[punchamullah]

Soekarno, the first President of Indonesia, played off the Chinese and Russians against the Yanks during the ‘50s and ‘60s. The Chinese had the advantage and were instrumental in establishing and supporting the PKI (Partai Komunis Indonesia), which by 1965 had become very influential.

When Soeharto gave Soekarno the heave-ho in ‘65 the new and strongly anti-communist gubmint banned all things Chinese, including personal names, Chinese dialects and characters, and the teaching of Chinese history and culture. Buddhism was still allowed, as Soeharto understood that he badly needed the few Indonesian Chinese that there were. Hence the thing with the names.

To this day there are occasional problems that pop up due the ban on Chinese names. For example, the only name my son-in-law ever knew himself by was Hendri Susanto. But when he first applied for a passport, he found that the only birth certificate that he held was in the name Pooh Han Gie (a rather unfortunate name). It cost him a lot of effort and money to get that straightened out.

Indonesia is by no means ungovernable, indeed I am often amazed at how well the govt manages to keep things going despite the obstacles. It may be that the citizens know better than to expect much from their government, and therefore tend to look after themselves and their neighbours.

[cloudmountain]

Soekarno, the first President of Indonesia, played off the Chinese and Russians against the Yanks during the ‘50s and ‘60s. The Chinese had the advantage and were instrumental in establishing and supporting the PKI (Partai Komunis Indonesia), which by 1965 had become very influential.
When Soeharto gave Soekarno the heave-ho in ‘65 the new and strongly anti-communist gubmint banned all things Chinese, including personal names, Chinese dialects and characters, and the teaching of Chinese history and culture. Buddhism was still allowed, as Soeharto understood that he badly needed the few Indonesian Chinese that there were. Hence the thing with the names.
To this day there are occasional problems that pop up due the ban on Chinese names. For example, the only name my son-in-law ever knew himself by was Hendri Susanto. But when he first applied for a passport, he found that the only birth certificate that he held was in the name Pooh Han Gie (a rather unfortunate name). It cost him a lot of effort and money to get that straightened out.
Indonesia is by no means ungovernable, indeed I am often amazed at how well the govt manages to keep things going despite the obstacles. It may be that the citizens know better than to expect much from their government, and therefore tend to look after themselves and their neighbours.

It's not an easy task to govern such a spread-out island nation. Each island MUST be answerable to the capitol...at a moment's notice for WHATEVER may happen: tidal waves, fires, health emergencies, etc.
WE here have states who can and do pick up what the federal government doesn't, and by way of the U.S. Constitution, CANNOT do in case of any emergency or catastrophe.
So, kudos to Indonesia for holding such a spread-out nation together.