PUSAT TENAGA RAKYAT (PUTERA, Center of the People’s Power).

Japanese-sponsored mass organization on Java that succeeded the Tiga

A Movement in March 1943, under the leadership of Sukarno, Mo- hammad Hatta, Ki Hajar Dewantoro (see SUWARDI SURYAN-

INGRAT), and Mas Mansur (1896–1946). Its principal task was to increase public enthusiasm for the war effort and to drive out remnants of Western cultural and political influence, and its activity was limited to little more than radio broadcasts and other propaganda. It operated under strict Japanese control and was given only limited access to the coun- tryside. It nonetheless gave massive public exposure to Sukarno a nd Hatta and reinforced their standing as national leaders. It was replaced in January 1944 by the Jawa Hokokai. See also JAPANESE OCCUPA- TION OF INDONESIA. [0644, 0657, 0661, 0663]

–R–

RAAD VAN INDIË (Council of the Indies). Senior council for Indies affairs, generally with the task of advising the governor-general on matters of state. [0032, 0045, 0638]

RACE. In traditional societies, where the notion of genetic characteristics is absent, it is difficult to judge the extent of “racial” consciousness as opposed to a simple distinction between locals and outsiders. Evidence suggests, however, that just as the traditional societies of the archipelago were rather open to cultural influences from abroad, so they were relatively accepting of those who assimilated culturally to Indonesian ways of life, the most important “ethnic” marker being religion. In the trading cities of the coastal regions, in particular, there seems to be a long tradi-

RACE • 363 tion of settlement and acculturation by other Asians, to the extent that it

is difficult or impossible from available records to identify those who might by today’s norms be called “Chinese,” “Arab,” or “Indian.” On the other hand, expatriate communities in these ports have a long tradition of maintaining their distinct cultural identities.

The Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) also used religion at first as its main criterion of ethnicity, regarding Christian Indonesians, in some respects at least, as Europeans for legal purposes (see LAW). Although separate native courts were established in 1747, a formal legal distinction between Europeans and others did not come into effect until 1848, when the new commercial and civil codes and codes of civil and criminal pro- cedure were declared applicable to Europeans only. Article 109 of the 1854 Regeeringsreglement (constitution) formally distinguished between Europeanen, who were thereby equalized to Dutch citizens in the Netherlands, and Inlanders (natives). While this distinction enabled some special protection to be given to Indonesians, for example, in the Agrarian Law of 1870, it generally permitted discrimination against in- digenes in conditions of employment and the provision of services. The exact criteria for racial classification were not specified, but in general legitimate children followed the race of their father, illegitimate children that of their mother. Groups that did not fall clearly into either category were allocated to one or the other: Armenians, for instance, as Euro- peans; wives of Europeans (from 1896) as Europeans; and Arabs as natives. In 1885 Chinese were made subject to European commercial law in order to simplify their dealings with European business houses and a third category, foreign orientals (vreemde oosterlingen), gradually emerged, though it was not legally defined until the revised constitution of 1925 (Article 163). From 1899 Japanese were classified as Europeans, and they were joined by Turks in 1926 on the grounds that Turkey had adopted a European style of legal system.

Movement between legal categories was also possible by means of gelijkstelling (“alike-making”), under which a person of native or foreign oriental status could gain full legal European status if he could demon- strate that he was culturally assimilated to the European community or had special legal need for European status. In the late 19th century a campaign began in Dutch circles for the abolition of racial classification as a hindrance to social development, but this was blocked by a coalition of colonial conservatives and adat law specialists, who argued for the sanc- tity of traditional, ethnically based law; steps toward legal unification were abandoned in 1928. From 1910, with the introduction of limited

364 • RADICALE CONCENTRATIE elections, a further legal distinction was made between Dutch citizens and

Dutch subjects (Nederlands onderdaan, niet Nederlander). All formal racial distinctions were abolished by the Indonesian constitution of 1945 (but see ASLI), though discimination against Indonesian citizens of foreign descent (warganegara Indonesia keturunan asing), especially Chi- nese, continues in a number of respects. See also INDO-EUROPEANS.

RADICALE CONCENTRATIE (Radical Concentration). Coalition of progressive parties, Indonesian and non-Indonesian, formed in the Volk- sraad in November 1918 to press for movement toward responsible government in the colony, especially after the colonial government had re- jected the recommendations of the Carpentier Alting Commission on constitutional reform. The coalition fell apart as the demands of Indone- sian nationalism for full independence became stronger. [0661]

RADIO. The first radio station in the Netherlands Indies was established in Sabang in 1911 for naval communications; amateur broadcasts began soon after and the first commercial station, the Bataviase Radio Vereeniging, started broadcasting in 1925. The official Nederlandsch- Indische Radio Omroep Maatschappij (NIROM) began in 1934. The first indigenous radio station, Perikatan Perkumpulan Radio Ketimuran (Fed- eration of Asian Radio Associations), was permitted in 1937 but could only broadcast on cultural and social affairs. During the Japanese occupation, radios were used widely for propaganda in the villages, and figures such as Sukarno received unprecedented national coverage as a result. A national station, Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), was founded in August 1945. Like television and cassettes, broadcasts from this national station have provided the government with a powerful tool for projecting its message and spreading a national culture. Local stations have also proliferated and been active in promoting regional music, languages, and culture, but throughout the Suharto regime none of the hundreds of private radio stations were allowed to carry their own news broadcasts. After the fall of Suharto, requirements on broadcasters were eased and radio journalists were free to report critically. See also CENSORSHIP; MEDIA. [0154, 0622, 0761, 1300, 1301]

RAFFLES, THOMAS STAMFORD (1781–1826). An official of the En-

glish East India Company, Raffles was appointed lieutenant-governor of Java in 1811 after Britain’s seizure of the island during the Napoleonic Wars (see BATAVIAN REPUBLIC). Hoping to persuade

RAIS, AMIEN • 365 his superiors to retain control of the island, he attempted to restructure

the Javanese economy to create a market for British manufactured goods, especially cotton, and attempted to break open the subsistence economy of the rural interior by abolishing the system of forced labor (except in Priangan) and requiring peasants to pay a land rent that would require them to earn money by bringing cash crops onto the market. He reduced the role of the traditional aristocracy on Java (see IN- LANDSCH BESTUUR ), abolished the sultanates of Banten and Cire- bon, and captured the city of Yogyakarta in 1812, installing a new ruler there. Many of his reforms were based on ideas already in circulation among Dutch opponents of Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) policy, such as Dirk van Hogendorp. He made extensive studies of the natural history and culture of the island, publishing a History of Java (2 vols., 1817). In March 1816 he was removed from his post after accusations of corruption. In 1817, after Java was returned to the Dutch, Raffles was appointed British lieutenant-governor of Bengkulu. He founded Singa- pore in 1819. [0291, 0588, 0843]

RAILWAYS AND TRAMWAYS. Railways were constructed, mainly on Java, from 1873 by both the state railways (Staatsspoorwegen) and

11 private companies, of which the largest was the Semarang-based Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorwegen Maatschappij. Separate small systems also existed in South, West, and North Sumatra and in Aceh. State railways accounted for 1,870 miles of track in 1942, private lines for 531 miles. There were also many Decauville lines, which were usually two-foot gauge, serving mines, plantations, and industrial in- stallations. Most traffic was short-haul: freight traveled an average of

62 miles, passengers under 19 miles. The rail system fell into decline after 1931, when little new investment was made and much rolling stock and some rails were removed by the Japanese during the occupation. Under the New Order, however, the World Bank provided aid for a national program of rehabilitation. See also ROADS; SHIP- PING. [0060, 0465, 0622, 0977]

RAIS, AMIEN (1944–). Born in Surakarta, Amien Rais studied at Gadjah Mada University and the Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN, State Is- lamic Religious Institute) in Yogyakarta, before going to the United States in 1968 to continue his studies, gaining a Ph.D. from the Univer- sity of Chicago in 1981, writing a thesis entitled “The Muslim Brother- hood in Egypt: Its Rise, Demise and Resurgence.” He became a lecturer

366 • RAMAYANA

in political science at Gadjah Mada and general chairman of the Muhammadiyah. During the 1980s he developed a reputation for re- sponding quickly to threats to Islam and was a strong critic of the “Christianization” of Indonesian society. Rais joined the Ikatan Cen- dekiawan Muslim Indonesia (ICMI) and became chairman of its Council of Experts. In 1997, however, he was publicly critical of the Suharto government, of the “nepotism” in that year’s elections, and of the government’s “collusion” with foreign investors in exploiting In- donesia’s natural resources (see KOLUSI, KORUPSI, DAN NEPO- TISME ). As a result, B. J. Habibie forced him from his position in ICMI. Nevertheless, he retained widespread support in Muhammadiyah, and after the installation of the People’s Congress in October 1997 he expressed his willingness to stand as a presidential candidate against Suharto, proposing that a poll be conducted to determine the people’s choice. In December, he publicly spoke out against Suharto’s reelection.

Amien Rais was a prominent leader of the reformasi movement against Suharto in 1998, being sidelined, however, at the last moment when he canceled a scheduled May demonstration because of his fear of it sparking widespread violence. After Suharto’s resignation, Rais left his post in Muhammadiyah to form a new Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN), which he tried to make into a grouping that would appeal to Indonesians of different faiths and backgrounds. It gained only 7 percent of the vote and 13 parliamentary seats. Recognized, however, as second only to Ab- durrachman Wahid as an Islamic leader, Rais was elected chairman of the Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (MPR) in October 1999 with the backing of Wahid and Golkar, as well as some other Islamic factions. [0760, 1029, 1362]

RAMAYANA. Epic story derived from India and set down in Old Javanese

as the Ramayana Kakawin by Yogaswari, probably in the 10th century. Reliefs depicting the story decorate the Hindu temples of Prambanan and Panataran in Java and many temples in Bali. The story is presented in wayang kulit, wayang golek, and wayang wong, though the celebrated moonlight performances at Prambanan are a recent innovation. As with the Mahabharata, episodes from the Ramayana are often used as alle- gories of contemporary events.

