Essay on Indonesia (4423 Words)

Indonesia is a “primate” nation in South­east Asia; it leads its next rival, Vietnam, in population by a ratio of 2.6 to 1. With a population of 206 million and an area close to three-fourths of a million sq miles (1.9 million sq. km), it is the world’s largest Muslim country and fifth most populous nation.

Its strategic location between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and Asian mainland and Australia, an essential political stability during its 50 years of in­dependence; and an impressive range of resources, that includes natural rubber, copra, tin, sugar tea, coffee, kapok, pepper, spices and the largest known oil and gas re­serves in non-Communist Asia, has given it enormous prestige.

In keeping with its size and importance, it is active in such re­gional and international organizations as the Association of Southeast Asian Na­tions (ASEAN), the Organization of Petroleum Export Countries (OPEC), and the United Nations.

Physical Characteristics:

Physically, this archipelagic nation is made up of a gal­axy of over 13,600 islands which are strung across more than 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of tropical seas, roughly between 10° north and 10° south latitudes, a spread exceeding the distance from California to Florida and from England to western Iran; these con­tain great physical, cultural and economic variety. Focusing on the map of Indonesia several major island-groups can be identi­fied.

The easternmost Irian Jaya (West Irian) shares its territory with the inde­pendent state of Papua New Guinea and the other four are collectively known as the Greater Sunda Islands. These include: the islands of Java (the most populous and important) in the south-center, Sumatra in the west, and Kalimantan territory (the In­donesian portion of Borneo). Eastward of Java is a group of smaller islands known as the Lesser Sunda Islands, which include Bali and, near the eastern end, Timor. Yet another island chain is that of the Maluku and Halmehara groups which lie between Sulawesi and New Guinea.

In general, relief in the vicinity of the Java Sea (in northern Java) is low, contains several coral reefs, and is not volcanic. The southern side of the chain of mountains from Sumatra through Java contains a string of active volcanoes. Much of eastern Sumatra is a low-lying, swamp and difficult of access. The Barisan Mountain in Suma­tra paralleling the southern coast and the mountains in Java rise to over 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) in elevation. The islands of Sulawesi and Maluku appear squeezed be­tween the forces of the two stable masses with Sulawesi’s elongated, mountainous peninsula running generally in a north-south trend.

Sulawesi is fringed by coral reefs and bordered by deep-sea trough on the south. Halmehara Island is the largest of the Maluku group, and is mostly vol­canic. In all there are over 200 volcanoes in Indonesia, 60 are active; the largest concen­tration is on Java. Volcanoes play an important role in soil enrichment; and there is a strong relationship between agri­cultural development, density of population and the location of volcanoes. Perhaps the best-known volcano is Krakatau that lies between Sumatra and Java in the Sunda Strait and erupted in 1883 causing large scale destruction.

The mountains of the country are, in general, made up of younger formations, and are given to crustal instability, and earth­quakes. Because of its insularity, there are no large rivers comparable to those on the Asian mainland. The seas, surrounding the country are a dominant feature, because these have an important effect on climate, transportation, and the development of In­donesian culture. They also serve as channels of communication and as barri­ers.

The climate of Indonesia is controlled by its island character and its position of astride the equator, giving it high, and uni­form temperatures. The location between the landmass of Asia and Australia influ­ences the monsoonal rainfall pattern. The climate of most of the country can be la­beled as tropical monsoon. The temperatures are uniformly high and have a small range. Temperatures are a function of elevation rather than latitude. The an­nual average monthly range at Jakarta, for example, is only a matter of 2 or 3 degrees.

Most of Indonesia receives heavy rain­fall, although it varies from place to place, depending on the elevation and exposure to rain-bearing air masses. The greatest amount falls from December to March. From central Java eastward toward Austra­lia, however, the dry season 0une to October) is progressively more pro­nounced.

