© PSHE Section, CDI, Education Bureau, HK 2011
Using Documentary to Study History
Learning and Teaching Support Resources Pack on
Modernisation and Transformation of Southeast Asia
Case Studies ( Indonesia and Singapore) – Indonesia
Time
location
Chapter 1
Geography of Indonesia
00:00
Here is Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The Indonesians are celebrating
their traditional festival.
In Indonesia, people of different races, cultures, and faiths enjoy equal
freedom in celebrating their festivals in ways they like. They can also
take such opportunities to express their views freely.
00:28
Indonesia is made up of more than 17,500 islands. With a population of
more than 240 million people, it is the world’s fourth most-populated
nation.
Between the Asian and Australian continents and as a gateway of the
Indian and Pacific Oceans, Indonesia is situated at a very important
strategic location.
Time
Chapter 2
location
The Colonial Period
00:52
Indonesia is a shipping hub between East and West, and it flourishes
spices. In early 17th century, the Dutch Indian Company sent fleets to
occupy Indonesia and monopolized spice trade in the region.
This building, located in northern Jakarta, used to be the headquarter of
the Dutch East Indian Company. During this time, Holland began its
colonial rule over Indonesia.
01:22
The Dutch colonial government forced the people to grow crops that
were beneficial to Holland’s economy. The Indonesians paid heavy taxes
too. At the same time, all anti-Dutch armed forces were suppressed.
Opportunities for Indonesia to become independent from Dutch rule did
not occur until World War II.
01:47
During World War II, the Japanese troops launched a war of aggression
in the Pacific Region and named it “Greater East Asia Co-prosperity
Sphere”. In March 1942, they occupied Indonesia after landing Java
Island.
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At that time the Indonesians thought that Japan would help Indonesia to
become independent after ending Dutch colonial rule. Unexpectedly,
Japanese rule in Indonesia was even more dictatorial than Dutch colonial
rule.
02:19
Putu was born in Bali in 1939. His family lived on farming. They suffered
much oppression during Japanese occupation.
Putu: ”We lived near the road and the camps of the Japanese troops.
When night fell, I always heard noise of trucks coming and going on the
streets.
I asked my parents what happened. They whispered into my ear that the
Japanese troops had snatched foodstuffs from the farmers and were
then transporting them to their camps.”
02:53
In early 1945, Japan’s situation in the war worsened drastically. The
Japanese military government of occupation appointed Sukarno, an
independence advocate, to head a preparatory committee for
independence.
Three days after Japan had declared surrender, Sukarno read out the
Indonesian Declaration of Independence, set up the Republic of
Indonesia, and became its president.
Time
location
Chapter 3
Sukarno's Era (1945 - 1967)
03:17
However, the Dutch troops of the allied forces did not recognize
Indonesia’s independence, and they took over Indonesia. Immediately
the Sukarno government staged a war against the Dutch troops in
various regions.
The Dutch troops carried out military actions frequently.
Putu: ”I still remember that the Dutch soldiers questioned us when they
found a handkerchief with red and white colours inside our house and
took that as symbolizing the national flag of Indonesia,
The Dutch soldiers arrested my dad, who was retained and cruelly
tortured.”
04:11
In 1949, under international pressure, the Dutch withdrew their forces
and recognized the independence of Indonesia. Indonesia joined the
United Nations in 1950.
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04:23
In Indonesia, the major religion is Islam. However, behind this
mainstream religion, there are more than 300 with different traditional
beliefs. Their cultures and languages are mutually unintelligible, and
there was serious divergence of interests among them.
04:42
In the early independence years, Sukarno implemented a democratic
political system. He set up a Parliament, which was formed by general
election. The Executive was responsible to the Parliament, and the
President was merely the head of the nation in name.
05:01
Lacking experiences of democratic rule, regional representatives in the
Parliament stuck to their own views and some even proposed separation
and independence. Factional struggles became more and more severe.
The Sukarno government was often beset by riots. In order to stabilize
domestic situation, Sukarno outlawed some political parties,
implemented centralization, and strengthened the military in 1959.
05:26
Externally, Sukarno encouraged the unity among developing countries in
Asia and Africa. He advocated resistance against imperialism and
economic exploitation, and refused to carry out the economic embargo
imposed on China by the United Nations. All at once, Indonesia became
highly influential among developing countries in the world.
In terms of economic development, Sukarno took a socialist path by
implementing nationalization and confiscating foreign assets. However,
there was no remarkable improvement in the living of Indonesian
citizens.