In the story, Prince Rama, his wife Sita, and his brother Laksamana are exiled from their father’s kingdom of Ayodhya. As they wander in the forest, Sita is kidnapped by the demon king, Rawana, who takes her to his palace in Alengka (Sri Lanka). With the help of a white monkey,

REFORMASI • 367

Hanuman, Rama discovers Sita’s whereabouts and leads a monkey army to rescue her. Reunited, they return to Ayodhya and live, according to some versions, happily ever after. In other versions, however, Rama re- jects Sita on suspicion that she may have been unfaithful to him during her captivity. See also MAHABHARATA. [0132, 0159]

RAMI (Boehmeria nivea Urticaceae). Fiber plant, perhaps native to Sulawesi,

it can be used to produce tough cord and extremely hard-wearing, coarse cloth. Attempts at commercial cultivation began in the early 19th century but were always hampered by the difficulty of separating the fiber from the other plant materials. When this is done by hand it is a labor-intensive process, but 454 rami processes and machines patented between 1873 and 1900 were unable to make the crop commercial. During World War II both Japan and the United States developed effective processing techniques, and the Japanese planted it extensively on Java as a substitute for jute from India. [0331, 0332]

RANIRI, NURUDDIN AL- (?–1666). Gujerati Muslim scholar who ar-

rived in Aceh in 1637 and was appalled by what he saw as the mystical heresies being followed at the court of Sultan Iskandar Thani, especially in the writings of Hamzah Fansuri and Syamsuddin of Pasai. After win- ning over Iskandar Thani, he began to persecute the followers of Hamzah and Syamsuddin and ordered their books to be burned. He himself, however, composed one of the classics of Malay literature, the Bustan as- Salatin (Garden of Kings), which covered the history of Islam as well as recent scientific knowledge. He lost favor under the rule of Iskandar Thani’s widow and successor Taj al-Alam and returned to India in 1644.

RATTAN (Arecaceae, rotan). Climbing rainforest palms of several genera

harvested extensively for their strong pliant stems, and preferred to bamboo for pliability, durability, and appearance. Overcollection and the clearing of jungle have steadily reduced supplies and increased prices, but Indonesia still produces around 80 percent of the world’s supply. In October 1986 export of unprocessed rattan was banned in order to encourage local processing; semiprocessed rattan was included in the ban in July 1988. [0342]

RATU ADIL. See JAVA WAR; JOYOBOYO. REFORMASI. Reform movement spearheaded by students that began in

late 1997 demanding a reform of Indonesia’s political and economic

368 • REGENTS structures. It escalated in 1998 to calls for President Suharto’s resigna-

tion and for an open and democratic election to select his successor. Af- ter Suharto’s fall, the term came to denote the struggle for a more democratic and inclusive Indonesia wherein ideals of accountability and transparency would replace the corruption and cronyism of the Suharto era. See also KOLUSI, KORUPSI, DAN NEPOTISME (KKN).

REGENTS. See BUPATI. RELIGION AND POLITICS. The division between religion and state

now common in the West is of relatively recent origin and has little meaning for most of Indonesian history. While it is true to say that rulers and religious leaders have used religion for political ends and have used politics for religious ends, the distinction is not really valid in societies where every aspect of social organization and behavior was in some respect a matter for religious concern. Religions were inevitably closely associated with the political order and with challenges to it. All the major religions of Indonesia, however, recognize at least some division of responsibility between religious and secular authorities, and the sharpen- ing or blurring of this distinction was often driven by political motives. Traditional rulers found that successively Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity could be used as buttresses to their rule, either as a means of acquiring allies or to reinforce the loyalty of their subjects. Un- der the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC), Dutch Reformed Protes- tantism was the established religion and in Minahasa, for instance, people previously converted to Catholicism were arbitrarily declared to be Protestant when the region came under Dutch rule. Freedom of religion was granted in 1818, after the fall of the company, except where it dis- turbed public order.

Islam, strongly offended by kafir (infidel) rule and with its strong emphasis on the community of Muslims, became an important focus for revolt both against traditional rulers (see ACEH; MINANGKABAU) and against the Dutch (see JAVA WAR). In the late 19th century, after failing to sup- press Islamic radicalism, the colonial authorities adopted suggestions of Christian Snouck Hurgronje to “domesticate” Islam and undermine much of its political thrust by supporting religious practice, particularly in the area of law. A network of government religious officials (penghulu) was established to administer Islamic family and property law. In the early years of the nationalist movement, Islam became a vehicle for opposition to the commercial position of the Chinese (see SAREKAT ISLAM).

