Issues: `What's so Indonesian about Indonesia?'

Wed, 06/24/2009 11:34 AM  |  Reader's Forum

According to the judges, our newly-crowned Miss Indonesia, Karenina Sunny Halim, won her title largely because she amazed them with her fluent English - mighty handy, of course, for representing Indonesia at international forums. Unfortunately, there's just one big catch when she's not representing Indonesia at international forums: She doesn't speak Indonesian, nor does she know much about Indonesian culture.

Your comments:
I certainly agree it would be desirable, but many countries are so rich in their diversity of languages, Indonesia as an example, that choosing a widely accepted language can be a challenge.

In India, the situation is such that the only common language link is that of English. In China, the dialect differences are so great that only the written form of Mandarin unites the ordinary people. By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to your great country, from Jakarta to Kupang, and treasure every minute of it, especially your people.

Franklin Loehde

This really isn't anything unique to Indonesia. Fish and chips, that most British of fast food, wouldn't exist if not for the potato that was originally imported from South America.

That doesn't mean that fish and chips aren't British, just as nobody could say that gado-gado or sambal balado aren't Indonesian - it's what a nation does with the ingredients that makes them signature dishes.

Indonesians have done what every other nation has done too: assimilated people, ideas and commodities from elsewhere in the world and made them Indonesian. A nation's identity is continually changing and evolving and that process is faster today than in earlier times due to modern transportation and communication.

David
Jakarta

Of course I have to concur with your claims that Indonesian culture is highly influenced by other cultures, but that doesn't make Indonesian culture any less Indonesian. Keep in mind that the territorial borders of most (formerly colonized) Asian countries were defined by the treaties of the colonizers.

So that when Indonesia's founding fathers proclaimed independence in 1945, they kept syncretism, ethnic and cultural merging in mind, yet defined their unity nonetheless by emphasizing the ancient Javanese motto: Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity).

That is as "Indonesian" as you can get. Indonesian tradition IS that mixture of culture and tradition. So Miss Indonesia not speaking Indonesian is simply unacceptable. She should speak both Indonesian AND English fluently, to honor Indonesia's heritage within the context of modern globalization.

Shavira

I actually believe that there is nobody in Indonesia who can call themselves a "native" of Indonesia. Let's take some examples.

The Javanese and the Balinese peoples are descendants of people from Southern India; the Sundanese of West Java, people from the eastern part of Sumatera, the Minangs, the Banjarese, the Makasarese and the Bugis are descendant of deutero-Malays from the Malay peninsula (Tanah Melayu); the proto-Malays in Indonesia such as the Sasak people of Lombok, the Bataks, and the Dayaks are descendant of Taiwanese aborigines; and some Indonesians even have percentages of European, Arab, Turkish or Chinese blood (i.e. people from Lamno). And do you ever wonder why some people in Minahasa have very light skin and even European noses?

Nobody in Indonesia can call themselves "native", except for the Papuans of Papua. So what if Miss Indonesia can't speak Indonesian now? She can learn it. She's half-American anyway. Only stupid people use the xenophobic card all the time.

Helena van der Winden

I think the writer should bear in mind that even though Indonesian culture has had influences from other culture and though some ingredients of our food may not be originally from our land, it is still the Indonesian people who have mixed these influences and created something different.

Let's just think, even though peanuts are from South America, would we find satay or gado-gado there? So if you ask what is so Indonesian about Indonesia? I think the answer would be the people's creativity and their original ideas. Our creativity and idea are the things that make the difference.

Supriyadi

First of all, let me make it clear I am not Indonesian. However, I was in Jakarta for six months, traveled a lot and must say I love Indonesia. Which is why I continue to read news about Indonesia and I am giving my opinion on this site.

The only thing that makes a country unique is the way their people behave and think.

I found the people there so hard-working and helpful. I never had problems of any kind. The food, I must say, was awesome.

I still miss the nasi goreng and mie goreng of the roadside hawkers. Although, I am a vegetarian, my survival depended on them. I can get the same ingredients here in India but still they don't taste as good. So, it's what you do with the ingredients that matters.

The place is so similar to India, all the same problems, the same traffic jams, the same poverty, the same corruption but, despite all this, there is something unique with which you fall in love instantly. I know I have got a little nostalgic writing this post and have diverted away from the main topic, but that's what your country does to other people. I am counting the days until I am back in Jakarta.

Abhishek

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