The highest amount occurs in the mountains of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Irian Jaya where precipita­tion is more than 120 inches (3,048 mm) annually. Eastern Java, Bali, southern Su­lawesi and Timor receive between 60 and 80 inches, while islands closest to Australia get only 40 to 60 inches. Sumatra and Ka­limantan, which are located close to the equator, and far from Australia, have no dry season.

Much of Indonesia is still covered with tropical rainforest. Irian Jaya and eastern Kalimantan are mostly forest-covered, while the densely populated islands of Java and Bali have a much smaller part of the land under forest. In general, the vegeta­tion is similar to that of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.

The most important vegetation type is mixed lowland-and-hill tropical rainforest, char­acterized by a large number of species. Above 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) elevations this forest gives way to temperate upland forest of oak and magnolia trees. Another typical feature of the vegetation is the man­grove forest which grows along the shallow seas on eastern Sumatra, southern Kalimantan and southeastern Irian Jaya.

Indonesia has some of the world’s largest tracts of exploitable tropical forests, and timber industry is well-developed. Rapid exploitation has, however, caused consid­erable damage, and government has now several reforestation programmes. In areas where the dry season is pronounced, as in Eastern Java, Savanna grasses are found.

Indonesia is a good example of rela­tionship that exists between climate, vegetation, and bed rocks in the formation of soils, which are generally lateritic (con­taining iron oxides and aluminum) produced under constantly high tempera­tures and heavy precipitation but given to rapid erosion, weathering, and leaching, resulting usually in poor soils.

Minerals leached from the soils are replaced by allu­vial deposition as in some areas of Kalimantan, but the most valuable soil in Indonesia is the volcanic ash, transported by wind, generally deposited as a layer of inorganic materials over wide areas. These fertile soils are derived from the ejecta of the volcanoes that cover parts of Sumatra, Java and western Sulawesi.

Historical Background and Cultural Patterns:

Very little of Indonesia’s his­tory prior to 7th century is known. There is strong evidence, however, that such cul­tures as Srivijaya existed before that time. The discovery of the remains of Homo- erectus, the so-called “Java man,” attests to the very early settlement of Central Java.

Remains of aboriginal people in southern Sumatra have also been unearthed. The present population of Indonesia is believed to be descended from several waves of mi­grants from mainland Asia especially from southwestern China. Early in the Chris­tian era, Indonesia came under the influence Indian civilization through a gradual influx of Indian traders, and Hindu and Buddhist missionaries.

The early re­corded history shows profound religious influences from India. The early Indone­sian states that centered on Java and Sumatra evolved through many forms of Hinduism and Buddhism. During the 9th century both Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced as coast religions.

The spec­tacular Buddhists temples of Borabudor date from this period Sumatra was the seat of the Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya. The blending of Hinduism and Buddhism con­tinued until the 14th century, when Islam was introduced along the coasts by Muslim traders from Arabia.

By the end of 16th century Islam had replaced Buddhism and Hinduism as the dominant religion, and the territory broke into several Islamic states. Throughout these political and religious changes, at the court level, the common people adopted part of each new religion as an added layer over their basic traditional and animistic beliefs.

Early in the 16th century the Portu­guese, in pursuit of rich spice trade, began establishing trading posts after taking over the strategic commercial center of Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. The Dutch fol­lowed in 1596, and the English in 1600. By 1610, the Portuguese had been ousted, and were allowed to retain only the eastern part of Timor. After a series of Anglo- Dutch conflicts the Dutch finally emerged as the dominant power in Indonesia. From their arrival and control, the Dutch ad­ministration was designed to exploit the islands.

To this end they introduced very strict forced-crop and forced-labor prac­tices which they called the “Culture System “. The system generated the pro­duction mostly of commercial crops such as rubber, sugar, coffee, indigo, tea, and to­bacco, all geared for the European markets, and all raised on large Dutch-con- trolled plantations. The harsh “Culture System” did have its benign results.

A con­certed effort to develop a transport system to reach the coast for the movement of commodities to Europe, the building of hospitals, and the provision of education helped to rid plantations, particularly in Java (which was the major focus of this commercial and political activity) of dis­eases and hunger. The Culture System was finally discarded in 1870 to pacify native opposition to Dutch exploitation and bru­tality on the plantations.

The Dutch rule also contributed to the nationalist cause by providing a common focus for resentment, and a desire for Indonesian independence. The Indonesian movement for inde­pendence began early in the 20th century. The Dutch resisted the nationalists bit­terly, and did not give in even after the Indonesian proclamation of independence in 1945 by the nationalists.

Independence finally arrived in 1949 under United Na­tions’ pressure except in Irian Jaya (in New Guinea) which was awarded independence in 1969. In 1976 Indonesia forcibly took over the island of Timor. Before the Dutch occupation, what is now Indonesia had never been a single na­tive state. When the Dutch took control, they found in the country great diversity in race, religion, settlement density, agri­culture, economic prosperity, and culture. Java and the “Inner Islands” were the most developed sections.

Other islands and re­gions differed in culture, language and development. Although the majority of In­donesians are Javanese and Muslims, but there are Hindu Balianese, Chinese Bud­dhists, and aborigines in the interiors of several large islands and other groups, and though the Dutch had provided a unified rule under their colonial occupation, eco­nomic and cultural contrasts remained between the various ethnic groups.

Since independence, the government has tried to forge Indonesian nationalism and a sense of unity amid the country’s cultural and economic complexity. In or­der to provide an egalitarian means of communication it declared “market Ma­lay,” which had been the lingua franca of traders and sailors throughout the archi­pelago for centuries, as the official language and the medium of instruction in all secondary schools.

Now called Bahasa Indonesia, it is Indonesia’s national lan­guage. This has provided a common bond between the speakers of 250 different lan­guages in a physically fragmented nation. The common language helps to create a powerful sense of nationhood, which is the envy of other large and heterogeneous countries such as India, although the physical spread and fragmentation con­tinue to pose administrative and political problems for the nation.

It might appear that these scattered and numerous islands and people have lit­tle in common beyond the experience of Hindu-Buddhist tradition overlain by Is­lam and Dutch rule. The Dutch did certainly determine the administrative pa­rameters of Indonesia, but the country is far from an artificial creation.

The islands had a long history of contact with each other, particularly among the coastal peo­ple, and a high degree of common custom and ritual had developed. Despite cultural complexity and ethnic diversity, nearly 88 percent of the people follow Islam, making it the largest Muslim country in the world today. But Islam is tempered by Hindu- Buddhist mystic beliefs, and an eclectic mystical Indonesian culture.

Islam is strictly followed in western Sumatra, west­ern Java, and southwestern Kalimantan. Away from these strongholds the people consider themselves as Muslims, but do not practice the orthodox Muslim injunc­tions of fasting and prayers. Close to one- tenth of Indonesia’s population follows Christian faiths, primarily of Protestant denominations, and are scattered through­out the country. The Hindu population, accounting for about 2 percent of the total, lives mainly on the island of Bali, and partly on Lombok. Most Chinese practice Buddhism and Confucianism.

Resources and Economic Development:

Indonesia contains a large variety of min­eral deposits including petroleum, tin, manganese, copper, nickel, bauxite and coal, but most of these have not been fully prospected. Prior to independence the Dutch administration paid little attention to mining industries as an instrument of economic development. In 1925 minerals contributed less than 15 percent to the ex­port earnings, which increased to over 34 percent by 1954.

By 1992 the share of min­erals in export earnings remained at the 1954 figure, as other sectors of economy had grown steadily. Mining now provides one-eighth of the gross domestic product, although it employs less than one percent of the work-force.

Petroleum production and refining is Indonesia’s largest economic enterprise. In normal years it produces about 2.5 to 3 percent of the world’s output which may not be remarkable by world standards, but makes Indonesia the leading producer of oil and gas in Southeast Asia. During the 1980s and 1990s, the revenues from oil and gas outstripped the revenues from all sources, and brought in 28 percent of the nation’s export earnings.

Major oil fields are located in the northern and eastern parts of Sumatra, eastern coast of Kalimantan, and off-shore sites in the Java Sea. Refining is in the hands of foreign companies, although ownership remains with the government of Indonesia. Indonesia is also the world’s second largest producer of tin; the output is nearly 12 to 13 percent of the world’s to­tal production.

Production is dominated by state companies. Tin is mined in a chain of islands off the east coast of Sumatra (Bangka, Billiton and Singkep). Nickel is produced on Sulawesi, in Irian Jaya, and in the Maluku, and bauxite in Kalimantan. Coal is mined in southern and western Su­matra.

Agriculture accounts for one-sixth of nation’s domestic product earnings, al­though it employs a little less than a half of country’s labor-force. During the Dutch occupation it was common to classify In­donesian agricultural economy into two categories: one of small holders producing mostly subsistence crops, and the other of the estate or plantations which were pri­marily responsible for the production of cash crops for foreign trade.

The introduc­tion of the small holder into the cash crop production during the early 20th century blurred this distinction. Since inde­pendence the official land policy placed restrictions on larger estates, thus increas­ing the number of small holders. The growth of cooperative movement, espe­cially in Java, further erased the distinctions between the two production systems.

The estates have not been com­pletely eliminated, however, in order to sustain the export that at maximum capac­ity for earning valuable foreign exchange in combination with those of exportable minerals.

However, it may be useful to classify the agricultural economy into three catego­ries primarily on the basis of technological systems into: shifting cultivation, seden­tary fields, and plantation or estate agri­culture that characterize the Indonesian socioeconomic society. In terms of these categories, distinctions between domestic and export sectors become less arbitrary.

Such a classification clearly reveals the dif­ferences between some of the Inner islands such as Java and Outer islands. Java has long been the focus of attention, particu­larly during the Dutch period, and saw the establishment of plantations and Culture System. It is the heartland of Indonesia, the most populous island with nearly 135 million inhabitants or nearly two-thirds of the nation’s population, making it one of the world’s most densely populated terri­tories.

Shifting cultivation called ladang, is the most widespread cropping system in the mountainous forests of the Outer Islands (Sulawesi, Maluku, Irian Jaya and in Ka­limantan). It supports millions of people. The sedentary field gardening (peasant) system is widely employed in Java, Madura, parts of Sumatra, and some of the Lesser Sunde Islands.

Among sedentary farmers wet-field rice cropping (sawah) is predominant. The crop is grown on small holdings primarily for subsistence pur­poses. Wet-field rice cultivation has evolved into a complex system of terrace- building, field leveling, water control, transportation of seedlings into wet fields, puddling of soils by wading men and ani­mals, and hand cultivation.

The major areas of rice production are Java, Bali, Lombok, and parts of Sumatra. In recent years there has been a discernible shift from rice to other subsistence crops, such as cassava, but rice remains the most im­portant crop of peasant agriculture. The administration has, through the implemen­tation of five-year plans, to raise the production by the introduction of high- yielding varieties (HYV) and fertilizers and by the provision of credit to farmers.

In the drier sections of eastern Java crops such as corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, pea­nuts, and soybeans dominate the small farms; although cash crops such as to­bacco and coffee are grown on plantations. Rice becomes less important in Maluku and Irian Jaya where taro, yams, and sweet potatoes become more important.

Cash crops raised on estates and plan­tations, are more important in Sumatra and Outer Islands, with Sumatra account­ing for more than half of the total area under estates or plantations. Other impor­tant crops raised on estates are rubber, palm oil, coconuts, coffee, tea, tobacco, ka­pok and cloves, although crops such as rice, corn and cassava are also raised to some extent.

Oil palms, coconuts and to­bacco are lowland crops, while tea and coffee are restricted to the upland. Indone­sia is the second largest producer of natural rubber in the world, contributing nearly a quarter of the international production. Output in recent years has been declining as greater emphasis is placed on growing foodgrains by the administration.