RELIGION AND POLITICS • 369 Independent Indonesia did not become an Islamic state. Nor, how-

ever, is it wholly secular: not only does the state ideology, Pancasila, set down “belief in God” as a basic principle of the state but religious affairs are also administered by a Department of Religion, founded on 3 Janu- ary 1946, which was for many years the largest government department. The department was at first entirely Muslim and its primary goal was the promotion of Islam but, especially after January 1965 when the official definition of religion was broadened to recognize Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism as well as Islam and Christianity as official religions, its political agenda became the promotion of religion (agama) in general (though Islam still took a major part of its budget and energies). After 1966, under the New Order regime, the promotion of religion had the added purpose of “immunizing” people against communism, and only a tiny proportion of the population was classed as belum beragama (not yet having a religion), though this was achieved partly by allowing ani- mist peoples such as the Dayak and Toraja to have their beliefs classified as Hindu. In 1969 President Suharto confirmed the legal right of people to change religions, and in the 1960s and early 1970s there was substantial conversion from Islam to Christianity and Hinduism in parts of Java. In 1978, however, the Department of Religion issued regula- tions forbidding proselytization among followers of recognized religions and limiting the extent to which local religious organizations could receive support from abroad.

Through his policies regarding political parties, Suharto attempted to depoliticize religion, culminating in 1982 with his emasculation of the religious parties through his decree that the Pancasila was to be the sole foundation of all parties and organizations. Removal of religion from the country’s political life was reinforced by SARA, whereby religion, as well as other potentially contentious issues, was excluded from public debate. But after repressing Islam, particularly its political expression, up to the mid-1980s, Suharto then began to encourage its freedom of action as evidenced in such measures as his promotion of Ikatan Cendekiawan Muslim Indonesia (ICMI) in 1990, his expansion of the authority of Muslim courts, his support of an Islamic bank, and his personal demonstration of piety by undertaking the haj pil- grimage in 1991.

In the aftermath of Suharto’s fall, around 20 new political parties based on Islam qualified to contest the 1999 elections and they garnered just about 38 percent of the vote. At the same time religious tensions, particularly in Eastern Indonesia, led to widespread violence between Muslims

370 • RENCANA PEMBANGUNAN LIMA TAHUN and Christians. The government, whether under former Nahdlatul

Ulama (NU) head Abdurrachman Wahid or his successor Megawati

Sukarnoputri, still committed itself to the principle of a Pancasila state, though Aceh and some other majority Muslim provinces introduced measures to institute Islamic law (syariah) on a regional basis.

There are no current reliable numbers of the breakdown of religious groups in Indonesia, but in 1982 the official percentages of religious ad- herence were

However, an alternative unofficial estimate gave the figures Muslim

77 percent, Protestant 11 percent, Catholicism 4 percent, Hinduism 3 percent, Buddhism and Confucianism 0.4 percent, and Kebatinan 17 percent (Kebatinan had some overlap with other categories). [0983, 1016–1040, 1274]

RENCANA PEMBANGUNAN LIMA TAHUN (Repelita, Five-Year De- velopment Plan). Official title of successive economic plans under the New Order. Repelita I ran from 1969 to 1974 and stressed rehabilitation of the economy after the Guided Economy of Sukarno and increased rice production and the improvement of infrastructure; Repelita II (1974–1978) stressed raising living standards by increasing availability of food, clothing, housing, and so on; Repelita III (1978–1984) aimed to expand employment by extensive public sector investment and to promote more equitable distribution of income (though it was vague on the latter point) and its aims, dependent on heavy capital inflow, had to be curtailed sharply after the fall in oil prices; Repelita IV (1984–1989) stressed agriculture and industry; Repelita V (1989–1994) shifted its educational emphasis from primary to secondary education; and Re- pelita VI (1994–1999) established a target of universal education for children up to the lower secondary school level (i.e., nine years of schooling) and also aimed to reduce the numbers of people below the poverty line to 6 percent by 1999 and to zero by 2004. Although the ini- tial inclinations of the New Order’s economic policy makers in the Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Nasional (Bappenas) were for economic liberalism, the unrestricted operation of market forces was nei-

REPUBLIK INDONESIA SERIKAT • 371 ther politically acceptable nor economically desirable, and successive

economic plans aimed especially at import-substitution industrialization, particularly in fertilizer, cement, and textiles, as well as at the improvement of infrastructure. [0295, 0313, 0718]

RENDRA, WILLIBRORDUS S. (1935–). Poet and dramatist. Admired initially for his lucid, straightforward use of language in poetry, Rendra became increasingly known for his drama, in which he attempted to adapt the techniques of Western experimental drama to Indonesian conditions and styles. His best known work is The Struggle of the Naga Tribe (1975). Throughout the late New Order period, he used his plays to give voice to the people’s needs and to criticize the regime’s attempts to silence their depiction and artistic expression in general. From the late 1970s, his plays were therefore frequently banned. See also CENSOR- SHIP; MALARI. [0258, 0761]

RENVILLE AGREEMENT. The agreement signed on 17–19 January 1948 aboard the USS Renville, anchored in Jakarta Bay, between representatives of the Indonesian Republic and the Netherlands Indies and providing, like the Linggajati Agreement, for a peaceful end to the Indonesian-Dutch conflict by merger of the Republican and Dutch territories into a federal republic. Whereas the Linggajati Agreement had limited the number of component states of this federation to three, Renville opened the possibility for people in Dutch-occupied territories to opt by plebiscite for separate negara (federal state) status (see FEDERALISM) or for inclusion into the Republic. On the basis of these states, but ex- cluding the Republic of Indonesia, the Dutch proceeded to establish a Provisional Federal Government (Voorlopige Federale Regeering) in 1948. One key provision of Renville that was never implemented was the Dutch agreement to hold plebiscites to determine the people’s preference between the Republic and the Dutch-sponsored state in areas their troops had occupied in the first “Police Action.” In December 1948, Dutch forces launched a second “Police Action” to incorporate all Republican territory into the federation. [0478, 0661, 0674, 1117]

REPUBLIK INDONESIA SERIKAT (RIS, Republic of the United States of Indonesia, also RUSI). Formed on 27 December 1949 as a conse- quence of the Round Table Conference. The RIS was a member of the Netherlands Indonesian Union (Unie), along with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and was guaranteed to consult the Netherlands on matters

372 • REPUBLIK MALUKU SELATAN of common interest such as international debt and foreign investment.

