Handy reference on Indonesia

Handy reference on Indonesia

A Dictionary of Indonesian History Since 1900

By G. B. Clancy

Sydney: Sunda Publications. 236 pp. $15.00

Reviewed by Max Lane

This is a modest but quite good publication. It will be particularly useful for people who are just becoming interested in Indonesia, either as secondary and university students or as activists in the Indonesia solidarity movement.

The text contains entries listed alphabetically. For readers starting from scratch, who don't know yet what to look up, there is an index which groups entries under subheadings: Dutch Colonialism [1900-1942], Nationalism [1900-1945], the Japanese Occupation [1942-45], the Revolutionary Period [1945-49]; Parliamentary Democracy [1949-59]; Civil War [1957-59]; Guided Democracy [1959-65]; the New Order [1965- ]; the Military; Communism; Religion; Culture and Society.

The book is reasonably comprehensive and up to date, with entries on such events as the November 1991 Dili massacre and with brief sketches of prominent figures from both the regime and the (elite) opposition. In some cases, the entries have become outdated. For example, the dictionary was obviously compiled at the time, now passed, when General Try Sutrisno was still in favour with Suharto.

While not a substitute for the more thorough texts that are available, at least on the earlier periods of Indonesian history, at $15 the book would be a useful purchase for those who wish to have something at hand they can refer to easily for basic information on Indonesian politics and history. The dictionary appears to be a self-published effort, and I do not know how widely distributed it is. I purchased my copy at Abbey's Bookshop.

From GLW issue 92