My Country

Indonesia

Republic of Indonesia is a country in the world's largest archipelago consisting of 17,504 islands (including the 9634 islands that have not been given the name and the 6000 islands are uninhabited). Here are 3 of the 6 largest island in the world, namely: Borneo (the third largest island in the world with an area of 539.460 km2), Sumatra (473,606 km2) and Papua (421.981 km2).


Indonesia is the largest maritime countries in the world with a water area of 93 thousand km2 and the length of the beach around 81 thousand km2, or almost 25% long beach in the world.
 
Java is the world's most populous island, where about 60% almost the population of Indonesia (about 130 jt people) live on the island that the width is only 7% of the entire territory of Indonesia. Indonesia is a country with the largest tribes in the world. There are more than 740 tribes / ethnic, which in Papua alone there were 270 tribes. Countries with the largest regional languages, namely, 583 languages and dialects of the 67 main languages used by various tribes in Indonesia. National language is Indonesian, although local language with the most number of users in Indonesia is the Javanese language.
Buddhist monument (temple) is the world's largest Borobudur temple in Central Java with a height 42 meters (10 levels) and long-relief more than 1 km. Estimated to be over 40 years by Sailendra Dynasty during the ancient Mataram kingdom (750-850). The oldest ancient human found in the world, namely: Pithecanthropus Erectusâ €?? estimated from 1.8 million years ago. 

Republic of Indonesia is the country's first born after World War II in 1945. RI is the 70th oldest state in the world. Indonesia is the first country (until now the only one) that ever came out of the United Nations (UN) on January 7, 1965 date. RI to join back to the United Nations in 1966. Indonesian badminton team is the most won badminton men supremacy symbol, Thomas Cup, which is as many as 13 x (the first time last years 1958 & 2002). Indonesia is a producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world (20% of world supply) is also the second largest tin producer. 

Indonesia is ranked 1st in agricultural products, namely: Clove (cloves) & nutmeg (nutmeg), and No. 2 in the natural rubber (Natural Rubber) and crude palm oil (Crude Palm Oil). Indonesia is the largest exporter of plywood (plywood), which is about 80% in world markets.  Coral Reef (Coral Reef) Indonesia is the richest (18% of the total world). Indonesia has the most shark species are 150 species in the world. Biodiversity Orchid terbeser world: 6 thousand species of orchids, ranging from the largest (or Tiger Orchid Grammatophyllum speciosum) to the smallest (Taeniophyllum, which leaves no), including the rare Black Orchid, and only occurred in Papua.
Having the largest mangrove forest in the world. This plant is useful lo prevent sea water erosion / abrasion. Animals surviving ancient: Komodo dragons are found only on Komodo island, East Nusa Tenggara is the largest lizard in the world. Length bias reaches 3 meters and weighs 90 kg. Rafflesia arnoldi growing in Sumatra is the largest flower in the world. When the flowers bloomed, reaching 1 meter in diameter. Having the world's smallest primate, the Pygmy Tarsier (Tarsius pumilus) or Mount Tarsier also called the length is only 10 cm. Monkey-like animal that lives on trees and have in Sulawesi.
The discovery of the world's longest snake is, Python Reticulates along 10 meters in Sulawesi. The world's smallest fish found recently in the muddy swamps of Sumatra. 7.9 mm long as adults, or approximately mosquitoes.


History
Fossilized remains of Homo erectus, popularly known as the "Java Man", suggest that the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited two million to 500,000 years ago.

Austronesian people, who form the majority of the modern population, migrated to South East Asia from Taiwan. They arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE, and as they spread through the archipelago, confined the native Melanesian peoples to the far eastern regions. Ideal agricultural conditions, and the mastering of wet-field rice cultivation as early as the eighth century BCE, allowed villages, towns, and small kingdoms to flourish by the first century CE. Indonesia's strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island and international trade. For example, trade links with both Indian kingdoms and China were established several centuries BCE. Trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history.


 
The nutmeg plant is native to Indonesia's Banda Islands. Once one of the world's most valuable commodities, it drew the first European colonial powers to Indonesia.