It was governed under a prime ministerial system with a bicameral leg- islature consisting of a popular assembly (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat) and a Senate, with two representatives from each of the states (negara) and territories (daerah) making up the federation. The figurehead president of the federation, elected 16 December 1949, was Sukarno. In its fullest form, the federation consisted of seven negara—the Republik In- donesia, founded 17 August 1945; Negara Indonesia Timur, formed 24 December 1946, dissolved 17 August 1950; Madura (21 January 1948–9 March 1950); Pasundan (24 April 1948–9 February 1950); Sumatra Timur (25 December 1947/16 February 1948–17 August 1950, see EAST SUMATRA); Sumatra Selatan (18 December 1948–9 March 1950, see PALEMBANG); Jawa Timur (East Java; 26 November 1948–9 March 1950)—and nine other territories of varying statuses: Banjar, Bangka, Billiton (Belitung), Riau, and Dayak Besar, all called neo-landschappen , denoting that they had formerly been directly ruled territories; Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Timur, and Kalimantan Teng- gara, all of the preceding federations of landschappen, or formerly zelf- besturen ; and Jawa Tengah, Padang in West Sumatra, and Pulau Weh (Sabang) off Aceh, whose status was indefinite. All these entities were represented in the RIS Senate, but the RIS also included the capital territory of Jakarta and several other smaller unaffiliated territories. The Republik Indonesia, with borders as at the signing of the Renville Agreement, held one third of the seats in the federal parliament but in fact dominated the federation from the start, the remaining negara having, with two or three exceptions, little popular support or administrative strength. With the exception of the Republik Indonesia, the federal states were dissolved in the course of 1950, and the RIS was dissolved into the Republik Indonesia on 17 August 1950. See also FEDERALISM; SUC- CESSION. [0661, 0674, 0679, 0695]

REPUBLIK MALUKU SELATAN (RMS, Republic of the South Moluc- cas). Proclaimed on 25 April 1950 by Christian Ambonese, led by Ne- gara Indonesia Timur (NIT) justice minister C. R. S. Soumokil, who were dissatisfied with the incorporation of the NIT into the Republik In- donesia Serikat (RIS). Fighting took place on Ambon and Buru from July to November 1950 and continued on Seram until 1956, though Soumokil was not captured until 1963. Moluccan exiles in the Nether- lands continued to campaign for the RMS, but their energy was dimin- ished in the late 1980s by agreements permitting the exiles to return to

REVOLUTION • 373 Indonesia without risk. During the violence in Ambon that followed the

fall of Suharto, the remnant RMS organization in the Netherlands was allegedly sending financial aid to Protestant relatives in Maluku. De- spite army claims that they had unearthed RMS weapons caches and training camps, however, it was unlikely that the RMS organization in Ambon had revived and was again seeking a separation from Indonesia. Nevertheless, there was growing disillusionment with Jakarta and some support for the earlier aims of the RMS. As many as 129 separatist sup- porters were arrested in April 2003 for actions connected with celebrat- ing the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of the RMS. See also KONINKLIJK NEDERLANDSCH INDISCH LEGER. [0782, 0967]

RESIMEN PARA KOMANDO ANGKATAN DARAT (RPKAD, Army Para-Commando Regiment). Formed in 1956 as part of the army com- mand’s effort to reduce the power of regional commanders by creating

a mobile strike force under the direct authority of the center. Under Colonel Sarwo Edhie (1927–1989), the RPKAD played a major role in the massacres of 1965–1966 in Central Java. Under the names Kopas- sandha (Komando Pasukan Sandi Yudha, Secret Warfare Unit Com- mand) and Kopassus (Komando Pasukan Khusus, Special Unit Com- mand), it later played a major role in the suppression of dissent in Papua and East Timor and in the so-called mysterious killings (see PETRUS) of 1982–1983. See also ARMY; PRABOWO SUBIANTO. [0714, 0727]

RETOOLING. See MANIFESTO POLITIK. REVENUE FARMS. See PACHT. REVOLUTION. The years 1945–1949 are commonly referred to as the

“Revolution” (Revolusi), reflecting both the usage of the time and the per- ception that the violent change from colonial rule to independence was in- deed revolutionary. Especially during Guided Democracy, Sukarno maintained that the Revolution had not been completed in 1949 with the formal transfer of sovereignty by the Dutch and that not only did the province of West Irian (see PAPUA) have to be recovered but Indonesia’s social, political, and economic order also had to be transformed. Under the New Order, the rhetoric of continuing revolution was soon dropped and the period 1945–1949 came increasingly to be referred to as the war of independence (perang kemerdekaan), partly to emphasize the role of