Since in­dependence most of the larger estates held formerly by the Dutch, have been redis­tributed, divided into smaller holdings and given to the Indonesian small farmers, who have failed to modernize the farms in con­trast to the neighboring Malaysians. Rubber and rubber products account for some 3-4 percent to the nation’s export earnings. Oil palms have been increasing in importance, and sugar production has been given impetus during recent years.

In­donesia produces nearly 3 percent of the world’s cane sugar, which is grown largely on estates. The fishing industry plays a minor role in the economy. The administration has been recently trying to develop fisheries and fish products with the financial backing of Japan with the re­sult that fish production has been steadily rising.

Manufacturing industries employ only 13 percent of the labor, but account for one-fifth of the value of domestic product. As in most of Southeast Asia, manufactur­ing in Indonesia has not played a significant role in the national economy, although since independence it has re­corded substantial gains.

Between 1960 and 1992 its share to the economy in terms of domestic product has more than doubled. The biggest industries such as oil refining are state-owned, as well as those engaged in processing of agricultural and mineral products. The oil refining industry is strictly controlled by the government agency Pertamina. A large part of the small and medium-scale privately owned enter­prises consist of cottage and home industries that produce consumer items.

Much of such enterprises are engaged in the production of such consumer items as furniture, textiles, household equipment, and printed matter, and are largely in the hands of the Chinese community. The main center of such private industry is western Java, and the capital city of Jakarta. The major industry, based on im­ported raw material, is the textile industry which is partly state-owned or in the hands of foreign companies, and partly owned by local entrepreneurs.

Batik production—an Indonesian system of hand-printing tex­tiles—is concentrated in central Java. Other industries include agricultural proc­essing, light manufacturing, cement and chemical manufacture, rubber industries, and paper manufacturing, and are mostly concentrated on Java and eastern Sumatra.

Because Indonesia is an acthepalegic nation, sea transport plays an important role in the movement of raw materials and agricultural produce from their source to market. Many of the Outer Islands are lo­cated far from the commercial activity and is therefore focused on Inner Islands such as Java. The Outer Islands have not been adequately served by transport network, a factor that has critically hampered eco­nomic development and political integration of the nation.

Although road transport is dominant on the islands, the only islands with adequate land transporta­tion network are Java, Madura and Sumatra. Much of the remaining paved mileage is on Bali and Sumatra. Western and central Kalimantan and Sulawesi have few good roads. Railroad transport is scarce in the country, and covers primarily Java and Madura. Indonesia exports raw material in return for manufactured goods.

Oil, timber products, rubber and garments are the major exports. Predictably other exports include agricultural products such as coffee, tea, tobacco and pepper. Machin­ery, transport equipment and chemicals are the main imports, in addition to such raw materials as cotton, and foodstuffs. In­donesia’s most important trading partners are Japan, the United States, and Singa­pore.

Population Patterns:

In 1960, Indone­sia’s population was 97 million; it has grown to more than twice that size during the last four decades. At the current rate of growth it is likely to add another 40 mil­lion by 2025. The country is one of the world’s most populated nations, ranking fourth after China, India and the United States.

The density of population within the nation, however, varies greatly from region to region; the islands of Java, Bali and Madura account for nearly two-thirds of the population. Java has been the focus of economic development and concentra­tion, and has an average density of about 2,000 persons to a sq mile; as a contrast the nation’s overall density of 280 persons to a sq. mile.

On the other hand, Kalimantan and the island of Sumatra, the largely un­derdeveloped “Outer Islands” of Sulawesi and Maluku, as well as the territory of Irian Jaya, sustain very small number of people, with very low population densi­ties.