05:58
Tamria Amal Tomagola, Professor, Faculty of Social & Political Sciences,
University Indonesia: ”The only thing he(Sukarno) had done so far was
only public speeches.
And people started to question him-- No, we cannot only eat your political
speeches, we need food, we need water, we need health, education,
everything.
So I think Sukarno at that time was very afraid that the whole Indonesia
will break into pieces. So that’s why he made an alliance with the military
to keep Indonesia united.”
06:29
In the evening of 30 September 1965, a group of military men in Jakarta
kidnapped and killed seven senior officers. Major General Suharto sent
troops to stabilize the situation, and claimed that the September 30
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Incident was a coup planned by the Communist Party of Indonesia.
After the Incident, troops were sent to major cities to put the situation
under control.
A few months later, the Parliament passed an act to remove Sukarno
from power. Suharto was appointed Acting President. He became the
second president of Indonesia officially In 1968.
Time
location
Chapter 4
Suharto's Era (1967 - 1998)
07:04
The Suharto government classified the Communist Party as an
anti-constitutional, illegal organization, and outlawed it permanently. It
also launched a large-scale arrest of the members of the Communist
Party.
07:23
Suharto declared that Indonesia needed political stability for economic
development. A new era unfolded.
07:34
Mohamad Cholid, Assistant to Publisher, Globe Media Group: ”There
were many economic experts, mostly educated in America , and mostly
in the university of California. So the nickname for them was “Berkeley
mafia”, but is for good.
We have so called 5-year planning, that was a very systematic economic
planning.
It was about infrastructure development, and then agriculture.”
07:57
Suharto adopted a friendly foreign policy towards the West. In order to
attract foreign loans, he returned Western assets confiscated by the
former government. To attract foreign investment, highly farable policies
were adopted.
Suharto developed Indonesia’s export and industry with its rich natural
resources. Taking advantage of the international energy crisis of the
1970s, oil export earned Indonesia plenty of foreign exchange. Indonesia
thus became the largest economy in the Southeast Asian region.
08:29
When Tati graduated from university, it was the golden age of economic
development of Indonesia in the 1970s.
Tati: ”Indonesia’s economy prospered in the early 1980s. It was easy for
people to buy estate property, and the banking industry also flourished.
Professionals changed jobs frequently. All these indicated the vigorous
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© PSHE Section, CDI, Education Bureau, HK 2011
development of the Indonesian economy.
At that time the social climate was good, and so was social order. There
was capital construction taking place everywhere.
She joined an international consultant firm after graduation, and worked
to promote the development of foreign capital in Indonesia.
At that time I often went to the US to attend international conferences.
When I told people that I came from Indonesia, they would say, “Wow,
Indonesia! It’s a very promising country, one of the Asian tigers!” ”
09:36
For the 25 years between 1969 and 1994, the Indonesian economy
experienced an annual growth rate of about 6.8%.
Per Capita GDP increased from US$70 to US$650.
Population living under the poverty line decreased from 70 million to 27
million, and the percentage reduced from 60% to 15%.
10:01
However, the people paid a heavy political price for the economic growth.
Suharto allowed only two political parties to exist in the government
structure. He also appointed military men to be Parliament members and
heads of government departments. Indonesia came under the complete
control of Suharto’s military dictatorship.
Suharto made use of the September 30 Incident to persecute the
communists. He imprisoned more than 300,000 people on political
grounds with various reasons.
10:35
Putu was one of the victims. Before Suharto rose to power, he was a
teacher and a writer. In 1966, he was accused of joining an art
organization with communist connections and was imprisoned for 10
years.
Putu: ”I was imprisoned for 10 years without trial. Why was I guilty?
I was jailed with many people I didn’t know, with many intellectuals who
had received education from well-known universities both inside and
outside the country.”
11:10
Like other political prisoners, Putu was still deprived of plenty of rights
after being released from prison.
Putu: ”We were allowed to see our family. But if we wanted to go
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© PSHE Section, CDI, Education Bureau, HK 2011
overseas, we must first obtain the permission of the military, and must
report to the local forces upon arriving the destination. Control was tight.
No one dared to arrange jobs for us, and if any, it was done secretly.”
11:50
During the time, the Chinese were also affected. Since the Communist
Party had closer contacts with the Chinese, Suharto banned the Chinese
from participating in politics, using the Chinese language, and celebrating
Chinese festivities.
12:06
Tamria Amal Tomagola, Professor, Faculty of Social & Political Sciences,
University Indonesia: ”The co-operation between the army and the
enterprise went very well economically. But actually in human terms, in
social terms, in cultural terms, we paid the economic development
dearly.”
12:25
From the late 1980s onwards, the Suharto family and the military
interfered in the nation’s economic interests openly and corruptly by
demanding enterprises to allocate their shares to his family.
12:37
Mohamad Cholid, Assistant to Publisher, Globe Media Group: ”Not real
competition at all. It’s mostly based on commissions.”
12:47
In the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Indonesia suffered a severe blow due
to its heavy foreign debts.
12:56
In early 1998, the Indonesian Rupiah devalued to one-fifth of its original
worth, per capita income decreased for 50%, inflation surged to 77%.
Bank runs occurred, enterprises closed down, and 13 million people lost
their jobs.
13:14
Extreme disparity between the rich and the poor had been a problem of
Indonesia long before the financial crisis.
Government concentrated development on the Java Island. In some
other places, there are still no supply of electricity and drinking water.
Even in capital Jakarta, the most developed place, poverty is also very
obvious.
13:38
In March 1998, university students staged massive demonstrations in
Jakarta to protest against the corrupt Suharto from reappointment. The
military suppressed the demonstrations with gunshots and killed a
number of students. Confrontation was thus intensified.
In May, large crowds of rioters accused the Chinese of seizing their
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© PSHE Section, CDI, Education Bureau, HK 2011
economic interests, wantonly committed robberies, arson and raping in
Chinese districts, causing death of several thousand Chinese.
The anti-Chinese incident intensified people’s discontent towards
Suharto and caused more people to join the anti-government
demonstrations. Demonstrators occupied the Parliament and demanded
Suharto to step down immediately.
Under pressure from the entire nation, Suharto resigned from his
presidency, thus ended his 30-plus years of rule. The Vice-president
Habibie became the next president of Indonesia.
Time
location
Chapter 5
Habibie's Era
14:28
After Habibie had succeeded the presidency in 1998, he lifted the ban on
political parties, allowed the people to form different political parties, and
reformed the system of election.
14:43
At that time Aryo was just old enough to vote. Like many of the people,
he had no confidence in the election after experiencing so many years of
totalitarian rule.
Aryo: ”I didn’t want to vote at first. Later on my dad told me that it was my
right as a citizen, and that the general election was to decide the future of
our nation and our people.
On the whole, I was very pleased. It’s the first time I voted. It’s something
big in my life. I could choose who to be the president of our country!”
Time
location
Chapter 6
Wahid's Era
15:20
Abdurrahman Wahid became Indonesia’s president in the 1999 general
election. He further implemented political reforms. He also eliminated the
economic and political influences of the military, lifted the ban on the
Chinese language and Chinese customs, and allowed freedom of
speech. The Chinese language, which used to be forbidden, could now
be displayed openly. Various sorts of newspaper and opinions could be
published freely.
The nation has gone through fundamental changes.
15:53
The research centre headed by Rizal, a scholar, is a product of the
reforms. It conducts researches jointly with foreign academic institutions
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© PSHE Section, CDI, Education Bureau, HK 2011
and proposes reform programs to the government.
Rizal: “Different from the Suharto time, the current situation is that there
is greater and greater scope for democracy and personal career to
develop.
The basic cost of living is high. The government should be able to offer
assistance to society. Prices for medicine and health, electricity supply,
etc. are getting higher, while standard of communication and transport
has lowered.”
16:39
Putu, who was once a political prisoner, can at last publish his works in
Indonesia. Now he is a human-rights writer well-known at home and
abroad.
Putu: ”The Indonesian people still need more economic, legal, education
and health protection.
Some Indonesians died not because they didn’t have medicine, but
because they didn’t know what medicine to buy. Some Indonesians are
not clever not because there is no university, but because they couldn’t
afford to go to university.”
17:27
Tamria Amal Tomagola, Professor, Faculty of Social & Political Sciences,
University Indonesia: ”At national level, we have been able to layout a
very solid and good framework for democracy.
At the regional level, we haven't succeeded in that, but I think now many
civil organizations are working hard to lay down for the formation for
democratization.”
17:54
When Indonesia declared its independence to the world on 17 August
1945, its people were hopeful that they would establish a modernized,
free and open country in which they could enjoy equality and harmony.
18:12
By now they have walked this path for half a century and experienced
ups and downs. While still rebuilding its economy, Indonesia is again
heading towards its goal when the republic was founded.
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