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Geography
The Republic of Indonesia consists of almost
13,700 islands with a total land area of
1.9 million square kilometres, extending
in an arc between Asia and Australia. Population
and economic activity are concentrated in
five main islands - Java (132,187 sq.km with
107.5 million inhabitants), Sumatra (474,000
sq.km , 36.4 million), Kalimantan (Borneo)
(539,000 square kilometres, 9.1 million),
Sulawesi (189,000 sq.km, 12.5 million) and
Irian Jaya (the western part of the island
of New Guinea) (422,000 sq.km, 1.6 million).
These islands account for approximately 80%
of the total territory.
Demography
The 1992 population was estimated at 186.4
million, making Indonesia the fourth most
populous nation in the world, following the
dissolution of the USSR. The annual rate
of population growth between 1982 and 1989
was 1.8%. By 2000 it is officially estimated
that the population will reach 220 million.
26% of the population live in urban areas:
the two principal cities are both on Java
- Jakarta (about 8.2 million inhabitants)
and Surabaya (about 2.5 million inhabitants).
UNESCO's survey in 1990 indicated that about
77% of the adult population are literate.
Some 38% of the population is under the age
of 15 years.
Approximately 250 separately identifiable
languages and dialects are spoken. Bahasa
Indonesia was made the official language
of government, and the sole medium of instruction
in Indonesian schools after independence,
and is now understood by the vast majority
of the Indonesian population.
The labour force in 1990 was estimated at
76.1 million, employed 55% in agriculture,
28% in commerce and services and 9% in manufacturing.
The Indonesian government regards the provision
of employment opportunities for its rapidly
growing population as one of its prime economic
policy objectives and is likely to give strong
preference to development projects with a
high potential for employment generation
in the next few years.
History and Political Situation
Conquered by the Dutch East Indies Company
in 1602, and administered by the Netherlands
from 1778 until World War Two when it was
occupied by the Japanese, Indonesia gained
its independence in 1949. West New Guinea
(Irian Jaya) was handed over by the Dutch
to Indonesia in 1963 and in 1975-76 Indonesia
invaded and annexed the former Portuguese
colony of East Timor.
General Suhartoo became President in 1965,
and has since been re-elected for five successive
terms, the most recent commencing in 1988.
Suhartoo began by reorganising the political
parties, banning the Communist party, and
the government re-established links with
the West, opening up the country to foreign
investment.
The government party is Golkar, a nationalist
organisation created and dominated by members
of the armed forces. In the 1992 legislative
elections, Golkar obtained 68% of the popular
vote. At present the other two political
parties in Parliament are the Islamic United
Development Party (PPP Partai Persatuan Pembangunan)
and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI,
Partai Demokrasi Indonesia), combining the
former nationalist and Christian parties.
Beyond the political parties and Golkar,
the most important forces in Indonesia are
the military, the Muslim community and a
growing class of well-connected businessmen.
The military has always been regarded as
playing an important role in maintaining
Indonesia's political stability. The Muslim
community is an important force simply by
virtue of its size, with some 85% of Indonesia's
population adhering at least nominally to
Islam. While maintaining its commitment to
a secular state structure the government
has responded forcefully to challenges from
the relatively small minority of Muslim extremists.
The government has therefore been careful
to maintain good relations with organisations
representing the vast majority of politically
moderate Muslims.
Despite occasional outbreaks of racial tension
directed at the Chinese minority, Indonesia
has enjoyed a remarkable degree of political
stability since 1968, as the "New Order"
established by President Suharto is consolidated.
After more than 20 years in office, however,
President Suharto's government now faces
the task of ensuring a smooth political succession,
and a controlled and gradual handover of
authority to the younger generation is already
in progress in the armed forces and some
levels of government.
Economy
The era of President Sukarno prior to 1965
was characterised by dirigiste policies and
government spending on grandiose industrial
and prestige projects. The "New Order"
government of President Suharto brought,
by contrast, a period of relative economic
liberalisation when private enterprise was
encouraged and foreign joint ventures became
acceptable ( the roots of the earlier attitude
of self-reliance can be found in the struggle
for independence from the Dutch after World
War Two). This liberalisation was brought
to a standstill by race riots in 1974, which
ushered in a period of much greater government
intervention in the economy, with major parts
of it coming under the effective control
of the government or armed forces. The entrepreneurial
Chinese at this time took Indonesian or military
partners, and or adopted Indonesian names.
During the 1980s there has followed a gradual
opening and deregulation of the economy,
led by a small group of policy-makers known
as the "Berkeley Mafia" who had
studied together at the Californian university.
This was encouraged by the collapse of the
oil price in the mid 1980s. In 1982 oil and
gas accounted for 82% of exports and manufactured
goods only 4% but by 1988 these figures had
become 40% and 30% respectively. The huge
population of Indonesia, much of it concentrated
on the comparatively small island of Java,
with the attendant underemployment, made
the country a natural base for production.
The richness of Indonesia's natural resources,
especially oil and gas, timber, coal, minerals,
rubber, palm oil and tropical agriculture
has been an added incentive. .
In recent years, a rapidly growing stream
of investment has come in to Indonesia, mainly
from Japan, but also from Taiwan, Korea,
Hong Kong and even Thailand and Malaysia.
This is probably one of the best current
examples of the "trickle-down"
process in operation, whereby manufacturers
constantly seek the most cost-effective production
base within a region. Approved foreign capital
projects grew to more than US$ 8 billion
in 1990 from $820 million in 1986. The continued
flow in 1991 and 1992 suggests that the rates
of economic growth forecast in the current
five-year plan (5-6% per annum) are likely
to be underpinned.
As long as there is steady expansion of the
economy, tension between races is not likely
to become an issue. Creation and distribution
of wealth, as in the Malaysian model, appears
a reasonable expectation in the next few
years. The currency, which is fully convertible,
may be expected to depreciate slowly, to
maintain competitiveness without disruption,
at about 5% per annum.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange has changed significantly
since 1988 following reforms enabling the
market to become freer in its operation.
Prior to that time it was an almost dormant
exchange. Market capitalisation grew by 10
times between 1988 and 1990 with the number
of listings growing from 24 in 1988 to 125
in 1990. The market growth has slowed from
a speculative peak in 1990 but the process
of improving regulation and administration
is continuing. The Jakarta Stock Exchange
was privatised in early 1992, while requirements
for disclosure, brokerage capital and liquidity
have recently been tightened by the authorities
in an effort to increase the market's credibility.
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