Indonesia, Republic of

D

Local Government

Indonesia is divided into 27 provinces, 3 of which have the status of special territories—the capital, Jakarta; Yogyakarta on Java; and Aceh on Sumatra. Each province is administered by a governor and a provincial assembly, who elect the governor subject to presidential approval. Within the provinces are 246 districts and 55 municipalities, headed respectively by district heads and mayors. At still lower levels, there are 3,592 subdistricts, and 66,594 villages. Each local government level has its own legislative and administrative bodies.

Supporting the modern administrative system is the traditional one of gotong royong, or mutual responsibility and cooperation, which focuses around village councils led by a headman. Like the MPR, the village councils work by consensus, implementing mutual aid and village improvement programmes, and operating as the grass roots channel for government policies.

E

Health and Welfare

Poor diet, overcrowded housing, lack of sanitation, and impure water contribute to the serious health problems that face Indonesia. The government has instituted a variety of programmes for raising health standards, and remedying social problems like drug addiction. A prime concern has been reducing population growth, particularly on the main islands; an active family planning programme has contributed to a sharp decline in fertility in recent years. Life expectancy at birth in 2007 was 68 years for men and 73 years for women. Infant mortality has been halved in the years since 1965 to 32 per 1,000 live births in 2007. In 1992 Indonesia had about 25,135 doctors (1 per 7,402 people) and more than 120,000 hospital beds.

F

Defence

The armed forces of Indonesia were unified in 1967 and placed under the administration of the Ministry of Defence and Security. The constitution enshrines the dual military and socio-economic role of the armed forces, and since the late 1960s they have exercised decisive political authority. From the late 1980s their influence was more indirect and low key, though they were instrumental in the end of the Suharto regime in 1998. The country’s army, navy, and air force have a total of 302,000 troops; 24,000 in the air force, 233,000 in the army, and 45,000 in the navy.

G

International Organizations

Indonesia is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

VI

History

Remains of one of the earliest forms of human life (Pithecanthropus erectus, or Homo erectus, known as Java Man and Solo Man) have been found in central Java. Only a few sites of human settlement from Palaeolithic and Mesolithic times (Old and Middle Stone ages) have been excavated; crude stone implements, such as the rectangular axe, and rock paintings in caves on the eastern islands are the main remains that have been found. The first of the many migrations that have created the mixture of more than 200 ethnic and linguistic divisions in the archipelago began about 40,000 years ago. During the Neolithic period, until about 1000 bc, Proto-Malay peoples arrived in the islands from the Asian mainland, and are considered to be the ancestors of much of Indonesia’s present population. There is a major cultural difference between the coastal peoples and the interior groups. Two thousand years ago some of the coastal peoples had already developed irrigated wet-rice (sawah) cultivation, but until recently many in the interior still depended on shifting, slash-and-burn agriculture (ladang). Indian chronicles mention Java as early as 600 bc. Bronze was introduced into the archipelago about 300 bc from northern Vietnam, Thailand, or China, and from that time on both bronze working and ironworking were practised. Before the penetration of Indian influences in the early centuries of the Christian era, many of the peoples of the islands lived in largely family-based small political groups. Such cultural traditions as the wayang (shadow puppet) theatre, the gamelan orchestra, and the textile design technique of batik may also pre-date Indian influences.

The earliest written records of trade between the Bay of Bengal and Indonesia date from the 1st and 2nd centuries ad although contact may pre-date this period. Most historians now discount earlier theories of Indian military conquests or extensive migration into the region attributing the introduction of Hinduism to Brahmins invited to the courts of Indonesian feudal lords. Indian culture, however introduced, exerted a powerful influence on the political, cultural, social, and religious character of the states that developed in the archipelago—although much of this influence was limited to the ruling classes and coastal areas. Direct communication with China probably began about the 3rd century ad, with Indonesian exports of cloves, tree resins, and camphor. In the early 5th century Faxian (Fa-hsien), a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, and the princely monk Gunavarman from Kashmir wrote of direct voyages between western Indonesia and China.

Sanskrit inscriptions on Java and eastern Borneo, dating from the middle of either the 5th or 6th century, reveal that Hindu intellectuals were honoured in some royal courts. The Java inscriptions also show the existence of the extensive Javanese kingdom of Taruma (centred near present-day Jakarta) which observed Hindu religious rites and promoted irrigation works. Buddhist influences were also well established in some areas by the 7th century. By the beginning of the 7th century several important, mainly coastal, kingdoms existed on Java; the coastal Sri Vijaya Buddhist kingdom was also well established on the south-eastern coast of Sumatra.