From the seventh century CE, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished as a result of trade and the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism that were imported with it. Between the eighth and 10th centuries CE, the agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties thrived and declined in inland Java, leaving grand religious monuments such as Sailendra's Borobudur and Mataram's Prambanan. The Hindu Majapahit kingdom was founded in eastern Java in the late 13th century, and under Gajah Mada, its influence stretched over much of Indonesia; this period is often referred to as a "Golden Age" in Indonesian history.

Although Muslim traders first traveled through South East Asia early in the Islamic era, the earliest evidence of Islamized populations in Indonesia dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra. Other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam, and it was the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century. For the most part, Islam overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences, which shaped the predominant form of Islam in Indonesia, particularly in Java. The first Europeans arrived in Indonesia in 1512, when Portuguese traders, led by Francisco Serrão, sought to monopolize the sources of nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku.[22]Dutch East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant European power. Following bankruptcy, the VOC was formally dissolved in 1800, and the government of the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies as a nationalized colony.

For most of the colonial period, Dutch control over the archipelago was tenuous outside of coastal strongholds; only in the early 20th century did Dutch dominance extend to what was to become Indonesia's current boundaries. Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation during World War II and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. Two days after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, Sukarno, an influential nationalist leader, declared independence and was appointed president. The Netherlands tried to reestablish their rule, and an armed and diplomatic struggle ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure, the Dutch formally recognized Indonesian independence (with the exception of The Dutch territory of West New Guinea, which was incorporated following the 1962 New York Agreement, and UN-mandated Act of Free Choice).


 
 Sukarno, Indonesia's founding president

Sukarno moved from democracy towards authoritarianism, and maintained his power base by balancing the opposing forces of the Military and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). An attempted coup on 30 September 1965 was countered by the army, who led a violent anti-communist purge, during which the PKI was blamed for the coup and effectively destroyed. Between 500,000 and one million people were killed. The head of the military, General Suharto, out-maneuvered the politically weakened Sukarno, and was formally appointed president in March 1968. His New Order administration[33] was supported by the US government, and encouraged foreign direct investment[35] However, the authoritarian "New Order" was widely accused of corruption and suppression of political opposition. In 1997 and 1998, Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the Asian Financial Crisis. This increased popular discontent with the New Order and led to popular protests. Suharto resigned on 21 May 1998. In 1999, East Timor voted to secede from Indonesia, after a twenty-five-year military occupation that was marked by international condemnation of often brutal repression of the East Timorese. Since Suharto's resignation, a strengthening of democratic processes has included a regional autonomy program, and the first direct presidential election in 2004. Political and economic instability, social unrest, corruption, and terrorism have slowed progress. Although relations among different religious and ethnic groups are largely harmonious, acute sectarian discontent and violence remain problems in some areas. A political settlement to an armed separatist conflict in Aceh was achieved in 2005 Dutch and British traders followed. In 1602 the Dutch established the The ended Dutch rule, in Indonesia, which was a major factor in the subsequent three decades of substantial economic growth.








Government and politics 

Indonesia is a republic with a presidential system. As a unitary state, power is concentrated in the central government. Following the resignation of President Suharto in 1998, Indonesian political and governmental structures have undergone major reforms. Four amendments to the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia have revamped the executive, judicial, and legislative The president of Indonesia is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, and the director of domestic governance, policy-making, and foreign affairs. The president appoints a council of ministers, who are not required to be elected members of the legislature. The 2004 presidential election was the first in which the people directly elected the president and vice president. The president may serve a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms.



A session of the People's Representative Council in Jakarta

The highest representative body at national level is the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). Its main functions are supporting and amending the constitution, inaugurating the president, and formalizing broad outlines of state policy. It has the power to impeach the president. The MPR comprises two houses; the People's Representative Council (DPR), with 560 members, and the Regional Representative Council (DPD), with 132 members. The DPR passes legislation and monitors the executive branch; party-aligned members are elected for five-year terms by proportional representation. Reforms since 1998 have markedly increased the DPR's role in national governance. The DPD is a new chamber for matters of regional management.

Most civil disputes appear before a State Court; appeals are heard before the High Court. The Supreme Court is the country's highest court, and hears final cassation appeals and conducts case reviews. Other courts include the Commercial Court, which handles bankruptcy and insolvency; a State Administrative Court to hear administrative law cases against the government; a Constitutional Court to hear disputes concerning legality of law, general elections, dissolution of political parties, and the scope of authority of state institutions; and a Religious Court to deal with specific religious cases.branches.