Parakitri's 'Menjadi Indonesia' simplifies history<\/p>\n
Menjadi Indonesia
\n By Parakitri T. Simbolon
\n Published by Kompas, 1995
\n 803 pages, hardcover
\n Rp 45,000<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): At last there is a comprehensive Indonesian
\nhistory book in the Indonesian language.<\/p>\n
The book, Menjadi Indonesia (Becoming Indonesia), which covers
\nhe prehistoric era until before the Japanese invaded in 1942,
\ncame out in December last year, when Indonesians are still
\ncelebrating the country's golden anniversary.<\/p>\n
The book is a great gift for the country, with the hearts and
\nminds of many Indonesians still tuned to the past to reflect on
\nthe country's history.<\/p>\n
Previously, knowledge about the true history of Indonesian was
\nthe privilege of the relatively few Indonesians who can read in
\nforeign languages. Most information on Indonesia is stored in the
\nDutch archives and in the hundreds of books written by foreign
\nIndonesianists. Only a small number of them has been translated
\ninto Indonesian.<\/p>\n
Indonesian students know about their history mainly from
\ntextbooks issued by the government, which, however good they are,
\nserve the interests of those in power. Students can't free
\nthemselves from the government's view until they can read in
\nforeign languages.<\/p>\n
Menjadi Indonesia crams into 766 pages all the information
\nhidden in the Dutch archives and the untranslated books.<\/p>\n
The writer, Parakitri, a journalist at the Kompas daily, has
\nhelped free millions of Indonesians from the burden of mastering
\nforeign languages to learn about the history of their own
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
The book is aptly called a bid to end the era of "illiteracy
\nof history" that has been experienced by most of Indonesians for
\ndecades.<\/p>\n
The fruit of a serious study, the book is readable for people
\nas young as junior high school students. It combines seriousness
\nand simplicity, the coolness of seasoned analysts and the passion
\nof literary people.<\/p>\n
Parakitri is a doctoral graduate of a Dutch university and an
\naccomplished novelist and scriptwriter.<\/p>\n
To make it readable, Parakitri divides the book into the body
\nand the endnotes section, with the "light, general and
\nperipheral" stuff in the 363-page body and the "serious,
\ndetailed, in-depth," stuff in the 383-page endnotes.<\/p>\n
The oversized endnotes don't only explain the body, but stand
\nalone and should be read.<\/p>\n
The body is meant for junior high school students whose aim is
\nonly to pass history exams. People wanting more information need
\nto rummage through the endnotes.<\/p>\n
One Nation<\/p>\n
The aim of the history is to explain how people from thousands
\nof islands and hundreds of tribes and cultures developed a
\nconsciousness that they are one nation.<\/p>\n
The book is the first of a series of three books planned by
\nKompas as part of the newspaper's celebration of the country's
\ngolden anniversary. The series attempts to reveal how the nation
\nwas built in the past, what is happening today, and what will
\nhappen in the future.<\/p>\n
Menjadi Indonesia explains the process that led to the
\nawakening of the national consciousness, while the rest of the
\nseries, which are expected to appear in the middle of this year,
\nwill look at the present and future aspects.<\/p>\n
Since the focus is on the nation building, Parakitri does not
\nwaste time on the prehistoric era, the emergence of local
\nkingdoms, including the Sriwijaya and Majapahit kingdoms, and the
\nlocal resistance movements against the Dutch.<\/p>\n
Most textbook writers have focused on the two kingdoms and the
\nlocal resistances to foster pride in a people victimized by the
\nDutch for centuries.<\/p>\n
Menjadi Indonesia is more focused on what the writer sees as
\nthe root of national consciousness, that is, the arrival of the
\nDutch, the development of their power and policies, and how they
\ngradually effected economic, administrative and cultural unities
\nin the vast archipelago.<\/p>\n
Starting early in this century, the nation building process
\ngathered speed. Modern organizations sprung up on Java with the
\nDutch-educated natives as pioneers. The national consciousness
\ngrew in the process.<\/p>\n
Taken aback by the unexpected yields of their ethical policy,
\nthe Dutch tried to undermine it by all means. The indigenous
\npopulation continued to move along the track they made for
\nthemselves to achieve freedom.<\/p>\n
Parakitri denies Indonesia is the fruit of Dutch colonization.
\nThe Dutch had no intention to build a nation.<\/p>\n
"What came about was the dream of an Indonesian nation based
\non the people's own strength and ability," he says.<\/p>\n
The account of organization in the modern period takes up
\nalmost half of the book. It is filled with information not
\navailable in school textbooks.<\/p>\n
The communists' prominence before the mid 1960s is left out of
\ntextbooks, but is given the lengthy consideration it deserves in
\nthe new book. The communists' ideology attracted many indigenous
\nactivists, including many who were later anointed national
\nheroes.<\/p>\n
The book also portrays the heroes as they are, without any
\nintention of making them look like saints, as the textbooks do.
\nReaders will be surprised, for example, at the report that Sutan
\nSjahrir, Indonesia's first prime minister, married his friend's
\nwife -- a Dutch woman -- although the couple were then not yet
\ndivorced.<\/p>\n
History books, including Menjadi Indonesia, are only a way of
\nseeing the past. The writers have certain perceptions and
\ntherefore always insert their reflections on current events.<\/p>\n
This subjectivity allows history to become a mirror. A history
\nbook loses that function if it doesn't force its readers to
\nreflect on their past or the experience of their predecessors.<\/p>\n
Menjadi Indonesia is a good mirror. Many current events find
\nexplanations in it, including the pull between nationalism and
\nethnicity, the corruption in the (Dutch) administration and the
\nclose liaison between the (Dutch) rulers and the Chinese.<\/p>\n
On corruption, it says that Governor General van Hoorn carried
\n10 million guilders when he returned to the Netherlands in 1709,
\nwhile his yearly salary was only 700 guilders. The Maluku
\ngovernor of the same period amassed 20 to 30 thousands guilders
\nin four to five years out of his salary of 150 guilders per
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
Between 1719 and 1723, the amount of illegal levies set by the
\nUnited East Indies Company (VOC) was 3,500 guilders for those who
\nwanted to be onderkoopman (under merchants), and receive 40
\nguilders a month. For a captain, the amount was 2,000 guilders
\nand a corporal 120 guidlers. In comparison, of the 19,000 VOC's
\nworkers in 1720, only 30 people received a salary of 1,200
\nguilders a year. The positions were bought to enable the buyer to
\nsteal from the VOC's budget or extort low-income people or the
\nnatives.<\/p>\n
Is today's rampant corruption rooted in the native culture or
\na legacy of the Dutch? The book does not try to answer the
\nquestion.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt about the value of this book. Unfortunately,
\nthe price, Rp 45,000, is too high for students. The publishers,
\nKompas and Grasindo, should ensure it is included in the list of
\nbooks read daily by Indonesian students by subsidizing the book
\nor lobbying the government to use it in schools.<\/p>\n
Otherwise its goal of ending the "illiteracy of history" will
\nnot succeed.<\/p>\n
-- Johannes Simbolon<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/parakitris-menjadi-indonesia-simplifies-history-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }