Glossary -- Indonesia

abangan: Refers to people who are nominally Muslim and who, in fact, are followers of kebatinan (q.v.). The word is derived from the Javanese abang, which means "red."
Asian Development Bank: Established in 1967, the bank assists in economic development and promotes growth and cooperation in developing member countries. The bank is owned by its forty-seven member governments, which include both developed and developing countries in Asia and developed countries in the West.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Founded in 1967 for the purpose of promoting regional stability, economic development, and cultural exchange. ASEAN's founding members were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand; Brunei joined ASEAN in 1984.
Bahasa Indonesia: The Indonesian national language, also known as Indonesian; an Austronesian language reported to be modelled on Riau Malay and 80 percent cognate with Standard Malay.
Confrontation (Konfrontasi): Indonesia's 1963-66 effort to disrupt the new state of Malaysia, which Indonesian leaders regarded as a front for a continued British colonial presence in Southeast Asia.
Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI): Formed after the March 1992 demise of the Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia (IGGI; q.v.). Except for the Netherlands, the membership is the same as IGGI.
fiscal year (FY): April 1 to March 31.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): A United Nations specialized agency established in 1945 to raise living standards and increase the availability of agricultural products.
Fretilin: Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Frente Revolucionária do Timor Leste Independente); a guerrilla movement seeking the independence of East Timor. Fretilin was established in 1974.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT): Negotiated in 1947 among twenty-three original signatories who were members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and went into effect January 1, 1948, as an interim arrangement pending the ratification of the proposed International Trade Organization. GATT functions as a multilateral treaty aimed at promoting the expansion of international trade on a nondiscriminatory basis. As of 1992, 101 nations, including Indonesia, had acceded to the GATT.
Golkar: Golongan Karya (Functional Groups); the ruling political parties; a federation of groups within society, such as peasants, workers, and women.
gross domestic product (GDP): The value of domestic goods and services produced by an economy in a given period, usually a year. Only output of goods for final consumption and investment is included, as the value added by primary or intermediate processing is assumed to be represented in the final prices.
gross national product (GNP): Gross domestic product (q.v.) plus income from overseas investments and wages minus earnings of foreign investors and foreign workers in the domestic economy.
Group of Fifteen: Group of Third World countries that participated in the Conference on International Economic Cooperation, held in several sessions between December 1975 and June 1977; it has continued to meet and add additional members since 1977. The group in 1992 included nineteen members: Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Zaire, and Zambia.
Group of Seventy-seven: Established in October 1967 with the aim of promoting economic cooperation among developing countries. Indonesia was among the seventy-seven original members. Despite the name, which persists, by 1992 there were 123 members.
Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia (IGGI): An international group of lenders established in 1967 by the Netherlands to coordinate multilateral aid to Indonesia. The other members included the Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund (q.v.), United Nations Development Programme, World Bank (q.v.), Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United States. In March 1992, Indonesia announced that it was rejecting further IGGI aid as long as the Netherlands chaired the organization. IGGI was replaced by the Consultative Group on Indonesia (q.v.).
International Monetary Fund (IMF): Established along with the World Bank in 1945, the IMF is a specialized agency affiliated with the United Nations and is responsible for stabilizing international exchange loans to its members when they experience balance of payments difficulties.
kebatinan: An amalgam of animist, Hindu-Buddhist, and Islamic (especially Sufi) mystical elements that combine to form Javanese mysticism. As a body of belief, kebatinan is officially recognized in the 1945 constitution and is administered by the Department of Education and Culture rather than by the Department of Religious Affairs. Also known as kejawen, agama Jawa, or Javanism.
Nonaligned Movement: Established in September 1961 with the aim of promoting political and military cooperation apart from the traditional East and West blocs. Indonesia was among the original members; as of 1992, there were 101 members, 9 observers, and 12 "guests." Indonesia was elected to chair the Nonaligned Movement from 1992 to 1995.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): Founded in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 14, 1960, the organization aims to coordinate petroleum policies of its member countries: Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Indonesia joined OPEC in 1962.