For decades the Indonesian administra­tion, as did the Dutch government before it, has been concerned about the problem of overpopulation on the island of Java, Bali and Madura, and tried several methods of moving population to Sumatra and other islands. In 1970 the administration introduced a nationwide birth control campaign and a relocation plan to resettle villagers from Java and Bali, the most densely populated islands, to the sparsely populated islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Irian Jaya.

During the 1979- 84 five-year plan, the government relocated over 2 million people. This “transmigration” of people has not been particularly popular with the relocated families which were moved into an unfa­miliar, wilder and new environment where soils are infertile, and the area covered with dense overgrowth.

In spite of intensive cultivation, and techniques of irrigation, and terracing in Java, Bali, and Madura, agriculture produc­tion has, in general, lagged behind population growth. However, foodgrain imports sharply declined during the 1980s as population growth was checked. It now stands at 1.5 percent a year, sharply re­duced from the figure of over 2.7 percent in 1970.

Meanwhile impressive gains were recorded in food production. In 1984, for the first time in 40 years Indonesia became a rice exporter. Now it is nearly self-suffi­cient in its food requirements and has a small surplus for export.

Nearly a third of Indonesia’s popula­tion is defined as urban. Jakarta, the capital (9.3 million) retains the administra­tive functions established during Dutch occupation, but has acquired considerable commercial and economic functions dur­ing the last 50 years. The island of Java contains three of the other “millionaire” cities: Surabaja, Bandung, Semarang. Su­matra’s “millionaire” city is Medan.

Prospects:

Indonesia is often described as a “storehouse of natural resources,” and has made some notable economic gains in recent years, but still remains poor; the per capita annual income is merely $1,110 de­spite its relatively large oil holdings. Under the colonial occupation certain resources were exported for specialized world mar­kets such as rubber, and tin, or agricultural products of the tropics, resulting in de­pendence upon events in distant places.

Thus, changes in the demand for these commodities in Europe and the United States caused violent price fluctuations of the agricultural commodities, as well as af­fected their production and the national economy. The estate crops (coffee, tea, palm oil, sugar, tobacco, etc.) were grown on Dutch and foreign-owned large planta­tions, and the mineral resources (tin, bauxite) also were largely in the hands of foreign companies.

Since independence most of the agricul­tural estates have been redistributed among native farmers, and the share of foreign ownership in minerals has also lessened. The Indonesian government policy has fol­lowed nationalistic course, although it has not moved toward outright nationaliza­tion.

There is a vast underlying potential that still remains unexploited, but awaits the introduction of a clear national policy aimed at the exploitation of resources. In­donesia’s vast agricultural population lives on a simple basis of self-sufficient food pro­duction, carrying on handicraft industries and commercial activity.

Physically fragmented, the large na­tion is also beset with many problems associated with the centrifugal regionalism. Various groups in the Outer Islands have resented the dominance of the Javanese, and the stability of the administration has often been shaken by the existence of sev­eral political groups split along regional, religious, political and economic lines.

One militant Muslim group Darul Islam which wants to restructure the state and society according to Islamic injunctions has been active in western and central Java and is often at odds with the central authority. The government has also been carrying on a long struggle against an inde­pendence movement in East Timor, a former Portuguese possession that Indone­sia occupied after the collapse of the Portuguese Empire in the 1970s.

East Ti­mor gained independence after brutal civil war in 2000. In 1965, an attempted com­munist coup d’etat attempt to take over the administration was put down that re­sulted in the massacre of probably 300,000 communists and communist supporters by the Indonesian army and by Islamic and nationalistic groups. Nor is Indonesia’s re­lationship with its easternmost island of New Guinea (called Papua-New Guinea) as yet stable.

The people of the Indonesian part of New Guinea (Irian Jaya) are ethni­cally Papuans, and are non-Indonesian. They got a new foreign master (Indonesia) when the old one (the Dutch) relinquished control over their territory. Thus, there has been resistance to Indonesia’s admini­stration in Irian Jaya. In sum, as Indonesia moves into the 21st century, it faces enor­mous economic, social and political challenges which half a century of its inde­pendent status has still to overcome.