Anybody know anything about Indonesia and their views on other countries??

Answer 1

Dear ck55,

Indonesia is in Southeast Asia, south of the Malayan Peninsula and north of Australia, right along the equator. Being located right between the Asian and the Australasian continental plates, Indonesia is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Indonesia is an archipelago, which means a large group of scattered islands. From east to west, Indonesia is several thousands of miles wide and home to over 200 million people.

Indonesia is not a "natural" nation - Indonesia today is simply the sum total of all territories that were colonised by the Dutch between the 16th and the 20th century. Dutch rule was exploitative and often brutal - until fairly late into colonial times, the Dutch forced local labourers to work the coffee plantations by means of an official system of virtual slavery. After the end of World War II, Indonesian patriots fought Holland for years in the pursuit of independence. They lost, but the US forced Holland to withdraw anyway by threatening to cut post-war reconstruction aid (as part of the Marshall Plan).

As a result of Dutch colonisation, Indonesia's new independent rulers inherited a huge country with an extremely varied population. Many different dialects and languages are spoken, and just as many religions are practiced. The famous tourist resort of Bali, for instance, is home to a majority of Hinduists. However, the most common religion is Islam and the only official language is Malay (also spoken in neighbouring Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei).

After Indonesia was granted independence by the Dutch in 1949, first President Soekarno went out of his way to unify the country in as many ways as possible. Many religious and ethnic minorities were oppressed as a result. Soekarno was overthrown in a coup d'etat in 1965 and replaced by Suharto, whose ruling Golkar party held power for the next 33 years. None of these two presidents were enthusiastic supporters of democracy, and Indonesia remained a virtual dictatorship until 1998.

The financial crisis which hit Asia hard in 1997 practically destroyed Indonesia's economy, and the corruption indulged in by the ruling party became a great source of anger for everyday Indonesians, who staged riots all over the country. President Suharto had no choice but to resign. Since then, Indonesia has been going through exciting but unstable times - four different presidents have held power since 1998.

The new democratic Indonesia has much to tackle. Most of the country's population is still fairly poor and much of the infrastructure is substandard. But the number one priority is probably corruption. During the dictatorship, for example, Indonesia's presidents actively encouraged the army to take an active role in the country's economy, which resulted in widespread graft and bribery across all government sectors. Relatives of leading politicians were also granted hefty privileges and indulged in criminal business activity without fear of punishment.

This is one of the issues that angers the Indonesians most, but many Indonesian political figures are still too connected to the personalities of that time to effect proper punishment. President Suharto's enormous fortune, amassed during decades of corrupt rule, has not been touched and many relatives of his (such as Tommy and Bambang Suharto) have at best been granted perfunctory trials before being released again.

Another major issue at stake is the unity of the country. As I said above, Indonesia is basically a contrived patchwork of dozens of different territories forcibly stuck together by centuries of Dutch colonialism, and later by strong-armed presidents. But after the dictatorship ended, pro-independence movements flared up all over the place, complaining of decades of repression. Many of these happened in territories that housed religious minorities such as Aceh, East Timor and the Moluccas (the latter two being predominantly Christian, for instance).

It is important to note that this repression was purely a one-off action by a then authoritarian government. Unlike what some believe, Indonesia is absolutely not an Al Qaeda stronghold. In everyday life, Indonesia is a peaceful and very moderate Muslim country (with the exception of a few firebrands, just like anywhere else). East Asians are not Arabs, and the conception of Islam in Southeast Asia is radically different to that embraced in the Middle East. The consumption of alcohol is allowed, women are not forced to don the Islamic veil and many Indonesians gladly eat pork although Islam officially forbids it. Indonesians are very friendly, hospitable and relaxed. Their food is great too, a heady Southeast-Asian fare of rice, meat or seafood, coconut and spice.

Indonesia occasionally has tense relations with its close neighbours (especially Malaysia), just any other country would, and sometimes indulges in some short-lived post-colonial bickering with Holland. But apart from that, it enjoys peaceful and constructive diplomatic ties with the rest of the world. Indonesia was an anti-Communist ally of the US during the Cold War and there is no anti-Western feeling there to speak of. Indonesians have no particular grudge against anyone. It's a great place, in my opinion.

Hope this helped,

Answer 2

I have spent some time in this part of the world so i can give my opinion, it is my opinion only, and i don't want to start any flames so here goes. If i offend anyone please forgive me, as it is not intentional. Indonesia is located in the "Pacific Ring of Fire" so called because of the level of volcanic activity in this region of the world. It is located south of the Philippines along the equator. Therefore it is very hot, and humid. Indonesia is a third world country with a corrupt government. The people there are very poor. Medical facilities are ran as efficiently as possible given that they are very under supplied, and not staffed as well as they could be. Power is always an iffy thing, as it comes and goes at what seems to be the worst of times. There is a lot of disease, lack of good drinking water. And yet for the most part the people are courteous, and friendly. It is susceptible to volcano eruption, tidal waves, typhoons, and diseases like bird flu, typhoid, malaria, and dengue. The nation is predominately Muslim, and is considered a stronghold of Al Qaida.

Answer 3

its a Muslim nation and the people there friendly and they like to help you also its a beautiful country it has alot of beautiful places and i hope to visit it some day

Answer 4

it a bad country
many stupid moslem hates America, while they r using US' product..

the stupid moslem also hate Israel and they some of them joining the jihad army to do some suicide bomb..

not a nice place.. too many stupid moslem..

Answer 5

someone told me they were the largest muslim nation..