Outer Islands: Term used by some sources to refer to all islands of the Indonesian archipelago other than Java and Madura. Other sources, however, use the term to refer to all islands except Java, Madura, Bali, and Sumatra; still others say except Java and Bali or exclude Java, Madura, and Bali. The term as translated from Dutch--buitengewesten--means outer terroritories or regions while a similar term from Bahasa Indonesia (q.v.)--tanah seberang--means land (or lands) over there, or across the seas. The term is sometimes considered pejorative by those people living on the islands indicated.
Pancasila: The state philosophy based on five interrelated principles: belief in one supreme God; just and civilized humanitarianism; nationalism as expressed in the unity of Indonesia; popular sovereignty arrived at through deliberation and representation or consultative democracy; and social justice for all the Indonesian people. The Pancasila was announced by Sukarno on June 1, 1945. From Sanskrit: panca (five) and sila (principle).
pribumi: Literally, an indigene, or native. In the colonial era, the great majority of the population of the archipelago came to regard themselves as indigenous, in contrast to the nonindigenous Dutch and Chinese (and, to a degree, Arab) communities. After independence the distinction persisted, expressed as a dichotomy between elements that were pribumi and those that were not. The distinction has had significant implications for economic development policy.
Repelita (Rencana Pembangunan Lima Tahun): A five-year economic development plan: Repelita I (FY 1969- 73), Repelita II (FY 1974-78), Repelita III (FY 1979-83), Repelita IV (FY 1984-88), and Repelita V (FY 1989-93).
rupiah (Rp): Basic unit of currency. The exchange rate was fixed at Rp415 to US$1 from 1971 to 1978, when the rupiah was devalued to Rp625. Thereafter, the rate has floated slightly, although two major devaluations occurred in 1983 and 1986, bringing the exchange rate to Rp1,641 at the end of 1986. A policy of more gradual depreciation at about 5 percent per year has been followed through 1992. In November 1992, the exchange rate was valued at Rp1,881 per US$1, or Rp1 = US$.00018. The rupiah is made up of 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 coins and 100, 500, 1,000, 5, 000, and 10,000 notes. UPDATE.
santri: Orthodox Muslims. In the Javanese context, the santri are also sometimes referred to as putihan (white ones), an allusion to their purity, especially as contrasted to abangan (q.v.) Javanese.
sharia (Arabic; syariah in Bahasa Indonesia, q.v.): Islamic canon law. Among Shia (q.v.) Muslims the sharia includes the Quran and the authenticated sayings of the Prophet (hadith) and the Twelve Imams.
Shia (or Shiite): A member of the smaller of two great divisions of Islam. The Shias supported the claims of Ali and his line to presumptive right to the caliphate and leadership of the Muslim community, and on this issue they divided from the Sunnis (q.v.) in the first great schism of Islam. Later disagreements have produced further schisms among the Shias. Shias revere twelve imams, most of whom are believed to be hidden from view.
Sufi: Comes from suf, the Arabic word for "wool." The term derives from the practice of wearing a woolen robe, a sign of dedicating oneself to the mystical life, known in Islam as becoming a Sufi. Sufis, who seek mystical union with God, have been condemned by some Sunni (q.v.) legal schools.
Sunni: Comes from sunna meaning "custom," giving connotation of orthodoxy. A member of the two great divisions of Islam, the Sunnis supported the traditional method of election to the caliphate and accepted the Umayyad line. On this issue, they divided from the Shia (q.v.) discipline in the first great schism within Islam.
transmigration program: A voluntary rural resettlement plan that seeks to move large numbers of Javanese to Indonesia's underpopulated Outer Islands (q.v.). Transmagrasi in Bahasa Indonesia (q.v.).
value-added tax: A tax levied on the value added income of a firm, defined as the difference between total sales revenue and costs of intermediate inputs, such as raw materials, used in the production process.
wayang: Literally, "shadow." A dramatic form in several major variations, in which puppets or human performers, and sometimes both, portray gods, heroes, villains, and other characters in literary epics. The wayang kulit is shadow theater using highly decorated flat leather puppets.
World Bank: Informal name used to designate a group of four affiliated international institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The IBRD, established in 1945, has the primary purpose of providing loans at market-related rates of interest to developing countries at more advanced stages of development. The IDA, a legally separate loan fund but administered by the staff of the IBRD, was set up in 1960 to furnish credits to the poorest developing countries on much easier terms than those of conventional IBRD loans. The IFC, founded in 1956, supplements the activities of the IBRD through loans and assistance designed specifically to encourage the growth of productive private enterprises in the less developed countries. The MIGA, founded in 1988, insures private foreign investment in developing countries against various noncommercial risks. The president and certain officers of the IBRD hold the same positions in the IFC. The four institutions are owned by the governments of the countries that subscribe their capital. To participate in the World Bank group, member states must first belong to the International Monetary Fund (q.v.).

NOTE: The information regarding Indonesia on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Indonesia Glossary information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Indonesia Glossary should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.

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