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An essay about Indonesian culture
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Background
Indonesia is a large country that is made up of more than 16,000 islands, which, in 1999, were populated by 206,51700,000 people (Biro Pusat Statistik, 1999) who, according to Alisyahbana (1990) speak about 500 different languages. The people inhabiting this vast region are generally grouped as
Indonesian. Anthropologically speaking, they are made up of many different ethnic groups, each having its own culture and speak a distinct language as its mother tongue. In spite of differences in cultures and native languages, there still exists some common aspects of their cultures, and so one can talk about “Indonesian Culture” (Alisyahbana, 1961: 9-10). However, due to the diversity of cultures, it is often difficult to pinpoint the distinctive
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However, due to the corrupt system which was cleverly developed by the Suharto regime and has been thoroughly inculcated throughout the whole system it is very likely that the economic condition of the country will not improve significantly in the near future.
Indeed, it was the reformation movement that was pioneered by university students who were supported by the majority of Indonesians that was able to remove Suharto from power. However, since the fall of the Suharto regime, the internal politics and economy have destabilised. This is due not only to the fact that a lot of people who were closely tied with the corrupt regime are still in power but also to the increasing number of fundamentalists and opportunists. These are the groups suspected to have used ethnic and religious issues to escalate sociopolitical destabilisation. These, together with globalisation, have crippled the country which has become one of the biggest international debtors; in
2001, its debt was about 140 billion US dollars. As a consequence, Hamzah Haz, the Vice President to
Megawati Sukarnoputri, has stated that the country is no longer a developing, but a poor country
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English has also become the most popular foreign language in Indonesia partly due to the centralised education system. It is the central government that has chosen it as the only foreign language to be taught as a compulsory subject in Indonesian formal education. This can be seen initially as a political decision. First, it was adopted to replace the Dutch language, which was not only the language of the coloniser but also internationally a “small” language. Second, English has become the most important language in the world – it is the most common means of communication in international meetings. As a consequence, if Indonesia wants to get access to and participate in the international arena, it needs the English language. Thus, the government’s choice of English as the most prominent foreign language in the country (see Section 4.5.1) is considered an important political decision. In addition, because of the centralised education system, the English teaching-learning process must be based on the 1994 English syllabus (see Section 4.5.4), the latest standardised national syllabus produced by the Centre for Curriculum Development. This is accompanied by
The situation remains unstable because the corruption remains a severe problem at every level of government. The country economy is increased very slowly and face cash shortage. The government faced difficulties in paying civil service salaries which led to protest. In other hand, people are living under poverty, facing food shortage and disease. Government still limits political freedom by threatening political opponents and stops freedom of expression of people and media. The other issue is Mugabe has planned to rule the country for another 5 years in 2018
Budiono Kusumohamidjojo (2008) stresses the fact that Australia and Indonesia must behave in the same attitude towards each other. He states that ‘do not hurt us because we do not hurt you’ (p. 145). This illustrates that due to the closeness of these countries, Australia must come to terms with the Indonesians. It is critical to note that countries such as India and China exert influence on Indonesian nations. According to the Foreign Minister Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, ‘Australia expects much more from Indonesia’ (p.144) this indicates that Australia’s insincere and turbulent attitude is the destructive force in this connection. For instance, Indonesians assume that the Western countries will allow access to education and work. As Australia seems to be a nation that allows individuals to have a better chance to achieve a better future; however, this is an area of discussion. Kusumaatmadja states ‘Australia should understand us (Indonesia and South-East Asia) better and should be aware that they belong to this part of the world’ (p.145). This demonstrates that if Australia was to show more care and comfort to other countries, it would allow relations to flourish. In addition, Kusumohamidjojo mentions that most Indonesian leaders are resistant to the idea of commitments made with the Western countries. It is clear that ‘in many cases, Indonesia does oppose the Western countries
In the beginning, there was never an Indonesia. Indonesia was merely a concept envisioned by the country’s founding fathers, based upon the former area of the Dutch East Indies.
In these four articles, the affirmatives and negatives express their significant arguments toward this controversial issue. Apparently, it is not an easy task to decide whether or not English should become the official language of America. The upmost thing is that we should evaluate this issue more carefully from various aspects, including economy, culture, social values, politics, etc, so that the judgment could be more fair and complete.
Language is usually defined as the ability of humans to use complex systems of communication and is often considered as an important part of the nationality and/or ethnicity as it depicts ones group identity. Ethnic groups consider that a language is the best medium to express their cultures and traditions and may attempt to make themselves distinct on such dimensions. Therefore the survival of a language is often correlated with the continued existence of a nation or an ethnic group (Hoffman, 1991). Therefore it is clear that there is a strong relationship between language, ethnicity and nationality.
Not until I had the chance to visit Indonesia did I realize how different two cultures could be. My father is a typical Chinese while my mother is a Chinese Indonesian. Travelling to Indonesia for the first time, I experienced culture shock which is “a feeling that a person may feel when s/he moves from one cultural environment to another” (p15). Difference in cultures often leads to culture shock, and thus, creates intercultural conflicts and misunderstandings.
Language is integral in affirming and maintaining wellbeing, self esteem and a strong sense of identity. Languages contain complex understandings of a person’s culture and their connection with their land.
This nation has been going through civil wars for many years, placing even further burden on its people. According to Human Development Report 2000, over 26% of the population is not expected to live past their 40 birthday, some will die due to violence but many more from lack of nutrition and medical care. (2009)
Cultural theory is used to observe culture in different lands and observe how they differ; it also looks at how they compare to our own culture. It explores how these...
The countries that belong to the developing regions of the world have been confronted with a number of distinctive challenges within such a globalized economy, while their respective financial as well as their trade links have been closely tangled with those of powerful, developed countries in which it governed the international economic institutions. This paper outlined the key elements of the post-World War II development model of Indonesia. At the same time, there will be identification of the major changes as well as to the key theoretical influences.
...e adopted the use of Malay and made it the second official language in the colony. In the twentieth century, Malay gained prominence in many learning institutions. It was also adopted by many local media organizations. For instance, many local newspapers were written in Malay. Most of the Indonesians who attained formal education during the colonial period were taught in Malay. Only a few natives from rich families had a chance to learn in Dutch schools during the colonial period.
This essay will discuss about Indonesia, an archipelago with over 17,000 islands (4) in the South East Asia. Indonesia has been selected because of the huge number of geographically isolated islands and the competing
Indonesians are generally spiritual and value self-control to maintain harmony within and between the tangible (human, flora and fauna) and intangible (God, gods, and spirit) worlds. People must know their place in society which is often determined by age, role in society, experience, and knowledge. Parents and older generation are to be respected, and consulting them in important matters is highly valued. The group is more important than the individual, thus maintaining group harmony is important, even at the individual’s expense.
Leith, D. and Seargeant, P. (2012), 'A Colonial Language' in Seargeant, P. and Swann, J. (ed.) History, Diversity, Change (U214, English in the World), Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 101-149.
Filipino, the national language, is the unifying factor of the Philippines. It allows citizens to communicate with one another in many remote areas that in turn, assimilates their native language to the national language and will be united. The pressure in English can cause a tendency to miseducate and misinform the Filipino people that English is the only language for international and academic purposes only. The animosity also increases when the masses and elite are not able to communicate well with one another. The importance of the national language is vital to our nation since we need it to communicate with different groups.