The largest are Java, Sumatra, Borneo (shared with Brunei and Malaysia), New Guinea (shared with Papua New Guinea), and Sulawesi.

• The largest is Jakarta, followed by Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, and Semerang.

• Indonesia’s location on the edges of the Pacific, Eurasian, and Australian tectonic plates makes it the site of numerous volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.

• It has at least 150 active volcanoes, Krakatoa and Tambora erupted in the 19th century.

• The super volcano eruption was the Toba, was the largest eruptions ever. (70,000 years ago)

• Recent disasters was in 2004, tsunami killed estimated 167,736 people in northern Sumatra, and the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006.

• However, volcanic ash is a major contributor to the high agricultural fertility that has historically sustained the high population densities of Java and Bali.

• It’s lying along the equator.

• It has a tropical climate, with two distinct monsoonal wet and dry seasons.

• Mountainous areas particularly in the west coast of Sumatra, West Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua.

• Humidity is about 80%.

• The average temperature of Jakarta is 26-30 C.

Administrative division

• It consists of 34 provinces, 5 of them have special status.

• Each province has its own legislature and governor.

• The provinces are subdivided into regencies (kabupaten) and cities (kota), then into districts (kecamatan) and villages (desa, gampong) is the lowest level of government administration.

• Aceh, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Papua and West Papua have greater legislative privileges and a higher degree of autonomy from the central government than the other provinces.

• Aceh, has the right to create certain elements of an independent legal system. In 2003, it instituted a form of Sharia Law (Islamic law).

• Yogyakarta, granted the status of special region in recognition of its pivotal role in supporting Indonesian Republicans during the Indonesian Revolution and its willingness to join Indonesia as a republic.

• Papua (Irian Jaya), granted special autonomy status in 2001 and was split into Papua and West Papua in 2003.

• Jakarta is the country’s special capital region.

Government & Politics

• Sukarno moved Indonesia from democracy towards authoritarianism, and maintained his power base by balancing the opposing forces of the military and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI).

• 30 Sept 1965, the coup countered by the army who led a violent anti-communist purge, during which the PKI was blamed for the coup and effectively destroyed. Around 500,000 people were killed.

• General Suharto, outmaneuvered the politically weakened Sukarno and was appointed to president in March 1968.

• His new administration was supported by US, and encouraged foreign direct investment to Indonesia.

• That was the major factor in subsequent 3 decades of substantial economic growth.

• However, the “New Order” was widely accused of corruption and suppression of political opposition.

• In 1990s, Asian financial crisis, Indonesia was the country hardest hit. This crisis led to popular protest against Gen Suharto and he resigned in May 1998.

• East Timor voted to secede from Indonesia, after a 25 years military occupation that was marked by international condemnation of repression of East Timorese.

• Since Suharto resignation, a strengthening of democratic processes has included a regional autonomy program, and the first direct presidential election in 2004.

• Political and economic instability, social unrest, corruption, and terrorism slowed progress; until 5 years later the economy recovered.

• Indonesia is a republic with a presidential system.

• It is a unitary state so that the power is concentrated in the central government.

• After the resignation of Suharto in 1998, it’s political and governmental structures have undergone major reforms.

• The president of Indonesia is the head of state and head of government, commander-in-chief of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, and the director of domestic governance, policy-making, and foreign affairs.

• The president appoints a council of ministers, who are not required to be elected members of the legislature.

• The 2004 presidential election was the first in which the people directly elected the president and vice president.

• The president may serve a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonosince 20 Oct 2004

President of Indonesia with the President of USA, in ceremony at the Istana Merdeka in Jarkarta, 9 NOV 2010. Obama has become popular in Indonesia due to the years he spent in Jakarta as a child.

• Indonesia maintains close relationships with its neighbors in Asia, and is a founding member of ASEAN and the East Asia Summit.

• It restored relations with China in 1990 following a freeze in place since anti-communist purges early in the Suharto era, been a member of UN since 1950. It was a member of OPEC, withdrew because no longer export oil.

• Indonesia Government has worked with other countries to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of major bombings linked to militant Islamism and Al-Qaeda. It killed 202 people in the resort town of Kuta in Bali in 2002.

• Separatist movements in the provinces of Aceh and Papua have led to armed conflict, and subsequent allegations of human rights abuses and brutality from all sides.

Culture

• Indonesia comprises of many islands, enormous areas, people are having hard times to communicate with others. These made each Indonesia’s regions have their own cultures, traditions and languages.

• People in rural areas are attached to old traditions, city people received education has the different lifestyles.

• The relationship between husband and wife, father-mother and children, and being citizen to the societies they live ‘gotong royong’

• Gotong Royong is the basic practice. Its principles are helping each others in plantation, harvest, marriage, house building and land use within agreement.

Indonesian can be divided into 3 groups

1. Java and Bali

People in this area are Hinduisms and Buddhism. There culture emphasis with value to minds and society. These created and developed many kind of arts especially dramatic art and music. To live everyday life, people will follow the ethic conduct. People also respect to each other by using people class.

2. People who live near the coastlines.

• These people do commerce for their livings. They follow Islamic conduct with strictness. They are the new age of Indonesian businessmen. They are praised to be the knowledge, educated with law and religion.

3. Under developed

• These people live in the deep mountainous areas, hunting for a living, also cultivating. Indonesia government tries to adjust their lifestyles.

Indonesia map

Demographic

• 2010, population of Indonesia is 237.6 M. 58% lives in Java.

• 300 distinct native ethnic groups in Indonesia and 742 different languages and dialects.

• Most Indonesians are descended from Austronesian-speaking people whose languages can be traced to Proto-Austronesian, which possibly originated in Taiwan.

• Another major grouping are Melanesians, who inhabit eastern Indonesia.

• The largest ethnic group (42%) is the Javanese, are politically and culturally dominant.

• The Sundanese (ethnic Malays) and Madurese are the largest non-Javanese groups.

Sundanese

Madurese

• Chinese Indonesians are an influential ethnic minority comprising 3-4% of the population. Much of the country’s privately owned commerce and wealth in Chinese-Indonesian-controlled.

• Chinese businesses in Indonesia are part of the larger bamboo network, a network of overseas Chinese businesses operating in the markets of Southeast Asia that share common family and cultural ties. This has contributed to considerable resentment, and even anti-Chinese violence.

• The official national language is Indonesian, a form of Malay, that of the Johor-Riau Sultanate, which for centuries had been the lingua franca of the archipelago, standards of which are the official languages in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.

• In the 1920’s, the national declared the official language under the name “Bahasa Indonesia”

Religious

• Religious freedom is stipulated in the Indonesian constitution, the government officially recognizes only six religions• Islam• Protestantism• Roman Catholicism• Hinduism• Buddhism• Confucianism

• Indonesia has about 300 ethnic groups, each with cultural identities developed over centuries, and influenced by India, Arabic, Chinese and European sources.

• Traditional Javanese and Balinese dances came from the aspects of Hindu culture and mythology.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s2KFsLN6Zc

Sports

• Are generally male-orientated and spectator sports are often associated with illegal gambling.

• The most popular sports are badminton and football.

• Traditional sports include sepak takraw, and bull racing Madura.

• In areas with a history of tribal warfare, mock fighting contests are held, such as caci in Flores and pasola in Sumba.

• Pencak Silat in an Indonesian martial art.

Cuisine

• Varies by region and based on Chinese, European, Middle Eastern and Indian precedents.

• Rice is the main staple food and is served with side dishes of meat and vegetables.

• Spice, coconut milk, fish and chicken are fundamental ingredients.

Economy

• WTO data, Indonesia was the 27th biggest exporting country in the world in 2010.

• Main export markets are Japan, Singapore, USA and China.

• The major suppliers of imports to Indonesia are Singapore, China, and Japan.

• The country has extensive natural resources, including crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper, and gold.

• Major imports include machinery, electrical appliances, plywood, rubber, and textiles.

Reference:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia