1.
Indonesia
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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania. Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is the worlds largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. At 1,904,569 square kilometres, Indonesia is the worlds 14th-largest country in terms of area and worlds 7th-largest country in terms of combined sea. It has an population of over 260 million people and is the worlds fourth most populous country. The worlds most populous island, Java, contains more than half of the countrys population, Indonesias republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status and its capital and countrys most populous city is Jakarta, which is also the most populous city in Southeast Asia and the second in Asia. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper, agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal plants, spices and rubber. Indonesias major trading partners are Japan, United States, China, the Indonesian archipelago has been an important region for trade since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Indonesia consists of hundreds of native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest – and politically dominant – ethnic group are the Javanese, a shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesias national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, articulates the diversity that shapes the country, Indonesias economy is the worlds 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP, the largest in Southeast Asia, and is considered an emerging market and newly industrialised country. Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950, Indonesia is a member of the G20 major economies and World Trade Organization. The name Indonesia derives from the Greek name of the Indós, the name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, in the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia, they preferred Malay Archipelago, the Netherlands East Indies, popularly Indië, the East, and Insulinde
2.
Politics of Indonesia
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Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two Peoples Representative Councils, the judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The 1945 constitution provided for a separation of executive, legislative. The governmental system has been described as presidential with parliamentary characteristics, a constitutional reform process lasted from 1999 to 2002, with four constitutional amendments producing important changes. Among these are term limits of up to 2 five-year terms for the President and Vice-President, tNI/POLRI representation in the DPR and MPR ended in 2004. Societal group representation in the MPR was eliminated in 2004 through further constitutional change, having served as rubberstamp bodies in the past, the DPR and MPR have gained considerable power and are increasingly assertive in oversight of the executive branch. Through his appointed cabinet, the president retains the authority to conduct the administration of the government, a general election in June 1999 produced the first freely elected national, provincial and regional parliaments in over forty years. Megawatis PDI-P party had won the largest share of the vote in the election, while Golkar. Several other, mostly Islamic parties won shares large enough to be seated in the DPR, further democratic elections took place in 2004 and 2009. The president and vice-president are selected by vote of the citizens for five-year terms, prior to 2004, they were chosen by Peoples Consultative Assembly. The last election was held 9 July 2014, the president heads the Kabinet Kerja which means the cabinet of work. The president appoints a cabinet, who do not have to be elected members of the legislature, the Peoples Consultative Assembly is the legislative branch in Indonesias political system. Following elections in 2004, the MPR became a bicameral parliament, the Regional Representatives Council is the upper house of The Peoples Consultative Assembly. The General Elections Commission is the responsible for running both parliamentary and presidential elections in Indonesia. Article 22E of the Constitution rules that the Commission is national, permanent, prior to the General Election of 2004, KPU was made up of members who were also members of political parties. However, members of KPU must now be non-partisan, the Indonesian Supreme Court is the highest level of the judicial branch. Its judges are appointed by the president, the Constitutional Court rules on constitutional and political matters, while a Judicial Commission oversees the judges. It received international denunciation for its annexation of East Timor in 1978, Indonesia is a founding member of the Association of South East Asian Nations, and thereby a member of both ASEAN+3 and the East Asia Summit
3.
Pancasila (politics)
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Pancasila is the official philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state. Pancasila consists of two Old Javanese words, pañca meaning five, and sīla meaning principles and it comprises five principles held to be inseparable and interrelated, Belief in the absoluteness of God. Democracy guided by the wisdom in the unanimity arising out of deliberations amongst representatives. Social justice for all of the people of Indonesia, in 1945, facing the need to pull together the diverse archipelago, the future President Sukarno promulgated Pancasila as the philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state. Sukarnos political philosophy was mainly a fusion of elements of socialism, nationalism and monotheism, the fifth sila concerning religiosity was promoted to become the first sila. Internationalism, justice and humanity remain as parts of the second sila, the previously first sila about nationalism became the third sila about Indonesian unity. The third and fourth sila about democracy and social welfare become the fourth and fifth sila, Pancasila was thus intended to help solve the conflicting priorities among Muslims, nationalists and Christians. The 1945 Constitution of Indonesia then set forth Pancasila as the embodiment of basic principles of an independent Indonesian state, since its inception, Pancasila has been the subject of differences of opinion. One prime area of concerns the first of the five pillars. During the negotiations concerning this principle the nationalists were concerned that the formulation ought to promote religious freedom, the Muslims wanted a formulation where the religion of Indonesia is Islam. A historical anachronism is found in the Constitution, on 18 August 1945, the group that ratified the Constitution unanimously agreed that the term Allah should be replaced by Tuhan, a more general term which was supported by the Hindus. The word Ketuhanan and Allah is used in the preamble to the Constitution, but the term Allah appears in Article 9, there is an alternative presidential promise in the same article which does not mention God at all. The content of the philosophy has been interpreted by different philosophers. Pancasila has been an object of philosophical discourse since 1945 onwards, the Pancasila philosophers continually reinterpreted the content, so that its meaning varied from time to time. The following are chronological analyses of the content of philosophies of Pancasila, the first draft of Pancasila was formulated by Sukarno, delivered on 1 June 1945 before the Investigating Committee for the Preparation for Independence, without the word Indonesia. The second draft of Pancasila was formulated in the Jakarta Charter by the Committee of Nine, Sukarno accepted the suggestion of the other members of the committee to change the sequence of Pancasila. The fifth Sila of Sukarno become the first Sila of the Jakarta Charter, the first draft of the Pancasila philosophy was formulated by Sukarno on 1 June 1945. Ketuhanan, to him, was indigenous, while Kemanusiaan was inspired by the Hindu concept of Tat Twam Asi, the Islamic concept of fardhukifayah
4.
Constitution of Indonesia
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The Constitution of Indonesia is the basis for the government of the Indonesia. The constitution was written in June, July and August 1945 and it was abrogated by the Federal Constitution of 1949 and the Provisional Constitution of 1950, but restored on 5 July 1959. The 1945 Constitution then set forth the Pancasila, the five nationalist principles devised by Sukarno and it provides for a limited separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers. The governmental system has been described as presidential with parliamentary characteristics, the Japanese invaded the Netherlands East Indies in 1942, defeated the Dutch colonial regime, and occupied it for the duration of the Second World War. Indonesia then fell under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army, based in Saigon, on 29 April 1945, the 16th Army established Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia, for Java. The 25th Army later established a BPUPKI for Sumatra, No such organisation existed for the remainder of Indonesia. The BPUPKI in Java, when established, consisted of 62 members and it was chaired by Dr Radjiman Wedyodiningrat. The future president Sukarno and vice-president Mohammad Hatta were among its members and they met in the building that had been used by the Dutch colonial quasi-parliament, the Volksraad in central Jakarta. It held two sessions,29 May –1 June and 10–17 July 1945, the first session discussed general matters, including the philosophy of the state for future independent Indonesia, Pancasila. The philosophy was formulated by nine members of BPUPKI, Soekarno, Hatta, Yamin, Maramis, Soebardjo, Wahid Hasjim, Muzakkir, Agus Salim and Abikoesno. The outcome was something of a compromise, and included an obligation for Muslims to follow syariah Islamic law, the second session produced a provisional constitution made up of 37 articles,4 transitory provision and 2 additional provision. The nation would be a state and a republic. On 26 July 1945, the Allies called for the surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration. The Japanese authorities, realising they would lose the war, began to make firm plans for Indonesian independence. On 6 August, a bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. On 7 August, the Nanpo Gun headquarters announced that an Indonesian leader could enact a body called the Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia, the dropping of a second atomic bomb, on Nagasaki, on 9 August prompted the Japanese to surrender unconditionally on 15 August 1945. Sukarno and Hatta declared independence on 17 August 1945, and the PPKI met the following day, in the meeting chaired by Sukarno, the 27 members, including Hatta, Supomo, Wachid Hasjim, Sam Ratulangi and Subardjo, began to discuss the proposed constitution article by article. The Committee made some changes, including the removal of 7 words from the text of Jakarta Charter which stated the obligation for Muslims to follow syariah Islamic law
5.
President of Indonesia
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The President of the Republic of Indonesia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The President leads the executive branch of the Indonesian government and is the commander-in-chief of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, on 20 October 2014, Joko Widodo became the 7th and current President of Indonesia. The Indonesian presidency was established during the formulation of the 1945 Constitution by the Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence, on 16 October 1945, Vice-President Mohammad Hatta announced a vice-presidential decree which turned the Central National Committee of Indonesia equal status with that of the president. On 11 November 1945, the KNIP made the decision to separate the role of Head of State with that of Head of Government, during the Indonesian National Revolution, both Sukarno and Hatta were captured by the Dutch in Yogyakarta on 18 December 1948. Sukarno then gave a mandate for Sjafruddin Prawiranegara to form an emergency Government and this was done and the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia was formed in Sumatra with Prawiranegara as its Chairman. Prawiranegara handed back his mandate to Sukarno on 13 July 1949, on 17 December 1949, Sukarno was elected president of the Republic of the United States of Indonesia and presidential mandate passed to Assaat. When it became clear that RIS was going to be replaced by a state, Asaat stepped down from the presidency. Indonesia now adopted the constitution that had been intended for RIS, officially known as the Provisional Constitution, the document confirmed the presidents role as the Head of State, but limited him to a mostly ceremonial role. He appointed a Prime Minister on the advice of formateurs, despite his limited constitutional role, Sukarno commanded great moral authority. Nonetheless, he was never content with the role of ceremonial Head of State, the rest of the decade saw a series of unstable governments. Taking advantage of the situation, Sukarno made a speech in April 1959, the People reacted enthusiastically and there was strong pressure on the Constituante, the body responsible for formulating a new constitution, to adopt the 1945 Constitution. When the Constituante did not budge, Sukarno issued a Presidential Decree on 5 July 1959 declaring that Indonesia was returning to the 1945 Constitution and that document made the president head of government as well as head of state. In 1963, Sukarno declared himself president for Life, although Indonesia had re-adopted the 1945 Constitution, it did not mean that it was strictly adhered to. The MPR, which at this stage was still on a basis, was subservient to the president despite its status of the Nations highest Governing Body. It was only in 1966, when the tide began to turn against Sukarno that the MPRS nominally regained its rightful constitutional status. All throughout his rise to power, General Suharto seemed determined to do things constitutionally, Suharto allowed the MPR to execute its constitutional duty of formulating the Broad Outlines of State Policy whilst he as the president would be responsible for implementing GBHN. Suharto also made it an obligation to deliver accountability speeches towards the end of his terms. During the speech, Suharto outlined the achievements that his administration had made, despite the constitutional and democratic façade, Suharto made sure that the MPR was also subservient to him
6.
Joko Widodo
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Joko Widodo is the seventh President of Indonesia, in office since 2014. Previously he was the Mayor of Surakarta from 2005 to 2012 and he is the first Indonesian president without a high-ranking political or military background. Jokowi was nominated by his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Jokowi was elected as Governor of Jakarta on 20 September 2012 after a second round runoff election in which he defeated the incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo. Jokowis win was seen as reflecting popular voter support for new or clean leaders rather than the old style of politics in Indonesia. His nomination as PDI-P candidate for the 2014 presidential election was announced on 14 March 2014, the presidential election was held on 9 July 2014. After some controversy about the result of the election, Jokowi was named as president-elect on 22 July, Joko Widodo is of Javanese descent. Before changing his name, Jokowi was called Mulyono and his father came from Karanganyar, his grandparents came from a village in Boyolali. His education began in State Primary School 111, Tirtoyoso, known for being a school for the wealthy citizens. At the age of twelve, he started working in his fathers furniture workshop, the evictions he experienced three times in his childhood affected his way of thinking and his leadership later on as the mayor of Surakarta as he organised housing in the city. After primary school, he continued his studies in SMP Negeri 1 Surakarta and he had wanted to continue his education in SMA Negeri 1 Surakarta, but he failed the entrance exam and went to SMA Negeri 6 Surakarta instead. Joko Widodo graduated from Faculty of Forestry at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta in 1985 to study, Jokowi began his tenure at a state-owned enterprise company called PT Kertas Kraft Aceh, but went home not long after due to his disinterest. He then began working for his grandfathers furniture factory, before establishing his own company called Rakabu, the companys fine product has its fame heard internationally, as they are also exported to the Western World. It was in France where his furniture product first start penertrating European market and this brought Widodo to a customer named Bernard, who gave him the nickname he is famous for, Jokowi. Ultimately he was inspired to become a politician so that he can transform his hometown, Surakarta, Jokowi ran for mayoral race in 2005 together with his running mate, F. X. Hadi Rudyatmo, winning 36. 62% of the vote against the incumbent Slamet Suryanto and 2 other candidates, when he first ran for the office of mayor of Surakarta, his background as a property and furniture businessman was questioned. He adopted the development framework of European cities into his own city of Surakarta, in 2007, Surakarta had also hosted the World Music Festival which was held at the complex of Fort Vastenburg. The FMD in 2008 was held in the Mangkunegaran Palace Complex, part of Jokowis personal style was his populist can-do elements designed to build bonds with the broad electorate. Following the electric company policy to pursue a more disciplined approach to collecting overdue bills, the city government quickly authorized payment but in settling the bill protested that it should consider the public interest before taking this type of action
7.
Vice President of Indonesia
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The Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia is the first in the line of succession in the Republic of Indonesia. The Indonesian Vice Presidency was established during the formulation of the 1945 constitution by the Researching Body for the Preparation of the Indonesian Independence, the office was first filled on 18 August 1945 when Mohammad Hatta was elected by acclamation. In the early days of the Republic, the office of Vice-President showed how important it can be, on 16 October 1945, Hatta announced a Vice-Presidential decree which turned the Central National Committee of Indonesia equal status with that of the President. As a result of decree, the KNIP was able to separate the role of Head of State. Although a new constitution had not been set up yet, Indonesia was now a de facto Parliamentary Democracy, during the Indonesian National Revolution, both Hatta and Sukarno were captured by the Dutch in Yogyakarta on 18 December 1948. Together with Sukarno, Hatta gave mandate for Syafruddin Prawiranegara to form an emergency Government and this was done and the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia was formed in Sumatra with Prawiranegara as Chairman. Prawiranegara handed back his mandate to Sukarno and consequently, to Hatta on 13 July 1949, although the Vice Presidency continued to exist, the form of Government was now officially a Parliamentary Democracy and there was not a significant role for the Vice-President to play. On 1 December 1956, partly because of his differences with Sukarno, for the next 17 years, the Vice Presidency remain vacant. In December 1965, there were calls for a Vice-President to be named to assist President Sukarno during the times of uncertainty, the idea did not gain momentum and the Vice Presidency continued to remain vacant as the Presidency passed over from Sukarno to General Suharto. In March 1973, the Vice Presidency vacancy was filled by Hamengkubuwono IX when he was elected by the MPR, after Hamengkubuwono IX and throughout the New Order, the Vice Presidency were successively held by Adam Malik, Umar Wirahadikusumah, Sudharmono, Try Sutrisno, and BJ Habibie. During his time as President, Suharto would reduce the Vice Presidency to a sinecure, a Vice-President was reduced to making sure that Government policy was being implemented and attending ceremonies. The Vice-President did not even take on Presidential duties when Suharto was either out of the country or ill, the office would derogatorily be known as Ban Serep. With Suhartos fall in May 1998 and Habibies accession to the Presidency, in October 1999, Megawati Sukarnoputri was elected as Vice-President and the office began to gain significance. Megawati was delegated genuine tasks to do and in 2000, she became responsible for the day-to-day running of the Government. During the 2001 MPR Annual Session, it was decided that from 2004 onwards. The substantial role that the Vice Presidency is now going to have was evident in the way in which the 2004 Presidential Candidates chose their running mates, at the end, Jusuf Kalla became Indonesias first directly elected Vice-President. The 1945 Constitution, The Vice-Presidential candidate has to be of Indonesian origins, the Provisional Constitution, The Vice-Presidential candidate has to be an Indonesian citizen aged at least 30 years old. He cannot be someone who is deemed to be undesirable or has had his right to part in elections stripped
8.
Jusuf Kalla
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Muhammad Jusuf Kalla is an Indonesian politician who has been Vice President of Indonesia since 2014, having previously served from 2004 to 2009. He was unsuccessful as Golkars presidential candidate in the 2009 presidential election, since 2009 Kalla has served as the Chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross Society. He is the first person to hold two non-consecutive terms as Vice President of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla was born on 15 May 1942 in Watampone, the capital of the Bone Regency in South Sulawesi. His parents were Hadji Kalla, a businessman and Athirah. He was the second of 10 children, after completing school, Kalla attended Hasanuddin University in Makassar. At university he became active in the Indonesian Student Action Front, Kalla was elected as chair of South Sulawesi branch of KAMI. In 1967 Kalla graduated from the Economics Faculty at Hasanuddin University, the economic situation was bleak at the time and his father, Hadji Kalla, considered shutting down the family business, NV Hadji Kalla. Instead, Kalla decided to take over the firm, putting aside his political activities, in 1968 Kalla became CEO of NV Hadji Kalla while his father became chairman. In the beginning the business only had one employee and business was slow, Kallas mother assisted by trading silk and running a small transportation business with three buses. Over time the business grew and became quite successful, NV Hadji Kalla expanded from the export-import trading business into other sectors. In addition to being CEO of NV Hadji Kalla, Kalla was also CEO of various subsidiaries of the firm, in 1977, Kalla graduated from INSEAD, an international business school in Fontainebleau, south of Paris. NV Hadji Kalla is now known as the Kalla Group and is one of the business groups in Indonesia. Aside from his business career, Kalla has been active in numerous well-known organizations, from 1979 to 1989, he was chairman of the Indonesian Economics Graduates Association in Makassar and continues to be an adviser for ISEI. Kalla was extensively involved with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, from 1985 to 1998 he was chairman for KADIN in South Sulawesi and was coordinator for KADIN in eastern Indonesia. In addition, Kalla is on the board of trustees for three universities in Makassar, Kalla has contributed socially by building the Al Markaz Mosque and becoming chairman of its Islamic centre. Kalla is seen in The Act of Killing film praising Pancasila Youth, Kalla returned to active politics in 1987 when he was appointed to the Peoples Consultative Assembly as a regional representative for South Sulawesi. He was re-appointed to the MPR in 1992,1997, and 1999, when Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid was elected as President by the MPR in 1999, Kalla was included in the cabinet and became Minister of Industry and Trade. He had only been a minister for six months when in April 2000 Wahid removed him along with the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Wahid accused both Kalla and minister Laksamana of corruption, although he never produced evidence to support the charge, and Kalla denied the allegations
9.
Cabinet of Indonesia
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The Cabinet of the Republic of Indonesia is the council of ministers appointed by the President. Indonesia has seen dozens of cabinets since independence in 1945, although during the New Order most cabinets remained unchanged for five years at a time, most cabinets are referred to by the names given them at the time of formation. The current presidential cabinet is the Working Cabinet of Joko Widodo, the concept of a cabinet is not mentioned explicitly in the 1945 Constitution, so Indonesias cabinets since 14 November 1945 are the result of administrative convention. There have been two types of cabinet in Indonesian history, presidential and parliamentary, during this period, the cabinet had between 16 and 37 ministers with 12-15 ministries. On 27 December 1949, the Netherlands recognised the sovereignty of the United States of Indonesia, under the Federal Constitution of 1949, the RIS had a parliamentary cabinet as ministers were responsible for government policy. With the return to the state of Indonesia in August 1950. Article 83 of the Provisional Constitution of 1950 stated that ministers had full responsibility for government policy, over the following nine years there were seven cabinets with between 18 and 25 members. On 5 July 1959, President Sukarno issued a decree abrogating the 1950 Constitution, during the final years of Sukarnos presidency, cabinets were larger, peaking at 111 ministers. During the New Order under President Suharto, cabinets were smaller, offices that were not sanctioned by the 1945 Constitution were abolished. Following the fall of Suharto and the beginning of the Reformasi era, until 2010, cabinet ministries were dubbed Departments following the United States model. The present Indonesian cabinet, the Working Cabinet, was sworn in on October 27,2014, the cabinet consists of 34 ministers. On August 12,2015, President Jokowi held the first reshuffle of his cabinet and he further reshuffled his ministerial team on July 27,2016 Parliamentary cabinets were usually known by the name of the prime minister, but after 1959 they were named after their principal tasking. The complete list of cabinets follows, List of female cabinet ministers of Indonesia Daniel Dhaidae & H. N. H. Kabinet-Kabinet Republik Indonesia, yayasan API, Panduan Parlemen Indonesia, ISBN 979-96532-1-5 Indonesian Cabinet 1945 –2001, Indonesian Embassy in the United Kingdom
10.
Subdivisions of Indonesia
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Provinces are made up of regencies and cities. Provinces, regencies and cities have their own governments and parliamentary bodies. Since the enactment of Law Number 22 Year 1999 regarding Local Government, foreign policy, defence, system of law, and monetary policy, however, remain the domain of the national government. Since 2005, heads of government have been directly elected by popular election. A province is headed by a governor, each province has its own legislative body, called Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah. Governors and representative members are elected by popular vote for five-year terms, Indonesia is divided into 34 provinces. Eight provinces have been created since 2000, the Sultan of Yogyakarta is de facto and de jure governor of Yogyakarta since he is given priority when electing the governor. For centuries, the Sultanate of Yogyakarta has reigned in the region, however, recently the central government proposed a law that required the governor to be popularly elected as in the other provinces, while still giving the sultan significant political power. Papua, since 2001 local government has a role, including use of its own flag and anthem of province. West Papua, has the status as Papua. Jakarta Special Capital Region, is the capital of Indonesia, the Governor of Jakarta has the power to appoint and dismiss mayors and regent within the Jakarta Special Capital Region. The local government is allowed to co-operate with other cities from other countries, regency and city, collectively known as Daerah Tingkat II is a local level of government beneath the provincial level. However, they enjoy greater decentralisation of affairs than the body, such as provision of public schools. Both regency and city are at the level, having their own local government. The difference between a regency and a city lies in differing demographics, size and economics, generally the regency has a larger area than the city, and the city has non-agricultural economic activities. A regency is headed by a regent, and a city is headed by a mayor, the regent or mayor and the representative council members are elected by popular vote for a term of 5 years. Regencies and cities are divided into districts, there are two types of districts, Kecamatan, headed by a camat. A camat is a servant, responsible to the regent or to the mayor
11.
People's Consultative Assembly
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The Peoples Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia is the legislative branch in Indonesias political system. It is composed of the members of the Peoples Representative Council, before 2004, and the amendments to the 1945 Constitution, the MPR was the highest governing body in Indonesia. 16/1960, the assembly was formed after the first general election of 1971 and it was decided at that time that the membership of the Assembly would be twice that of the Representative House. The 920 membership of MPR continued for the periods of 1977–1982, for the periods 1987–1992, 1992–1997, and 1997–1999 the MPRs membership became 1000. One hundred members were appointed representing delegations from groups as addition to the delegates of Karya Pembangunan, Partai Demokrasi Indonesia. For the period of 1999–2004 the membership of MPR was only 700, on 18 August 1945, the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence approved a new constitution for the country. It was, however, difficult to implement because of the postwar conditions. The Preparatory Committee therefore decided to implement a document titled The Four Clauses of Transition Regulations. Clause IV of those regulations stated that until permanent governing bodies could be established all governmental powers would be held by the President with the assistance of a National Committee. On 29 August 1945, the Central Indonesian National Committee was set up, on 16 October 1945, Vice-President Mohammad Hatta issued a decree that outlined the function and authority of the KNIP. In addition to the assisting the President, the committee would perform legislative duties until an MPR and DPR could be formed, in taking on the functions of the MPR, the KNIP was responsible for creating the Broad Outlines of Government Policy. The role which KNIP played would provide an outline of the duties which Preparatory Committee would later perform. On 27 December 1949, Indonesias independence was recognised by the Dutch Government, from that year until 17 August 1950, Indonesia was known as the United States of Indonesia and had a federal system of government. Under the constitution of the RIS, the MPR was not recognised as the highest state institution, on 17 August 1950, however, the RIS ceased to exist, and Indonesia changed its name to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Parliamentary democracy was the form of government quickly adopted by the newly re-formed nation and it operated under a provisional constitution that did not recognise the MPR. As a result of the 1955 legislative elections, however, a new DPR was formed, in December 1955, a government body called the Constitutional Assembly of Indonesia was formed, and its duty was to draft a new constitution for Indonesia. On 5 July 1959, President Sukarno, who then had played the role of ceremonial Head of State intervened. In a decree, he dissolved the Constitutional Assembly and declared that the 1945 Constitution would thenceforth be in force, with the return to the 1945 Constitution, the MPR was once again recognised as the highest governing body in the land
12.
People's Representative Council
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Together with the Regional Representative Council, a second chamber with limited powers, it makes up a legislative body, the Peoples Consultative Assembly. Currently there are 560 members, following the 2009 elections, all elected, the house has been the subject of frequent public criticism due to perceived high level of fraud and corruption. It met for the first time in 1918, ten of its nineteen members elected by local councils were Indonesians, as were five of the nineteen appointed members. However, it had only advisory powers, although the governor-general had to consult it on financial matters, the body grew in size to 60 members, half of who were elected by a total of 2,228 people. In 1925, the Volksraad gained some legislative powers and it had to agree to the budget and internal legislation, and could sponsor laws of its own. However, it had no power to remove the governor general and it was replaced by a council made up of heads of departments. The Japanese invaded Indonesia in 1942 and this body drew up a constitution for an independent Indonesia over several weeks of meetings. At a session of the Committee on 1 June 1945, Sukarno laid down the principles of Pancasila by which an Indonesia would be governed, on 7 August, the day after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence or PPKI was established. Sukarno was chairman, and Hatta vice-chairman, the two proclaimed the Independence of Indonesia on 17 August. The PPKI also named Sukarno as president and Hatta vice-president, the Central Indonesian National Committee or KNIP was a body appointed to assist the president of the newly independent Indonesia, Sukarno, on 29 August 1945. The day-to-day tasks of the KNIP would be carried out by a Working Committee, during the War of Independence, the entire KNIP was unable to meet regularly. Two months later, the made up of heads of departments that the Dutch had set up to replace the pre-war Volksraad officially became the Provisional Federal Government. This body invited heads of the making up the United States of Indonesia to send delegates to the Federal Conference in Bandung in May 1948. That month, leaders of states and other areas joined together to establish the Federal Consultative Assembly to represent the federal regions, initially Peoples Representative Council had 50 representatives from the Republic of Indonesia and 100 from the 15 component parts of the RIS. The plan was for elections within a year, the KNIP met for the last time on 15 December 1949 to agree to the Republic of Indonesia joining the RIS. On 17 August 1950, the RIS was formally dissolved and the unitary Republic of Indonesia came into being, the provisional Peoples Representative Council met for the first time on 16 August 1950. Of the 236 members, only 204 took their oaths of office on 20 August, and only 170 voted in the election of the speaker, Masyumi was the largest parliamentary party with 49 seats. The PNI had 36 seats and no party had more than 17
13.
Regional Representative Council
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The Regional Representative Council, alternatively translatable as the House of Regions or as the House of Regional Representatives, is one of two parliamentary chambers in Indonesia. Together with the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, it makes up the Indonesian national legislative body, under Indonesias constitution, the authority of the DPD is limited to areas related to regional governments and can only propose and give advise on bills to the DPR. Unlike the DPR, the DPD has no direct law-making power, the DPD was created by the third amendment to the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia enacted 9 November 2001 in a move towards bicameralism. The DPD does not have the powers of an upper house like the United States Senate. The power of the DPD is relatively weak compared to the older chamber, according to Indonesian constitutional scholar Jimly Asshiddiqie, the relative weakness of the DPD was a result of a compromise in the committee responsible for the constitutional amendment. The reformist faction wanted a second chamber in addition to the existing DPR in order to strengthen checks and balances. Article 22C of the Constitution rules that all members of the DPD are elected through the same Legislative Election every five years, the total number of members is limited so that it does not exceed one third of that of DPR. The DPD can propose bills to the DPR and must be heard on any regional bill proposed by DPR. A third legislative body, the Peoples Consultative Assembly, comprises the members of the DPR, the acronym DPD is a common one in Indonesia. In political parties, it stands for Indonesian, Dewan Pimpinan Daerah. It should not be confused with the Legislative body, denny Indrayana Indonesian Constitutional Reform 1999-2002, An Evaluation of Constitution-Making in Transition, Kompas Book Publishing, Jakarta ISBN 978-979-709-394-5 Asshiddiqie, Jimly. Lembaga Perwakilan dan Permusyawaratan Rakyat Tingkat Pusat
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Judiciary of Indonesia
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The Judiciary of Indonesia comprises the Supreme Court of Indonesia and the Constitutional Court of Indonesia together with public courts, religious courts, administrative courts and military courts. The Supreme Court is Indonesias highest court and it is the final court of appeal for criminal and civil verdicts. It also resolves disputes between courts and it is led by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia, currently Muhammad Hatta Ali. There are two separate officeholders for the title of Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Indonesia, Muhammad Syarifuddin for judicial affairs, the Constitutional Court rules over disputes concerning the Constitution of Indonesia as well as matters involving elections and political parties. The current Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia is Arief Hidayat, zoelvas predecessor, Akil Mochtar, was stripped of his powers following allegations of accepting bribes. The current Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia is Anwar Usman, the public courts comprise the district courts at the first level and the high courts at the appellate level, after which any appeal goes to the Supreme Court. They can try criminal and civil cases involving Indonesian citizens or foreign citizens, state courts have authority at the city and regency level, while high courts function at the provincial level. There are specialised courts formed within the system of courts, juvenile courts, human rights courts, labour courts, commercial courts, fishery courts. Religious courts are for Muslim citizens to resolve such as marriage, inheritance. Religious courts are located at the district/municipality level and there are 343 of these courts of first instance at the regency or city level across Indonesia, at the appeal level, religious high courts now number 29, including the recently renamed Mahkamah Syariat in Banda Aceh. Since 2006, a number of districts have issued local ordinances based on Syariah, administrative courts were established in 1986 as a consequence of a law intended to ensure that people would not be treated arbitrarily by government officials or organisations. They rule in disputes involving the state officials or bodies, both at the centre and in the regions, there is one specialised court created within the system of the administrative courts - the Tax Court. These deal with cases involving members of the Armed Forces, first-instance military courts consider cases regarding military personnel whose ranks are not higher than a captain. High military courts consider appeals against decisions of the lower Dilmil courts and also act as courts in cases, involving military personnel with ranks of a major. The Primary Military Court hears appeals against the decisions of Dilimilti courts, judges decide cases based on written law. If there is no written law, Law No. 14/1970 states that judges must apply unwritten law and decide cases with wisdom and full responsibility to God
15.
Supreme Court of Indonesia
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The Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia is the independent judicial arm of the state. It maintains a system of courts and sits above the courts and is the final court of appeal. It can also re-examine cases if new evidence emerges, the Supreme Court is independent as of the third amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia. The Supreme Court has oversight over the courts and district courts. There are about 68 high courts,31 General Courts,29 Religious Courts,4 Administrative Courts and 4 Military Courts, there are around 250 district courts with additional district courts being created from time to time. The Supreme Court is the court of appeal following appeals from the district courts to the high courts. The Supreme Court can also re-examine cases if sufficient new evidence is found, Constitutional matters, however, fall within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia, established in 2003. According to the Constitution, candidates for Supreme Court Justices are required to have integrity, candidates are proposed to the House of Representatives by the Judicial Commission. If the House of Representatives approves them, their appointment is confirmed by the president. As of mid 2011, there was a total of 804 courts of various kinds in Indonesia, about 50 justices sat in the Supreme Court while other high and lower courts across Indonesia employed around 7,000 judges. Officially, the Supreme Court consists of 51 justices divided into 8 chambers, the chief justice and his or her deputy is elected by the Supreme Court justices from among the members of the court. Sometimes the process is controversial and attracts public criticism, there was said to be all-out competition for the post of chief justice because of the influence that the position holds and it was rumoured that the competition might include payments. In the election held on 8 February 2012, Muhammad Hatta Ali comfortably won the position of chief justice ahead of four other candidates and he was sworn in as chief justice by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on 1 March 2012. Hatta first became a judge in 1982 when he took up a position on the North Jakarta District Court and he was appointed to the High Court in 2003 and then to the Supreme Court in 2007. Wirjono Prodjodikoro, who held office from 1952 to 1966, has been the longest office-holder of the position of head justice, like most of the Indonesian legal system, the Supreme Court is badly overloaded with demands on resources. One observer has noted that the Supreme Court is drowning in a flood of new cases each year. In 2010, for example, there were more than 22,000 cases before the court of which the court managed to rule on less than 14,000. Partly in response to pressures of this kind, proposals for reform of the way that business is conducted have been under consideration for some time
16.
Constitutional Court of Indonesia
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In August 2003, the Peoples Consultative Assembly passed the Constitutional Court Act and the nine justices were appointed on 15 August. They were sworn in the following day, on 15 October 2003, the Supreme Court handed over authority, marking the start of the Constitutional Courts activities. The nine founding judges were, Prof. Mukthie Fajar from Brawijaya University, ahmad Natabaya from Sriwijaya University, Palembang Lieutenant General Roestandi. Dr Jimly Asshiddiqie was elected the first chief judge, with the successful completion of his first period on the court, he was then re-elected as the chief judge for a second term of 2006-2009. He resigned from the court after finishing his first five-year term of office, the leadership of the court continued under Prof. Dr Mohammad Mahfud, a senior politician of National Awakening Party and member of parliament. The high-profile performance of the court has made it a respected institution in Indonesia. During the general election and the first presidential election in 2004, many landmark decisions have been made in the fields of politics, social, and economic law since its first year of establishment. Are among the landmark decisions made it influential in guiding the new democracy of Indonesia. In mid-2011 the Indonesian parliament approved changes to the 2003 Constitutional Court Law that established the Constitutional Court. The Perppu set out new arrangements relating to the processes of selection of justices, in addition, a permanent ethics committee was be established to monitor the performance of the Court. On 19 December 2013 the Indonesian parliament endorsed the Perppu, the court has the same legal standing as the Supreme Court. It also is obliged to rule on any attempt to impeach the president and its jurisdiction on the electoral disputes was first limited to the five-yearly general elections. However, since 2009 the definition of general election has been broadened and includes the election of governors, to date, of the five jurisdictions of the court, most cases handled have centred around issues of judicial review, disputed electoral results, and disputes between state institutions. A major problem for the court, like parts of the legal system in Indonesia, is enforcement of decisions. The chief justice of the court is elected by the members of the court from amongst their number, the first chief justice was Prof. Dr Jimly Asshiddiqie. He was well known as law professor of the University of Indonesia, and actively involved in the process of Indonesian constitutional reform, during the crisis in the transitional era under the presidency of Habibie, he chaired the Reformation Committee for law reform. As scholar, he often makes appearances and offers comments on a range of public policy issues. As a scholar he has published more than 40 books on legal and constitutional issues
17.
Judicial Commission of Indonesia
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The idea of a body to consider and give a final ruling on the appointment, promotion, transfer or dismissal of judges first arose in 1968 but failed to make the statute books. Pressure for the establishment of a body to bring about an honest, clean, transparent, on 9 November 2001, during its annual session, the Peoples Consultative Assembly passed the third amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia, mandating the establishment of a Judicial Commission. The proposal to establish the Judicial Commission was added into the amendment at the last minute and, in the view of some observers, the Commission was established in a hasty way. On 13 August 2004, Law No.22 on the Judicial Commission was promulgated and on 2 July 2005, the members were sworn in by the president on 2 August 2005. Since its inception in 2005, most of the Commissions recommendations have been ignored by the Supreme Court and this has led the English-language publication the Jakarta Post to describe the Supreme Court as resistant to reform. The commission works to maintain the honor, dignity and behavior of judges, members are appointed by the president with the agreement of the House of Representatives. The precise authority of the Judicial Commission, however, was not agreed upon by the different branches of the system in Indonesia. Following that decision of the Constitutional Court, it was agreed that the powers of the Judicial Commission needed to be clarified, under the proposed changes to the law, however, the authority to punish Supreme Court justices would remain with the Supreme Court. In 2015, the Commission suffered a blow to its powers when the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of a judicial review filed by the Indonesian Judges Association. The review alleged that selection of candidates for the bench was out of the Commissions purview, the Judicial Commission consists of seven members drawn from former judges, legal practitioners, legal academics and community members. The current members for the Commissions 2015 -2020 session are, Aidul Fitriciada Azhari Sukma Violetta H
18.
Indonesian legislative election, 2004
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Indonesia held legislative elections on 5 April 2004 for both houses of the Peoples Consultative Assembly, the countrys national legislature. This included all 550 seats in the Peoples Representative Council and 128 seats of the new Regional Representative Council, final results of the popular vote tally showed that Golkar, the former ruling party of the New Order era, received the largest number of votes. It had lost to the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle in the 1999 legislative election, the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party, two of the newest parties to participate in the elections, received a combined 14.8 percent of the popular vote. The election has been described as the most complicated election in the history of democracy, during its 2002 annual session, the Peoples Consultative Assembly added 14 amendments to the Constitution of Indonesia. Included in these amendments were measures to reorganize the legislature, beginning in 2004, the MPR was composed of the existing Peoples Representative Council and a new Regional Representative Council. Because all the seats in the MPR were directly elected, this called for removal of the military from the legislature and this change and an amendment for direct election of the President and Vice President were major steps for Indonesia on the road towards a full democracy. On 13 July 2003, President Megawati Sukarnoputri signed into effect a law outlining the composition of the reorganized MPR, the new DPD was composed of four representatives from each of the 32 provinces of Indonesia, not totaling more than one-third of the members of the DPR. The revised constitution also set membership in the DPR at 550, during the first phases of registration,150 parties were registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. However, this number was reduced to 50 and then 24 after scrutiny from the newly created General Election Commission, only six parties met this requirement, and the remaining parties were required to merge or reorganize into a new party. The campaign period for parties and candidates began on 11 March and it was split into two phases by Nyepi, the Balinese day of silence. Parties delivered their national agendas indoors between 11 and 25 March, although this was meant to encourage dialogue between parties and their constituents, these events were poorly attended. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems conducted a survey that showed not all voters knew how to vote for candidates of the new DPD. Up to 475,000 candidates were nominated by the parties in the national, provincial. More than 1,200 candidates stood for 128 seats in the DPD, candidates were elected in an open list system. The election results determined which political parties were eligible to submit candidates for Indonesias first direct presidential election, only parties that received five percent of the popular vote or three percent of seats in the Peoples Representative Council could submit candidates. Parties that did not meet these criteria had to join other parties to meet at least one criterion. Election day,5 April, was free of major incidents. Minor violations included officials helping elderly voters cast and submit ballots, two Indonesian election officials were also reported killed when delivering voting equipment in Papua
19.
Indonesian legislative election, 2009
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Legislative elections were held in Indonesia on 9 April 2009 for 132 seats of the Regional Representative Council and 560 seats of the Peoples Representative Council. A total of 38 parties met the requirements to be allowed to participate in the national elections, the Democratic Party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the largest share of the vote, followed by the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle. On 5 October 2004, three regencies were carved out of the province of South Sulawesi to form West Sulawesi as the 33rd province of Indonesia, because this occurred after the 2004 legislative election, West Sulawesi was not represented in the Regional Representative Council during the 2004–2009 period. There were talks on increasing the number of seats in the Peoples Representative Council as early as September 2007, in a meeting of a committee to draft changes to the Constitution, various factions within the government proposed an increase to between 560 and 600 seats total. On 18 February 2008, the agreed on a 10-seat increase in the Council to 560 total seats in order to accommodate for the new province of West Sulawesi. In accordance with General Election Commission Regulation No, 20/2008, the first phase of the election was finalizing the list of voters. This was completed on 24 October 2008 with 170,022,239 people announced as eligible voters. However, a later, the Commission announced that due to errors in entering data, and after eliminating multiple counting. It changed the final count once again on 12 March 2009 to 171,265,442 national, however, TV advertising was permitted to continue. The legislative election took place on 9 April, and results were announced one month later, the new members of the Regional Representative Council and the Peoples Representative Council will be sworn in on 1 October. Over 60 parties registered for the elections, but only 34 originally met the eligibility requirements, however, on 15 August 2008, following a successful legal challenge, another four parties were permitted to join the contest, making 38 in total. A total of 11,219 candidates vied for seats in the Peoples Representative Council, among the requirements for parties is that 30 percent of candidates are women. The Constitutional Court also lifted the restriction on former members of the Indonesian Communist Party to stand as candidates in the legislative election. The introduction of a parliamentary threshold also meant that only parties receiving more than 2.5 percent of the vote would be seated in the Peoples Representative Council. Although the election began on 12 July 2008, before 16 March it was limited to invitation-only meetings, advertisements in the media. The public campaign ran until 5 April 2009, participants in the campaign were banned from calling into question the ideological or constitutional basis of the state as well as its form as a unitary republic. In contrast to previous elections that were closed list, Indonesia instituted an open list system for this election. Individuals campaigned not only as members of their party but also on their own merits
20.
Indonesian legislative election, 2014
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For eligible voters residing outside Indonesia, elections were held on 5 or 6 April 2014 based on the decision of electoral commission of each different countries. A total of 46 parties registered to take part in the election nationwide, candidates for the DPR and DPRDI/II stand on a party platform. The ballot papers had a section for each of the parties with the party number, under the symbols, that parties candidates were listed. Voters could vote for just the party, or one of the candidates by punching a hole in the paper with the tool provided. Candidates for the DPD stood on a basis, so voters simply needed to punch a hole in the candidates picture. For the Peoples Representative Council election each province was divided into one and eleven electoral districts depending on population. Each of these districts elected between three and ten members by proportional representation with a 3. 5% national threshold. Once the votes were counted, the General Elections Commission eliminated any party that had failed to obtain an 3. 5% share of the national vote and it then allocated seats in the Peoples Representative Council via a two-stage process. First the number of votes to secure one DPR seat in each district was calculated by dividing the number of valid votes by the number of seats to be elected in each district. Each partys vote in each district was divided by this amount to determine the number of seats won outright, any party with less than this amount won no seats in this first stage. The remaining votes were used to determine which party won any seats so far unallocated by awarding these seats to the parties with the largest remainders until all seats were allocated. For the Regional Representative Council each province, regardlesa of size and population, the candidates for DPD stood independently. Voters were given one and only one vote, the system used is Single Non-Transferable Vote. Only parties with at least 25 percent of the vote or that control 20 percent of seats in the DPR were able to nominate candidates for the presidential election. Parties that did not achieve this percentage had to form a coalition with parties to make up the required percentage share to nominate a candidate. Numerous opinion polls have been done by many different pollsters to gauge the voting intention of the electorate, however, many of them are regarded to be unreliable. The quality of polling in Indonesia varies considerably, further, some of the polling institutions provide little information about their polling methods. The data set out below should therefore be treated with care, indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle won the election by 18. 95% votes, followed by Golkar with 14. 75% votes and Great Indonesia Movement Party with 11. 81% vote
21.
Indonesian presidential election, 2004
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The first direct presidential election in Indonesia was held in two rounds on July 5 and September 20,2004. Prior to a 2002 amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia, the President and Vice President were elected by the countrys top legislative body, the Peoples Consultative Assembly. If no pair receives the amount of required, the election will continue into the second round with the pairs receiving the highest. The incumbent President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, was elected into office in 2001 after the legislature impeached and removed her predecessor, president Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawatis re-election bid was challenged by four candidates, including incumbent Vice President Hamzah Haz. In the first round, former member and retired General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received a plurality of the valid ballots submitted, followed by Megawati. Yudhoyono eventually defeated Megawati with 60.62 percent of the ballots in the second round. He was inaugurated as the sixth President of Indonesia on 20 October 2004, the PDI–P was led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of Sukarno, Indonesias first president. Megawatis supporters had expected her to be elected President by the MPR and her only opponent at the time was President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, who came into office in May 1998, but he withdrew his candidacy after his accountability speech was rejected by the MPR. The PKB, which was led by Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of Indonesias largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama, had pledged to support Megawati for President. However, it clear that Megawati did not have enough votes to back her candidacy. Additionally, National Mandate Party leader Amien Rais and his Central Axis, Abdurrahman eventually won the MPRs presidential election, and Megawati was elected as Vice President. As President, he repealed many of the laws enacted during the Suharto era that discriminated against Chinese Indonesians, among these were bans on the use of Chinese characters and display of images relating to Chinese culture. Following this act, many political parties began to reach out to Chinese Indonesians for their votes by displaying Chinese characters on campaign material, following Abdurrahmans impeachment and removal from office by the MPR in July 2001, the legislative body elevated Megawati to the presidency. She would complete the remainder of Abdurrahmans five-year term, ending in October 2004 and this presidential election process would involve political parties nominating a presidential and vice presidential ticket with the option of runoff election. In December 2003, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems began a survey in order to assess the popularity of potential candidates. The survey continued until the start of the first election round on 5 July, the first IFES survey indicated that incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri received a plurality of the votes. However, by the time of the April 2004 legislative election, other potential candidates included DPR Speaker Akbar Tanjung and Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwana X. The results of the election determined which political parties were eligible to submit presidential tickets
22.
Indonesian presidential election, 2009
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Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on 8 July 2009. The elections returned a president and vice president for the 2009–2014 period, Yudhoyono was officially declared the victor of the election on 23 July 2009, by the General Election Commission. This was the election in which Indonesians elected their President. In 2004, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono defeated incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri in a run-off election, polls through early January 2009 saw Yudhoyono leading a large field of potential presidential candidates. Incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla announced in February 2009 that he would not be returning as a presidential candidate with Yudhoyono. Instead, he was ready to challenge Yudhoyono should Golkar, the party which he chaired, on 17 February, the Constitutional Court ruled that independent candidates would not be allowed to run in the election. Following legislative elections held on 9 April, coalitions of political parties began to emerge in order to nominate candidates for President and Vice President. Under the 2008 Presidential Election Law, the candidates must be nominated by a party or coalition that won at least 25% of the vote or 112 of 560 seats of the Peoples Representative Council. Indonesias Constitutional Court also ruled that independent candidates would not be allowed to run, candidates had to officially register with the General Election Commission by midnight of 16 May in order to appear on the ballots. However, talks were broken off on 13 April 2009, with Golkar reportedly more interested in continuing the coalition with Yudhoyono rather than risk being cut off from power completely. Yudhoyono was also in talks with Islamist parties in a bid to form a coalition controlling more than half the seats in parliament. By late April 2009, Golkar was in talks with smaller parties to gain the votes it lacked to be able to nominate Kalla as a presidential candidate. Two parties who had been considering joining the coalition, the National Mandate Party, shortly after the ten-party coalition was announced, incumbent Vice President Kalla announced a joint ticket with former Indonesian military leader Wiranto. The PDI–P selected former president Megawati as its candidate on 7 May. On 12 May 2009, Yudhoyono chose Boediono, the governor of Bank Indonesia, four parties which had planned to form a coalition with Yudhoyonos Democratic Party had expected that the vice presidential nominee would come from one of their parties. Although they threatened to form their own coalition with Gerindra and present their own candidate, the remaining three parties eventually agreed to support the Yudhoyono–Boediono ticket and attended the nomination ceremony in Bandung on 15 May. Nominees for president and vice president registered their candidacy at the central General Election Commission office in Jakarta on 16 May, candidates underwent physical and psychological evaluations at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital following registration. Personality tests were conducted using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
23.
Indonesian presidential election, 2014
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On 22 July the General Elections Commission announced Joko Widodos victory. He and his vice-president, Jusuf Kalla, were sworn-in on 20 October 2014 and this law was challenged in the Constitutional Court, but in late January 2014 the Court ruled that the requirement would stand for this election. No party exceeded the threshold in the 2014 legislative elections, therefore two coalitions were formed, arrangements for the conduct of elections in Indonesia are carried out under the supervision of the General Elections Commission. The presidential elections in 2014 will be carried out in accordance with the Law, in practice, berita terkini these conditions set a rather high bar for nomination. The likelihood is that only supported by one of the major parties, perhaps with some support from several of the minor parties. Among other things, the effect of this requirement is likely to be a limit on the number of candidates who will be able to stand for the presidency. Indonesia is working towards e-voting in hope of implementing the new system in the 2014 general elections, however, the system was not ready for the election. Therefore, voters voted on paper by punching a hole in one of the two candidates photograph, number, or name. The ballots were collected and counted at the village level, then city/regency level, province level. Candidates for president are nominated as individuals, however, support from the political parties is likely to play a key role in influencing the result. Partly for this reason, the highly changeable map of political parties in Indonesia contributes to the uncertainty of political trends in the run-up to the presidential election, in recent years, the number of political parties contesting major elections has varied considerably. In 2004,24 parties contested the elections and 16 secured enough seats to be represented in the national parliament. In 2009,38 parties contested the elections and 9 secured enough seats to be represented in the national parliament. In 2014,12 parties contested the legislative elections on 9 April. They are also banned from participating the next due to the failing of passing the Electoral Threshold of 2. 5% of the national legislative vote in 2014. The leader of Democratic Party and incumbent president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is officially neutral in the election, see also, List of political parties in Indonesia Before the national legislative elections on 9 April 2014, the following candidates had declared their intention to run for president. Following the legislative elections, these candidates were unable to reach the threshold, NOTE, The quality of polling in Indonesia varies considerably. Furthermore, some of the polling institutions provide little information about their polling methods, the data set out below should therefore be treated with care
24.
Provinces of Indonesia
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Indonesian territory is composed of 34 provinces. A province is the highest tier of the local government divisions of Indonesia, provinces are further divided into regencies and cities, which are in turn subdivided into sub-districts. Each province has its own government, headed by a governor. The governor and members of representative bodies are elected by popular vote for five-year terms. Five provinces have special status, Aceh, for the use of the law as the regional law of the province. Special Region of Yogyakarta, a sovereign monarchy within Indonesia with the sultan Hamengkubuwono as hereditary Governor, SR Yogyakarta refused to call themselves as the province according to Law No. 12/2012 about The Speciality of Special Region of Yogyakarta, Papua, for implementation of sustainable development. West Papua, for granting implementation of sustainable development, the provinces are officially grouped into seven geographical units. This clickable map shows provinces of Indonesia as of 25 October 2012, click on a province name to go to its main article. A considerable number of new provinces have been proposed in addition to the 34 existing provinces of Indonesia, as of 2013, the government has targeted the creation of eight new provinces by 2020, by splitting several of the existing provinces. On 25 October 2013, the Indonesian House of Representatives began reviewing draft laws on the establishment of 57 prospective regencies and 8 new provinces
25.
Regencies of Indonesia
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This is the list of regencies and cities of Indonesia. Both regencies and cities are second-level administrative subdivision in Indonesia, immediately below the provinces, in Indonesia, both regency and city are at the same administration level, each having their own local government and legislative body. The difference between a regency and a city lies in demography, size and economy, generally, a regency comprises a rural, larger area than a city. A city usually has non-agricultural economic activities, a regency is headed by a regent, known locally as bupati, while a city is headed by a mayor. All regents, mayors and members of legislatures are elected via elections to serve for a five year term which can be renewed once. Each regency or city is divided further into districts more commonly known as kecamatan, an administrative city is a city without its own local legislatures. The mayor of a city is directly appointed by the Governor. This type of city in Indonesia is only found in Jakarta which consisted of 5 administrative cities and 1 administrative regency, following the implementation of decentralization beginning on 1 January 2001, regencies and municipalities became the key administrative units responsible for providing most governmental services. The list below groups regencies and cities in Indonesia by provinces, each regency has an administrative centre, the regency seat. The Indonesian title of bupati is originally a loanword from Sanskrit originating in India, related titles which were also used in precolonial Indonesia are adipati and senapati. A regency is a subdivision of a province in Indonesia. The Indonesian term kabupaten is also translated as municipality. Regencies and cities are divided into Districts, the English name regency comes from the Dutch colonial period, when regencies were ruled by bupati and were known as regentschap. Bupati had been regional lords under the pre-colonial monarchies of Java, when the Dutch abolished or curtailed those monarchies, the bupati were left as the most senior indigenous authority. They were not strictly speaking native rulers because the Dutch claimed full sovereignty over their territory, regencies in Java territorial units were grouped together into Residencies headed by exclusively European Residents. After the independence of Indonesia in 1945, the terms bupati, since the start of Reformasi in 1998 a remarkable secession of district governments has arisen in Indonesia. This process has become known as pemekaran, following the surge of support for decentralisation across Indonesia which occurred following the end of the Soeharto era in 1998, key new decentralisation laws were passed in 1999. Subsequently, there was a jump in the number of regencies from around 300 at the end of 1998 to over 490 in 2008 ten years later, the agreement will be forwarded on for government approval
26.
Cities of Indonesia
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This is the list of regencies and cities of Indonesia. Both regencies and cities are second-level administrative subdivision in Indonesia, immediately below the provinces, in Indonesia, both regency and city are at the same administration level, each having their own local government and legislative body. The difference between a regency and a city lies in demography, size and economy, generally, a regency comprises a rural, larger area than a city. A city usually has non-agricultural economic activities, a regency is headed by a regent, known locally as bupati, while a city is headed by a mayor. All regents, mayors and members of legislatures are elected via elections to serve for a five year term which can be renewed once. Each regency or city is divided further into districts more commonly known as kecamatan, an administrative city is a city without its own local legislatures. The mayor of a city is directly appointed by the Governor. This type of city in Indonesia is only found in Jakarta which consisted of 5 administrative cities and 1 administrative regency, following the implementation of decentralization beginning on 1 January 2001, regencies and municipalities became the key administrative units responsible for providing most governmental services. The list below groups regencies and cities in Indonesia by provinces, each regency has an administrative centre, the regency seat. The Indonesian title of bupati is originally a loanword from Sanskrit originating in India, related titles which were also used in precolonial Indonesia are adipati and senapati. A regency is a subdivision of a province in Indonesia. The Indonesian term kabupaten is also translated as municipality. Regencies and cities are divided into Districts, the English name regency comes from the Dutch colonial period, when regencies were ruled by bupati and were known as regentschap. Bupati had been regional lords under the pre-colonial monarchies of Java, when the Dutch abolished or curtailed those monarchies, the bupati were left as the most senior indigenous authority. They were not strictly speaking native rulers because the Dutch claimed full sovereignty over their territory, regencies in Java territorial units were grouped together into Residencies headed by exclusively European Residents. After the independence of Indonesia in 1945, the terms bupati, since the start of Reformasi in 1998 a remarkable secession of district governments has arisen in Indonesia. This process has become known as pemekaran, following the surge of support for decentralisation across Indonesia which occurred following the end of the Soeharto era in 1998, key new decentralisation laws were passed in 1999. Subsequently, there was a jump in the number of regencies from around 300 at the end of 1998 to over 490 in 2008 ten years later, the agreement will be forwarded on for government approval
27.
Administrative village
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An administrative village is the lowest level of government administration in Indonesia. It could be a village or a kelurahan, a village is headed by a village chief, who is elected by popular vote. A kelurahan is headed by a lurah, a civil servant appointed by local government, a village is divided non-administratively into local communities which manage a certain number of households. In Aceh, a village is called as gampong, since the implementation of regional autonomy in 2001, the larger nagari has been introduced in place of the desa as the lowest government unit in West Sumatra. Village is the lowest level of government administration in Indonesia, a village is divided into several community groups, which are further divided into neighbourhood groups. In Java, the desa is divided further into smaller units called dusun or dukuh, these units are the same as rukun warga
28.
New Order (Indonesia)
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The New Order is the term coined by the second Indonesian President Suharto to characterise his regime as he came to power in 1966. Suharto used this term to contrast his rule with that of his predecessor, the term New Order in more recent times has become synonymous with the Suharto years. The generation of 66 epitomised talk of a new group of young leaders, strident anti-communism remained a hallmark of the regime for its subsequent 32 years. Within a few years, however, many of its allies had become indifferent or averse to the New Order. Among much of the movement which forced Suharto to resign in the 1998 Indonesian Revolution and then gained power. It is frequently employed to describe figures who were tied to the Suharto period, or who upheld the practises of his authoritarian regime, such as corruption, collusion. Sukarno was Indonesias founding president, a position he had held since the Republics formation in 1945, in 1955, the first general parliamentary elections delivered an unstable parliament and from the late 1950s, Sukarnos rule became increasingly autocratic under his Guided Democracy. To the resentment of the Military and Muslim groups, this arrangement became increasingly reliant on the PKI which had become the country’s strongest political party, Sukarno’s anti-imperial ideology saw Indonesia increasingly dependent on the Soviet Union and China which was met with indignation from Western countries. Sukarno’s administration became increasingly ineffective in providing an economic system to lift its citizens out of poverty. Meanwhile, Sukarno led Indonesia into Konfrontasi, a confrontation with Malaysia, removed Indonesia from the United Nations. By 1965 at the height of the Cold War, the PKI penetrated all levels of government, with the support of Sukarno and the Air Force, the party gained increasing influence at the expense of the Army, thus ensuring the Armys enmity. Muslim clerics, many of whom were landowners, felt threatened by the PKIs rural land confiscation actions, the army was alarmed at Sukarno’s support for the PKI’s wish to quickly establish a fifth force of armed peasants and labourers. On 30 September 1965, six generals were killed by a group calling themselves the 30 September Movement who alleged a plot to kill the President. General Suharto led the army in suppressing the coup attempt. The Communist Party of Indonesia were quickly blamed and the led an anti-communist purge which killed an estimated 500,000 people. Student groups, such as KAMI, were encouraged by, and sided with, in March 1966, Suharto secured a presidential decree, which gave him authority to take any action necessary to maintain security. A June session of the parliament banned Marxism-Leninism, ratified the Supersemar. In August–September 1966, and against the wishes of Sukarno, the New Order ended Indonesias confrontation with Malaysia, in March 1967, the MPRS stripped Sukarno of his remaining power, and Suharto was named Acting President
29.
Suharto
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Suharto was the second President of Indonesia, holding the office for 31 years from the ousting of Sukarno in 1967 until his resignation in 1998. Suharto was born in a village, Kemusuk, in the Godean area near the city of Yogyakarta. He grew up in humble circumstances and his Javanese Muslim parents divorced not long after his birth, and he was passed between foster parents for much of his childhood. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, Suharto served in Japanese-organised Indonesian security forces, Indonesias independence struggle saw his joining the newly formed Indonesian army. Suharto rose to the rank of major general following Indonesian independence, an attempted coup on 30 September 1965 allegedly backed by the Indonesian Communist Party was countered by Suharto-led troops. The army subsequently led an anti-communist purge which the CIA described as one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century and Suharto wrested power from Indonesias founding president and he was appointed acting president in 1967, replacing Indonesian founding father Sukarno, and elected President the following year. He then mounted a campaign known as De-Soekarnoization in an effort to reduce the former Presidents influence. Support for Suhartos presidency was strong throughout the 1970s and 1980s, by the 1990s, the New Orders authoritarianism and widespread corruption were a source of discontent and, following a severe financial crisis, led to widespread unrest and his resignation in May 1998. Suharto died in 2008 and was given a state funeral, the legacy of Suhartos 31-year rule is debated both in Indonesia and abroad. Under his New Order administration, Suharto constructed a strong, centralised and military-dominated government, an ability to maintain stability over a sprawling and diverse Indonesia and an avowedly anti-Communist stance won him the economic and diplomatic support of the West during the Cold War. For most of his presidency, Indonesia experienced significant economic growth and industrialisation, dramatically improving health, education, plans to bestow Suharto with a National Hero title are currently being considered by the Indonesian government and has been highly debated in Indonesia. According to Transparency International, Suharto is the most corrupt leader in modern history, Suharto was born on 8 June 1921 during the Dutch East Indies era, in a plaited bamboo walled house in the hamlet of Kemusuk, a part of the larger village of Godean. The village is 15 kilometres west of Yogyakarta, the heartland of the Javanese. Born to ethnic Javanese parents, he was the child of his fathers second marriage. His father, Kertosudiro, had two children from his previous marriage, and was a village irrigation official and his mother, Sukirah, a local woman, was distantly related to Sultan Hamengkubuwono V by his first concubine. Five weeks after Suhartos birth, his mother suffered a breakdown and he was placed in the care of his paternal great-aunt. Kertosudiro and Sukirah divorced early in Suhartos life and both later remarried, at the age of three, Suharto was returned to his mother, who had married a local farmer whom Suharto helped in the rice paddies. Over the following two years, he was back to his mother in Kemusuk by his stepfather and then back again to Wuryantoro by his father
30.
Fall of Suharto
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Suharto resigned as president of Indonesia in May 1998 following the collapse of support for his three-decade long presidency. The resignation followed severe economic and political crises in the previous 6 to 12 months, B. J. Habibie continued at least a year of his remaining presidential years, followed by Abdurrahman Wahid in 1999. In 1970, corruption prompted student protests and an investigation by a government commission, Suharto responded by banning student protest, forcing the activists underground. Only token prosecution of cases recommended by the commission was pursued, the pattern of co-opting a few of his more powerful opponents while criminalizing the rest became a hallmark of Suhartos rule. In order to maintain a veneer of democracy, Suharto made a number of electoral reforms and he stood for election before electoral college votes every five years, beginning in 1973. All the previously existing political parties were forced to be part of either the PPP and PDI, in a political compromise with the powerful military, he banned its members from voting in elections, but set aside 100 seats in the electoral college for their representatives. As a result, he won election in which he stood, in 1978,1983,1988,1993. This authoritarianism became an issue in the 1980s, on 5 May 1980 a group Petition of Fifty demanded greater political freedoms. It was composed of military men, politicians, academics. The Indonesian media suppressed the news and the government placed restrictions on the signatories, after the groups 1984 accusation that Suharto was creating a one-party state, some of its leaders were jailed. In the same decade, it is believed by scholars that the Indonesian military split between a nationalist red and white faction and an Islamist green faction. As the 1980s closed, Suharto is said to have forced to shift his alliances from the former to the latter. After the 1990s brought end of the Cold War, Western concern over communism waned, in 1992, this attention resulted in the Congress of the United States passing limitations on IMET assistance to the Indonesian military, over the objections of President George H. W. Bush. In 1993, under President Bill Clinton, the U. S. delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission helped pass a resolution expressing concern over Indonesian human rights violations in East Timor. In response, Suharto attempted to foster a split over the leadership of PDI, after the Suryadi faction announced a party congress to sack Megawati would be held in Medan 20–22 June, Megawati proclaimed that her supporters would hold demonstrations in protest. The Suryadi faction went through with its sacking of Megawati, and this led to several confrontations on the streets between protesters and security forces, and recriminations over the violence. The protests culminated in the military allowing Megawatis supporters to take over PDI headquarters in Jakarta, Suharto allowed the occupation of PDI headquarters to go on for almost a month, as attentions were also on Jakarta due to a set of high-profile ASEAN meetings scheduled to take place there. Capitalizing on this, Megawati supporters organized democracy forums with several speakers at the site, on 26 July, officers of the military, Suryadi, and Suharto openly aired their disgust with the forums
31.
Indonesian invasion of East Timor
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The Indonesian invasion of East Timor, known in Indonesia as Operation Lotus began on 7 December 1975, when the Indonesian military invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism. East Timor owes its territorial distinctiveness from the rest of Timor, following the war, the Dutch East Indies secured its independence as the independent Republic of Indonesia and the Portuguese, meanwhile, re-established control over East Timor. When East Timor was invaded by Indonesia in December 1975, it had few links to the rest of the archipelago. As a former Portuguese colony, it lacked a shared experience with other regions. According to the pre-1974 Constitution of Portugal, East Timor, known then as Portuguese Timor, was an overseas province. Unlike the African colonies, East Timor did not experience a war of national liberation, however, indigenous political parties rapidly sprang up in Timor, The Timorese Democratic Union was the first political association to be announced after the Carnation Revolution. UDT was originally composed of senior leaders and plantation owners. These leaders had conservative origins and showed allegiance to Portugal, meanwhile, Fretilin was composed of administrators, teachers, and other newly recruited members of the urban elites. Fretilin quickly became more popular than UDT due to a variety of programs it introduced to the populace. However, UDT and Fretilin entered into a coalition by January 1975 with the goal of self-determination. This coalition came to represent almost all of the educated sector, APODETI, a third minor party, also sprang up, and its goal was integration with Indonesia. However, the party had little popular appeal, by April 1975, internal conflicts split the UDT leadership, with Lopes da Cruz leading a faction that wanted to abandon Fretilin. Lopes da Cruz was concerned that the wing of Fretilin would turn East Timor into a communist front. However, Fretilin called this accusation an Indonesian conspiracy, as the wing did not have a power base. On 11 August, Fretilin received a letter from UDT leaders terminating the coalition, UDT leaders arrested more than 80 Fretilin members, including future leader Xanana Gusmão. UDT members killed a dozen Fretilin members in four locations, the victims included a founding member of Fretilin, and a brother of its vice-president, Nicolau Lobato. Fretilin responded by appealing successfully to the Portuguese-trained East Timorese military units, uDTs violent takeover thus provoked the three-week long civil war, in pitting its 1,500 troops against the 2,000 regular forces now led by Fretilin commanders. When the Portuguese-trained East Timorese military switched allegiance to Fretilin, it came to be known as Falintil, by the end of August, the UDT remnants were retreating toward the Indonesian border
32.
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
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The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After a small-scale civil war, the pro-independence FRETILIN declared victory in the city of Dili. Following a controversial Popular Assembly which many said was not an act of self-determination. For twenty-four years the Indonesian government subjected the people of East Timor to routine and systematic torture, sexual slavery, extrajudicial executions, massacres, the 1991 Santa Cruz Massacre caused outrage around the world, and reports of other such killings were numerous. A1999 vote to determine East Timors future resulted in a majority in favour of independence. The truth commission held Indonesian forces responsible for about 70% of the violent killings, other governments, including those of the United States, Japan, Canada and Malaysia, also supported the Indonesian government. The invasion of East Timor and the suppression of its movement, however, caused great harm to Indonesias reputation. After the 1999 vote for independence, paramilitary groups working with the Indonesian military undertook a final wave of violence during which most of the infrastructure was destroyed. Its limited scope and the number of sentences delivered by Indonesian courts have caused numerous observers to call for an international tribunal for East Timor. Oxford University held an academic consensus calling the occupation of East Timor a genocide, the Portuguese first arrived in Timor in the 16th century, and in 1702 East Timor came under Portuguese colonial administration. Portuguese rule was tenuous until the island was divided with the Dutch Empire in 1860, a significant battleground during the Pacific War, East Timor was occupied by 20,000 Japanese troops. The fighting helped prevent a Japanese occupation of Australia, but resulted in 60,000 East Timorese deaths, a 1959 revolt in East Timor against the Portuguese was not endorsed by the Indonesian government. A1962 United Nations document notes, the government of Indonesia has declared that it maintains relations with Portugal and has no claim to Portuguese Timor. These assurances continued after Suharto took power in 1965, an Indonesian official declared in December 1974, Indonesia has no territorial ambition. Thus there is no question of Indonesia wishing to annex Portuguese Timor, in 1974, a coup in Lisbon caused significant changes in Portugals relationship to its colony in Timor. The power shift in Europe invigorated movements for independence in colonies like Mozambique and Angola, the first of these was an opening of the political process. When East Timorese political parties were first legalised in April 1974, the União Democrática Timorense, was formed in May by a group of wealthy landowners. Initially dedicated to preserving East Timor as a protectorate of Portugal, a week later, the Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente appeared
33.
East Timorese independence referendum, 1999
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An independence referendum was held in East Timor on 30 August 1999. This choice was also in line with Habibies general democratisation program in the immediate post-Suharto period, as the follow-up step to Habibies request, the United Nations organised a meeting between the Indonesian government and the Portuguese government. The referendum was to be held to determine whether East Timor would remain part of Indonesia, as a Special Autonomous Region, or separate from Indonesia. The referendum was organised and monitored by the United Nations Mission in East Timor and 450,000 people were registered to vote including 13,000 outside East Timor. The agreement between the Indonesian and Portuguese governments included a “Constitutional Framework for an autonomy for East Timor” as an annexe. The framework would establish a Special Autonomous Region of East Timor within the state of the Republic of Indonesia. The Indonesian government would retain control of defence, employment law, economic and fiscal policies and foreign relations, whilst Indonesian laws would have continuity in the territory. The autonomous government would have had competence over all matters not reserved for the Government of Indonesia and it would be able to designate persons as having East Timorese identity and could limit rights of land ownership for persons without this identity. A traditional civil code could also have been adopted, the SARET could enter into agreements with city and regional governments for economic, cultural and educational purposes. The SARET would have been entitled to participate in cultural and sporting organisations where other non-state entities participate, voters were presented with the options, Do you accept the proposed special autonomy for East Timor within the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia. Do you reject the proposed autonomy for East Timor, leading to East Timors separation from Indonesia. Violence erupted after the results, with around 1,400 civilians believed to have died, the Indonesian government accepted the result on 19 October 1999 by repealing the laws that formally annexed East Timor to Indonesia. The United Nations passed a resolution establishing the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor that would lead to independence in May 2002, full text of Agreement and Constitutional Framework UNAMET public information site
34.
1999 East Timorese crisis
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The 1999 East Timorese crisis began with attacks by anti-independence militants on civilians, and expanded to general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. The violence erupted after a majority of voters in the population of East Timor chose independence from Indonesia. Some 1,400 civilians are believed to have died, a UN-authorized force consisting mainly of Australian Defence Force personnel was deployed to East Timor to establish and maintain peace. Independence for East Timor, or even limited regional autonomy, was never going to be allowed under Suhartos New Order, renewed United Nations-brokered mediation efforts between Indonesia and Portugal began in early 1997. The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, however, caused tremendous upheaval in Indonesia and led to Suhartos resignation in May 1998, the subsequent reformasi period of relative political openness and transition, included unprecedented debate about Indonesias relationship with East Timor. For the remainder of 1998, discussion took place throughout Dili working towards a referendum. Indonesian Foreign Minister Alatas described plans for phased autonomy leading to independence as all pain. On 8 June 1998, three weeks after taking office, Suhartos successor B. J. Habibie announced that Indonesia would soon offer East Timor a special plan for autonomy. In late 1998, the Australian Government of John Howard drafted a letter to Indonesia advising of a change in Australian policy, President Habibie saw such an arrangement as implying colonial rule by Indonesia and he decided to call a snap referendum on the issue. Indonesia and Portugal announced on 5 May 1999 that a vote would be allowing the people of East Timor to choose between the autonomy plan or independence. The vote, to be administered by the United Nations Mission in East Timor, was scheduled for 8 August. Alleging pro-independence bias on the part of UNAMET, the groups were working with. Before the May agreement was announced, an April paramilitary attack in Liquiça left dozens of East Timorese dead, on 16 May 1999, a gang accompanied by Indonesian troops attacked suspected independence activists in the village of Atara, in June another group attacked a UNAMET office in Maliana. Indonesian authorities claimed to be helpless to stop the violence between rival factions among the East Timorese, but Ramos-Horta joined many others in scoffing at such notions, in February 1999 he said, Before withdraws it wants to wreak major havoc and destabilization, as it has always promised. We have consistently heard that over the years from the Indonesian military in Timor, as militia leaders warned of a bloodbath, Indonesian roving ambassador Francisco Lopes da Cruz declared, If people reject autonomy there is the possibility blood will flow in East Timor. One paramilitary leader announced that a sea of fire would result in the event of a vote for independence, as the date of the vote drew near, reports of anti-independence violence continued to accumulate. The day of the vote,30 August 1999, was generally calm,98.6 percent of registered voters cast ballots, and on 4 September UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced that 78.5 percent of the votes had been cast for independence. Many accepted media stories blaming the supervising United Nations and Australia who had pressured Habibie for a resolution, within hours of the results, paramilitary groups had begun attacking people and setting fires around the capital Dili
35.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
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ASEAN covers a land area of 4.4 million square kilometres, 3% of the total land area of Earth. ASEAN territorial waters cover an area three times larger than its land counterpart. Member countries have a population of approximately 625 million people,8. 8% of the worlds population. In 2015, the organisations combined nominal GDP had grown to more than US$2.8 trillion, if ASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the sixth largest economy in the world, behind the USA, China, Japan, India and Germany. ASEAN shares land borders with India, China, Bangladesh, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea, and maritime borders with India, China, Palau, both East Timor and Papua New Guinea are backed by certain ASEAN members for their membership in the organisation. As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are, To accelerate economic growth, social progress, to promote regional peace and stability. To promote collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest, to provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities. To collaborate for the better utilisation of agriculture and industry to raise the standards of the people. To maintain close, beneficial co-operation with existing international organisations with similar aims, ASEAN was preceded by an organization formed in 1961 called the Association of Southeast Asia, a group consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. The creation of ASEAN was motivated by a fear of communism. ASEAN grew when Brunei Darussalam became its sixth member on 7 January 1984, ASEAN achieved greater cohesion in the mid-1970s following the changed balance of power in Southeast Asia after the end of the Vietnam War. The regions dynamic economic growth during the 1970s strengthened the organization, on 28 July 1995, Vietnam became ASEANs seventh member. Laos and Myanmar joined two years later on 23 July 1997, Cambodia was to have joined at the same time as Laos and Burma, but its entry was delayed due to the countrys internal political struggle. It later joined on 30 April 1999, following the stabilization of its government, however, the proposal failed because of heavy opposition from the US and Japan. Member states continued to work for integration, and ASEAN Plus Three was created in 1997. This law would act as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area, AFTA is an agreement by member nations concerning local manufacturing in ASEAN countries. The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore, after the East Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, a revival of the Malaysian proposal, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, was put forward in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It called for integration of the economies of ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Plus Three countries, China, Japan
36.
Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia
37.
Post-Suharto era
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The Post-Suharto era in Indonesia began with the fall of Suharto in 1998 during which Indonesia has been in a period of transition, an era known in Indonesia as Reformasi. A more open and liberal political-social environment ensued following the resignation of authoritarian President Suharto, the process of reformasi in Indonesia has resulted in a greater degree of freedom of speech, in contrast to the pervasive censorship under the New Order. This has led to an open political debate in the news media. Events that have shaped Indonesia in this include a bombing campaign by Islamic terrorists. The Reformasi of 1998 led to changes in Indonesias various governmental institutions, reforms upon the structures of the judiciary, legislature, and executive office. When Suharto attempted to have Megawati removed as head of party in a back-room deal. This culminated in Black Saturday on 27 July, when the Indonesian military broke up the demonstrations and these further worsened when the 1997 Asian financial crisis reached Indonesia, highlighting the corruption of the New Order. Economic instability from the crisis affected much of the country, in the form of increased prices for staple foods and goods, and lowered standards of living and quality of life. In West Kalimantan, there was violence between Dayaks and Madurese in 1996, in the Sambas riots in 1999 and the Sampit conflict 2001. In the Sambas conflict, both Malays and Dayaks massacred Madurese, growing dissatisfaction with Suhartos authoritarian rule and the rapid erosion of the economy led many, chiefly the younger generation, to renew their protests directly against the New Order. During the years 1997–1998, a riot broke out in Indonesia. People were burning everything within the city including cars, motorcycles, buildings and this was further worsened when many were killed and raped, most of which were Indonesians of Chinese descent. No action was taken by the army or the police, in 1998, Suharto made the decision to stand before the parliament for a re-election and won. The result was considered so outrageous that students occupied the Parliament, Suharto soon stood down from the presidency, and named B. J. Habibie his successor. On Suhartos resignation, Vice-President B. J. Habibie was sworn in as President of Indonesia, as President, Habibie undertook numerous political reforms. In February 1999, Habibies Government passed the Political Parties Law, under this law, political parties were not limited to just three as had been the case under the Suharto regime. Political parties were not required to have Pancasila as their ideology. This resulted in the emergence of political parties and 48 would go on to compete in the 1999 legislative election
38.
Preah Vihear Temple
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Preah Vihear Temple is an ancient Hindu temple built during the period of the Khmer Empire, that is situated atop a 525-metre cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, in the Preah Vihear province, Cambodia. In 1962, following a dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the temple is in Cambodia. Affording a view for many kilometers across a plain, Prasat Preah Vihear has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-centuries-long Khmer Empire. As a key edifice of the spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings. Preah Vihear is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis, on July 7,2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Prasat Preah Vihear is the compound of words Prasat, Preah, Prasat mean castle, sometimes temple, in Sanskrit प्रासाद. The word Vihear could be related to the Sanskrit word Vihara which means abode, Prasat in Sanskrit means, and in Khmer, phnom means mountain. Cambodians occasionally refer to it as Phnom Preah Vihear, the word Preah means sacred, and the word Vihear means shrine. The three versions of the name carry significant political and national connotations, the temple was built at the top of Pey Tadi, a steep cliff in the Dângrêk Mountain range which are the natural border between Thailand and Cambodia. The Temple was listed by Thailand as being in Bhumsrol village of Bueng Malu sub-district and it is 110 km from the Mueang Sisaket District, the center of Sisaket Province. The Temple was also listed by Cambodia as being in Svay Chrum Village, Kan Tout Commune, the temple is 140 km from Angkor Wat and 625 km from Phnom Penh. In 1962 the ICJ ruled that only the building belonged to Cambodia. The earliest surviving parts of the temple, however, date from the Koh Ker period in the early 10th century, when the empires capital was at the city of that name. Today, elements of the Banteay Srei style of the late 10th century can be seen, the Brahmin himself took an interest in the temple, according to the inscription, donating to it a golden statue of a dancing Shiva known as Nataraja. In the wake of the decline of Hinduism in the region the site was converted to use by Buddhists, the temple complex runs 800 m along a north-south axis facing the plains to the north, from which it is now cut off by the international border. It consists essentially of a causeway and steps rising up the hill towards the sanctuary, although this structure is very different from the temple mountains found at Angkor, it serves the same purpose as a stylised representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods. The approach to the sanctuary is punctuated by five gopuras, each of the gopuras before the courtyards is reached by a set of steps, and so marks a change in height which increases their impact. The gopuras also block a visitors view of the part of the temple until they pass through the gateway
39.
Myanmar
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Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in South East Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. About one third of Myanmars total perimeter of 5,876 km, forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km along the Bay of Bengal, the countrys 2014 census revealed a much lower population than expected, with 51 million people recorded. Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometres in size and its capital city is Naypyidaw and its largest city and former capital city is Yangon. Early civilizations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma, the Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty, the country was for a period the largest empire in the history of Mainland Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur. The British invaded Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the became a British colony. Myanmar became an independent nation in 1948, initially as a nation and then, following a coup détat in 1962. For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife, during this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country. In 2011, the junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election. While former military leaders still wield enormous power in the country, there is, however, continuing criticism of the governments treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority and its poor response to the religious clashes. In the landmark 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyis party won a majority in both houses, Myanmar is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2013, its GDP stood at US$56.7 billion, the income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government. As of 2016, according to the Human Development Index, Myanmar had a level of human development. The renaming remains a contested issue, many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use Burma because they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government or its authority to rename the country. The countrys official name is the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form Union of Burma instead, in English, the country is popularly known as either Burma or Myanmar /ˈmjɑːnˌmɑːr/. Both these names are derived from the name of the majority Burmese Bamar ethnic group, Myanmar is considered to be the literary form of the name of the group, while Burma is derived from Bamar, the colloquial form of the groups name
40.
National power
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National power is defined as the sum of all resources available to a nation in the pursuit of national objectives. Assessing the national power of political entities was already a matter of relevance during the antiquity, the middle ages. Curiosity about this matter has endured until today, National power stems from various elements, also called instruments or attributes, these may be put into two groups based on their applicability and origin - natural and social. Location has an important bearing on foreign policy of a nation, the relation between foreign policy and geographic location gave rise to the discipline of geopolitics. The presence of a water obstacle provided protection to nation states such as Great Britain, Japan, the presence of large accessible seaboards also permitted these nations to build strong navies and expand their territories peacefully or by conquest. Climate affects the productivity of Russian agriculture as the majority of the nation is in latitudes north of ideal latitudes for farming. Conversely, Russias size permitted it to space for time during the Great Patriotic War. Geopolitics Power in international relations Composite Index of National Capability Comprehensive National Power
41.
Middle power
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In international relations, a middle power is a sovereign state that is not a superpower nor a great power, but still has large or moderate influence and international recognition. The concept of the middle power dates back to the origins of the European state system, in the late 16th century, Italian political thinker Giovanni Botero divided the world into three types of states – grandissime, mezano and piccoli. According to Botero, a mezano or middle power. has sufficient strength, no agreed standard method defines which states are middle powers. Some researchers use Gross National Product statistics to draw lists of middle powers around the world, economically, middle powers are generally those that are not considered too big or too small, however that is defined. Economics is not always the defining factor, under the original sense of the term, a middle power was one that had some degree of influence globally but did not dominate in any one area. This usage is not universal, and some define middle power to include nations that can be regarded as regional powers, however, emerging and traditional middle powers can be distinguished in terms of their mutually-influencing constitutive and behavioural differences. Constitutively, traditional middle powers are wealthy, stable, egalitarian, social democratic, emerging middle powers by contrast are semi-peripheral, materially inegalitarian and recently democratised states that demonstrate much regional influence and self-association. According to Enrico Fels from the University of Bonn, Firstly, just like great powers, finally, with regards to security and related to the first first point, a middle power must be militarily self-sufficient enough to inflict great costs upon an actively aggressive great power. Under this definition however, nuclear-armed states like India and Pakistan, Middle powers are states who commit their relative affluence, managerial skills, and international prestige to the preservation of the international order and peace. Middle powers perform these internationalist activities because of an idealistic imperative they associate with being a middle power and this imperative was particularly profound during the most intense periods of the Cold War. According to Soeya Yoshihide, Middle Power does not just mean a states size or military or economic power, rather, middle power diplomacy is defined by the issue area where a state invests its resources and knowledge. Middle powers are the force in the process of transnational institutional-building. Characteristics of middle power diplomacy include, Commitment to multilateralism through global institutions, high degree of civil society penetration in the countrys foreign policy. The term first entered Canadian political discourse after World War II, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, for example called Canada a power of the middle rank and helped to lay out the classical definition of Canadian middle power diplomacy. When he was advocating for Canadas election to the United Nations Security Council, in March 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd defined his countrys foreign policy as one of middle power diplomacy, along the lines of similar criteria. Australia would influence international decision-makers on issues such as economic, security. The overlaps between the lists of middle powers and great powers show that there is no agreement among authorities. Some academics also believe that Germany and Japan are great powers, lists are often the subject of much debate and tend to place comparatively large countries alongside relatively smaller ones
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Jakarta
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Jakarta /dʒəˈkɑːrtə/, officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, is the capital and most populous city of the Republic of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of the worlds most populous island of Java, Jakarta is the economic, cultural and political centre. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabek, is the second largest in the world, established in the fourth century, the city became an important trading port for the Kingdom of Sunda. It was the de facto capital of the Dutch East Indies, today, the city has continued as the capital of Indonesia since the countrys independence was declared in 1945. Jakarta is listed as a city in the 2012 Globalization and World Cities Study Group. Based on the global metro monitor by the Brookings Institution, in 2014, Jakarta has grown more rapidly than Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, and Bangkok. Jakarta has been home to multiple settlements along with their names, Sunda Kelapa, Jayakarta, Batavia, Djakarta. Its current name derives from the word Jayakarta, the origins of this word can be traced to the Old Javanese and ultimately to the Sanskrit language. Jayakarta translates as victorious deed, complete act, or complete victory, Jakarta is nicknamed the Big Durian, the thorny strongly-odored fruit native to the region, as the city is seen as the Indonesian equivalent of the US city of New York. In the colonial era, the city was known as Koningin van het Oosten, initially in the 17th century for the urban beauty of downtown Batavias canals, mansions. After expanding to the south in the 19th century, this came to be more associated with the suburbs, with their wide lanes, many green spaces. The area in and around modern Jakarta was part of the fourth century Sundanese kingdom of Tarumanagara, following the decline of Tarumanagara, its territories, including the Jakarta area, became part of the Hindu Kingdom of Sunda. From 7th to early 13th century port of Sunda was within the sphere of influence of the Srivijaya maritime empire. According to the Chinese source, Chu-fan-chi, written circa 1225, Chou Ju-kua reported in the early 13th century Srivijaya still ruled Sumatra, the source reports the port of Sunda as strategic and thriving, pepper from Sunda being among the best in quality. The people worked in agriculture and their houses were built on wooden piles, the harbour area became known as Sunda Kelapa and by the fourteenth century, it was a major trading port for Sunda kingdom. The first European fleet, four Portuguese ships from Malacca, arrived in 1513 when the Portuguese were looking for a route for spices, in 1527, Fatahillah, a Javanese general from Demak attacked and conquered Sunda Kelapa, driving out the Portuguese. Sunda Kelapa was renamed Jayakarta, and became a fiefdom of the Sultanate of Banten which became a major Southeast Asia trading centre, through the relationship with Prince Jayawikarta from the Sultanate of Banten, Dutch ships arrived in Jayakarta in 1596. In 1602, the English East India Companys first voyage, commanded by Sir James Lancaster, arrived in Aceh and this site became the centre of English trade in Indonesia until 1682
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Thailand
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
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Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