374 • RHINOCEROS the army in securing independence, partly to avoid the suggestion that

revolutions might be desirable events. [0643, 0661, 0674] RHINOCEROS. Both the one-horned Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros

sondaicus ) and the two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis ), once common, have been hunted close to extinction. The Javan rhino is now restricted to Ujung Kulon, the Sumatran to small pockets in southern Sumatra and Burma. By 1998 it was believed that the number of Sumatran rhinoceros had declined to only about 250, and several zoos in Britain and the United States were returning rhinoceros to the island in the hopes of increasing the population. Most parts of the animal were used medicinally, bezoar stones being most highly prized. Poachers today usually take only the horn. Many roads on Java are said to follow ancient rhino tracks through dense jungle. [1154]

RIAU (Rhio). Sultanate established on Bintan Island, south of Singapore, by Sultan Mahmud I of Melaka after the fall of his capital to the Por- tuguese in 1511. It controlled a fluctuating territory in the Riau archipelago, on the coast of Sumatra and on the Malay Peninsula, and derived its income as an entrepôt. The capital shifted frequently between the Riau archipelago and Johor on the peninsular mainland, and in 1641 the kingdom joined the Dutch in expelling the Portuguese from Melaka. After the assassination of Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1685–1699), Riau was riven by a prolonged civil war. The bendahara (chief minister) of the kingdom, Abdul Jalil Riayat Syah (?–1721), seized the throne and with the help of his able younger brother, Tun Mahmud, attempted to concen- trate trade at Riau. He quickly faced rebellions in Palembang and Perak and among the Bajau, and he was eventually deposed in 1718 and later murdered (see SIAK). Bugis mercenaries then gained control of the hereditary office of Yang di Pertuan Muda, and they effectively dominated the state until it was occupied by the Dutch in 1784. The last independent ruler, Mahmud Riayat Syah III (r. 1761–1812), attempted to play off Bugis, Malay, Dutch, and British interests but was unable to end the internal chaos.

In 1819, Britain obtained the island of Singapore in the heart of the kingdom, and the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 definitively divided the former territory of Riau between the two colonial powers, depriving Raja Ali Haji Ibn Ahmad (1809?–1870?) of office. An accomplished writer, Raja Ali is best known for his Tuhfat al-Nafis (Gift of the Prophet), which

he expanded from a shorter draft by his father, Raja Ahmad.

RICE • 375 After independence Riau was incorporated into the province of Cen-

tral Sumatra, but in 1957 it became a separate province embracing the contrasting ecological regions of mainland Riau (Riau daratan) and island Riau (Riau kepulauan). The majority of its inhabitants were classified as Malay, though there were large minorities of Minangkabau, Mandailing, Buginese, and Javanese. Under the centralizing policies of late Guided Democracy and the New Order, the people of Riau did not enjoy the fruits of their province’s vast wealth, which provided more than half of Indonesia’s oil production and possessed significant gas re- serves as well as large tracts of oil palm and forest. Not only did almost all of the wealth from these resources flow to Jakarta, but the low education standards in the province also meant that the oil companies recruited their employees largely from Java and West Sumatra and not from the local people. It was estimated that at the turn of the 21st century, only 3 percent of Riau natives were college graduates.

Under the 1999 decentralization law the situation drastically changed, for the provincial and district governments were now to receive

15 percent of the oil revenues, 30 percent of the gas, and 80 percent of the forestry revenues. In 2001 their budgets multiplied sixfold and were expected to increase further with the expansion of oil production. In 2003 Riau was divided into two provinces, Mainland Riau and Island Riau. See MAP 12. [0502, 0550, 0774, 0785, 1386]

RICE (Oryza sativa Poaceae). Wild rice occurs naturally in mainland South- east Asia, and it was cultivated there perhaps as early as 6000 B.C. It ap- pears, however, to have entered the archipelago much later, the earliest known cultivation being at Ulu Leang in Sulawesi around 3500 B.C., probably because the early varieties were highly sensitive to climatic change (see MIGRATIONS). It was probably a staple food of Srivijaya but does not appear on the reliefs of Borobudur, suggesting that other staples, perhaps including millet, were in use. Rice was certainly well established by the mid-13th century, but even as late as the 19th century it had not reached its current status of preferred food for most of the people of the archipelago. In the late 18th and early 19th century, the colonial government sponsored

a major expansion of wet-rice agriculture, with the expansion of irrigation and the clearing of land, and in 1905 it began a sustained program to breed improved varieties. Increasing rice production was also a major aim of the Japanese occupation government in World War II.

