American Perceptions: Indonesia

Upon first considering Indonesia, a country I have never visited, several perceptions came to mind.  I knew it was a largely Muslim state and a popular tourist destination.  I recognized Java, Jakarta and Bali as Indonesian locations, although I realized I had really only ever considered Bali as a place I'd hoped to visit. This idea is probably perpetuated by how I've seen Bali portrayed in the media.  It's been shown as everything from a surf haven to a peaceful Hindu community, filled with mysterious traditional medicine and wise elderly healers, tropical beaches and lush surroundings (thank you, "Eat, Pray, Love").   I knew a Balinese esthetician once who described her country as one that placed great importance on family values as well as a lively nightlife.  Additionally, as an avid listener of NPR's "Democracy Now," I was able to recall Amy Goodman's description of the Indonesian-led massacre in East Timor that occurred about 20 years ago.   To this day I don't know the exact details of this horrific event, but I do recall the brutality Goodman described as well as the fact that the U.S. did not help but rather lobbied against U.N. intervention.  

The image of Bali as a peaceful, popular and lush tourist destination is perpetuated by media portrayals such as the book and film "Eat, Pray, Love." 

Clearly my initial perceptions of Indonesia were jumbled, random and not necessarily accurate, to say the least.  Knowing this, I was curious about how much other average Americans knew.  I interviewed six sources ranging in ages from 20-60 and with varied amounts of education.  I asked basic questions about the country such as:

• What is the first thing about Indonesia that comes to mind?
• What continent is Indonesia on and what is its capital?  
• What are some historical events that have happened in Indonesia?  

I found that most people's perceptions were similar to mine; that is again to say they were jumbled, random and not necessarily accurate.  Surprisingly, each of the six sources correctly identified Indonesia as "islands close to Asia," and knew that Islam was its major religion.  However, Dane, 26, thought the capital was Port Moresby (which is actually the capital of Papua New Guinea), while Jayne, 20, and Patrick, 25, didn't know.
People's answers varied when asked what the first thing that came to mind about Indonesia was.  Not surprisingly, Dane and Pat, both avid surfers, stated that the waves were the first thing they thought about.  Travis, 20, thought of "sweatshops, poverty, slums in big cities and legal organ trade." This is interesting when considering that in actuality, although Indonesia's economy has historically been troubled, its percentage of impoverished people is not terribly high.  As far as legal organ donation, I was unable to find any records of that in recent times.

The aftermath of a 2002 nightclub bombing in Bali

When discussing the country's historical events, Lindsey, 21, Robert, 60, and Jayne, 21, spoke of the tsunami that occurred in 2004, although Robert was the only one who could identify the year in which it happened.  Robert also recalled the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali, which no one else mentioned.  Most people, including Lindsey, Jayne, Travis and Dane listed overall political corruption as an issue Indonesia has had to deal with in the past.  This, in fact is accurate, as Indonesia was ruled by a dictator until it became a democratic republic in 2004.
Overall, the sources I spoke to seemed to have a general idea of at least where Indonesia is located and some of its historical issues.  However, it is interesting to note the initial offhand perceptions of a few Californians of varying ages and education levels.  As Americans, it seems we are rather isolated and have a lot to learn about this particular country.

Twitter and News Site of the Week

The Jakarta Post: Indonesia's largest daily English newspaper.

•  Created in 1982 by the then minister of information Ali Moertopo and Mr. Jusuf Wanandi, who represented the government-backed Golkar newspaper Suara Karya.

• Its mission is to "provide an Indonesian perspective to counter the highly unbalanced Western-dominated global traffic of news and views."

• Online edition offers local news intermixed with international headlines

• The Jakarta Post is "an independent newspaper institution privately owned by four competing media groups"

The Jakarta Globe is another English Indonesian newspaper and was launched in 2008. 

Their Twitter posts a variety of international headlines.  

Indonesia: Family Connections Influence Country's Politics

Indonesia is a country geographically divided by the Indian Ocean, comprised of many islands with a population ranging from groups of rural villagers to modern urban city-dwellers. Its cultural make-up is varied; for example, although the country's official language is Indonesian, BBC News' "Indonesia Country Profile" states that over 300 regional languages are spoken throughout the country. Similarly, the country's major religion is Islam, although the island of Bali holds a largely Hindu population. Politically speaking, Indonesia is a democracy, albeit a brand new one. The country's first democratic elections took place in 2004, after nearly 40 years under dictator Suharto.

Indonesia is comprised of thousands of small islands between Australia and Asia.  Image Credit: conradaskland.com

Despite the country's democratic standing, it appears that a system of royalty based on familial connections is still supported and honored by the Indonesian political system. Hasyim Widhiarto's April 13, 2011 article “Open Door For Children of the Political Elite” in The Jakarta Post describes how adult children of politicians enter politics with surprisingly little interest or experience. Funded by their parents' political parties, these scions are elected only to delegate their official responsibilities to staff members. Widhiarto focuses on the example of Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro Yudhoyono, the son of Democratic Party founder President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. In a style that is clearly either translated from Indonesian or written without full command of the English language, Widhiarto writes that Ibas was “appointed the party’s secretary-general without any sweat,” yet is “rarely seen attending meetings or hearings at the House of Representatives.”

. Along the same vein, Widhiarto's next article, posted the same day and entitled “Heirs to the Throne,” provides a list with photos and biographical information of each “child” in the elitist political network. Included among each person's marital status and education are facts that illustrate either special treatment within Indonesia's military or prominence in the country's politics. 

Capt. Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the crown prince of the Yudhoyono and Wiboyo, is quoted in "Heirs of the Throne" to have enjoyed "enjoyed numerous privileges during his career in the military, including exclusions from posts in conflict areas in Indonesia." Image credit: denniocastafiore.wordpress.com

“Open Door For Children of the Political Elite” appears to be trying to shed light (carefully, considering Indonesia's policy on defamation, which carries a punishment of imprisonment) on what appears to be a somewhat illegitimate government practice.  Considering that, according to epapercatalog.com, The Jakarta Post circulates 50,000 papers daily and keeps a current online edition, this information appears to be newsworthy to at least a small population of Indonesia's residents.

Whether these articles indicate true corruption within Indonesia's government or merely convey one media outlet's frustration with the system, the concept of family ties within government is shown here to be inherent to Indonesia's culture. From this, one can tentatively assume that family tradition and cohesiveness, at least among Indonesia's elite class, is an important tenet of the Indonesian value system.