It was initially hoped that production would increase with independence, and Java actually exported rice to India in 1946, but in the 1950s and 1960s

376 • ROADS production failed to keep pace with population growth and imports in-

creased, despite the introduction of new varieties developed in the Philip- pines by the International Rice Research Institute. Promotion of rice production became a major program of the New Order, and self-sufficiency by 1973 was an aim of the first five-year plan (see RENCANA PEM- BANGUNAN LIMA TAHUN). But outbreaks of wereng (brown plant hopper) pest appeared in the 1974–1975 season, devastating the rice crop, and by the late 1970s Indonesia was importing up to one third of the world’s traded rice. Nevertheless, the introduction of high-yielding varieties, with their attendant shorter growing cycles and heavy application of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, helped achieve a rapid increase in rice production after 1978. In November 1985 President Suharto announced that rice self-sufficiency had been achieved. Subsequently, however, rice production markedly slowed, with its output growing by only 2.5 percent per year between 1986 and 1995. The drought of 1991 led the government to suspend its prohibition on rice imports, and a further serious drought in 1997 forced it to begin again importing rice. After the fall of Suharto, rice production continued to decline, with figures for 2001 4.45 percent less than those for 2000, due mainly to a decline both in the area harvested and in productiv- ity. The government estimated that production in 2002 would be 48.65 million tons, or a further decline of 1.89 percent. See also AGRICULTURAL INVOLUTION. [0055, 0295, 0296, 0319, 0331, 0332, 0333, 0341, 0345, 0346, 0353, 0730]

ROADS. These have naturally played a relatively small role in long-distance communication in the archipelago; even within islands, geographical bar- riers such as forests, mountains, and swamps tended to make waterborne communication far more important than overland links. The first road to run the length of Java was laid by Herman Willem Daendels in the early 19th century, and the colonial authorities began a trans-Sumatra road in the 20th century. Responsibility for roads was one of the tasks devolved to the provinces in 1931 (see DECENTRALIZATION), but by the end of the colonial era Indonesia was still relatively underprovided with asphalted roads.

Between 1939 and 1959 the length of asphalted roads decreased by about 20 percent due to lack of investment, while the number of vehicles on those roads doubled. Plans for the Trans-Sumatra Highway were revived in the early 1960s, but extensive road building did not resume until after 1966, when the World Bank assisted in a number of highway rehabilitation projects. The Trans-Sumatra and Trans-Sulawesi Highways

ROTI • 377 were completed in the 1980s (though some sections need major upgrad-

ing), and highways across Kalimantan and Papua were constructed in the late Suharto period. The fact that Indonesia drives on the left-hand side of the road (unlike the Dutch) is attributed (perhaps apocryphally) to the English colonial official Thomas Stamford Raffles. See also RAILWAYS. [0060, 0357, 0367, 0372, 0977]

ROEM–VAN ROIJEN AGREEMENT. The result of negotiations begun on 14 April 1949 between J. H. van Roijen, chief of the Netherlands delegation, and Mohamad Roem, representing the imprisoned Republican government of Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta. The agreement, which was formally accepted by both sides on 7 May, provided for the Dutch to release political prisoners and for the Republican leaders to return to their capital in Yogyakarta. It was also agreed that a Round Table Con- ference would be held in which Republican representatives together with those of the Dutch-supported Federal Consultative Assembly (BFO) would negotiate with the Dutch for the transfer of sovereignty from the Netherlands to Indonesia. See also PEMERINTAH DARURAT RE- PUBLIK INDONESIA (PDRI); SUDIRMAN. [0661, 0674, 0686, 0807]

ROMUSHA (Japanese, “laborer”). Forced laborers drafted from October 1943 by the Japanese occupation authorities especially on Java for work on defense and other projects not only on Java and Sumatra but also in many parts of Southeast Asia. Perhaps 200,000–500,000 were taken to work in appalling conditions with high death rates. Only 70,000 are known to have survived, and many were left stranded in various parts of the region by the end of World War II. The social dislocation caused by the removal of romusha from Javanese society contributed both to the hatred of officials involved in recruiting and to the sense of crisis at the end of the war. Some regarded Sukarno’s role in recruiting as constitut- ing a war crime. See also LABOR. [0646, 0649, 0653, 0663]

RONGGOWARSITO, RADEN NGABEI (1802–1873). Court poet of Surakarta and author of the Paramayoga and the Pustakaraja Purwa, which describe a mythical history of Java from the time of Adam to the year 730 A.J. (see CALENDARS). He is generally regarded as the last of the great Javanese court poets. [0217, 0578]

ROTI. Island near Timor whose people are noted especially for their extensive use of the lontar palm for food and manufacture. The Dutch

378 • ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE East Indies Company (VOC) signed a treaty with local rulers in 1662

in order to obtain a supply base and a possible refuge in its operations in the region. Extensive conversion to Christianity took place in the 18th century, and during the 19th century the Dutch encouraged Christian Rotinese to settle around Kupang on Timor to create a buffer zone against the Timorese. Rotinese also moved extensively into administrative posts. [0029, 1220]

ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE. Following the Roem–van Roijen

Agreement of 7 May 1949 in which the Dutch and the Indonesian Re- public agreed to work toward a settlement on the basis of the Renville Agreement, a Round Table Conference took place in The Hague from 23 August to 2 November 1949 to prepare a formal transfer of sovereignty to a fully independent Indonesia, draft a constitution for the new state, and prepare an agreement of Union between the new state and the Netherlands. The conference was attended by delegates of the Republik Indonesia; of the Bijeenkomst voor Federale Overleg (Federal Consulta- tive Meeting), consisting of representatives of the various negara and daerah (see FEDERALISM); and of the Dutch, with a number of mi- nority representatives attending as “advisors” to the Dutch delegation. In part because of pressure from the United States, the Indonesian delegation to the conference agreed to assume the entire internal debt of the colonial government (approximately US$1.3 billion) as well as $589 million of its external debt. The conference deferred agreement on the status of West New Guinea (West Irian, Papua), which remained tem- porarily under Dutch control. Sovereignty over the remainder of the archipelago was transferred from the Netherlands to the Republik In- donesia Serikat as a result of the conference. [0661, 0674, 1117]

RUBBER (Hevea brasiliensis Euphorbiaceae). Of Brazilian origin, rubber was not cultivated in Indonesia until the 1880s, when plantation production began in East Sumatra. Production began to expand dramatically in the 20th century, and the plantations were joined by numerous small- holders, especially in central and southern Sumatra. Oversupply during the Depression led to an international production agreement that the colonial government implemented very much at the expense of small- holders, but the industry survived to become a major economic pillar for the Republic in Sumatra during the national Revolution. The cutting off of rubber by the Japanese occupation had led to the development of synthetic rubber in the United States, but this did not have a serious im-

RUSSIAN FEDERATION, RELATIONS WITH • 379 pact on rubber markets until 1960. In 1980 Indonesia signed a further in-

ternational rubber agreement intended to stabilize prices. After the out- break of AIDS, the rubber industry benefited considerably from the increased demand for rubber gloves and condoms. On 1 January 1989, Indonesia banned the export of some categories of raw rubber to promote domestic processing. Falling rubber prices at the turn of the century led Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to form a Tripartite Rubber Corpo- ration in 2002 in an effort to limit supply and so raise prices. Almost im- mediately, however, rubber prices began to rise, climbing in 2003 to a seven-year high, with the annual average price of 85¢ per lb on the Sin- gapore commodity exchange in 2003, up from 47¢ in 2001. [0316, 0317, 0324, 0331, 0332, 0817, 1118, 1170]

RUKUN TETANGGA (lit., neighborhood basis or foundation). Adminis- trative division below the village level, formed initially during the Japanese occupation as tonari-gumi and reestablished in 1954, they are especially important for social control and the marshaling of popular par- ticipation in government projects. [0663]

RUMPHIUS (Georg Everhard Rumpf) (1628?–1702). Born in Germany,

he was recruited by the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) and in 1653 posted to Ambon. He pioneered botanical investigation of the archipelago with his posthumously published Herbarium Amboinense (6 vols., 1741–1750), much of which he completed after he fell blind in 1670. He also devised for the Ambonese an improved method of processing sago. See also UPAS. [1189]

RUSSIAN FEDERATION, RELATIONS WITH. Over the 13 years following the visit of Suharto to the Soviet Union in September 1989, there were few direct ties between Indonesia and the new Russian Federation, and total trade between the two countries amounted only to approximately US$203 million. On 25 September 2002, however, the Indonesian foreign minister on an official visit to Moscow attended the first session of the Joint Commission of the Republic of Indonesia–Russian Federa- tion, where efforts were initiated to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, particularly in the fields of economy and trade but also with respect to technology, agriculture, and security measures. The commission held a second session in Indonesia the following February, Pres- ident Megawati Sukarnoputri paid a visit to Russia in April, and that same month a much-criticized deal was made for Indonesia to buy six Russian-made combat aircraft.

380 • SABANG TO MERAUKE, FROM

–S–

SABANG TO MERAUKE, FROM. The symbolic dimensions of the In- donesian Republic. Sabang is a port town on Pulo Weh off the north- western tip of Sumatra, and Merauke is in the far southeastern corner of

Papua. Used during the Revolution as a simple affirmation of national unity, the phrase later became an assertion especially of Indonesia’s re- jection of Dutch control of West New Guinea (Papua).

SABILILLAH (“Way of God”). Auxiliary wing of the Hizbullah during the Revolution but often forming frontline units in its own right. Many units joined the Darul Islam in 1948. [0648, 0663, 0693]

SADIKIN, ALI (1927–). Marine commander appointed by Sukarno as governor of Jakarta in April 1966. Sadikin’s energetic rule transformed the face of the city: infrastructure such as highways was built, and commercial construction was encouraged. His ruthlessness toward those who stood in the way of a showcase city (becak drivers, kampung dwellers, and the like) was somewhat balanced by his efforts to provide services such as public transport, electricity, and recreation of benefit to much of the population. His legalization of prostitution and use of lotteries as a source of city revenues—29 percent of total city revenue in 1968 (see

GAMBLING)—aroused hostility in Islamic circles, but he retired in 1977, one of the most popular figures in the New Order. His association with the dissident groups who produced the Petition of Fifty was a major source of political concern to the Suharto government. See also LE- GAL AID. [0585, 0733]

PUSAT TENAGA RAKYAT (PUTERA, Center of the People’s Power).