Greater Indonesia

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Map of Greater Indonesia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and

East Timor
Greater Indonesia, or in Indonesian and Malaysian, Indonesia Raya or Melayu Raya,
was a political concept that sought to bring the so-called Malay race together by
uniting the British territories of Malaya and Borneo with the Dutch East Indies.[1]
It was espoused by students and graduates of Sultan Idris Training College for
Malay Teachers in the late 1920s, and individuals from Sumatra and Java including
Muhammad Yamin and Sukarno in the 1950s.[1] Indonesia Raya (Greater Indonesia) is
also the name of the Indonesian national anthem.

Contents [hide]
1 Development of idea in colonial era
2 World War II
3 Confrontation and the Greater Indonesia ideal
4 Contemporary events
5 See also
6 References
Development of idea in colonial era[edit]
The Pan-Malay union was based on understandings on similarities in race, shared
language, religion and culture among ethnic groups in Maritime Southeast Asia. The
ancient concept of Alam Melayu or Nusantara advocates an historical awareness that
the territory of British Malaya, British Borneo and the Dutch East Indies were once
united, to a degree, under native empires such as Srivijaya, Majapahit, the Malacca
Sultanate, Johor-Riau Sultanate and various other sultanates in Borneo island.

At the end of the 1920s, the idea to form a new independent nation grew among the
people of Dutch East Indies, especially among educated pribumi (native Indonesian).
While in the Malay peninsula, the idea of Greater Malay was proposed. In the Dutch
East Indies, the activist youth of Indonesian nationalists were more interested in
forming an independent Indonesia. In 1928 the Youth Pledge was declared in Batavia
(today Jakarta) by Indonesian nationalist youth activists proclaiming three ideals;
one motherland, one nation, and support one unifying language.[2]

The Malay nationalist Kesatuan Melayu Muda group, founded in 1938 by Ibrahim Hj
Yaacob, was one of the more notable entities that embraced the concept as part of
its goals.[3]

World War II[edit]

During World War II advocates of Greater Indonesia collaborated with the Japanese
against the British and the Dutch.[4] The co-operation was based on the
understanding that Japan would unite the Dutch East Indies, Malaya and Borneo and
grant them independence.[4] It was understood that under a unified Japanese
occupation of these areas, the formation of Greater Indonesia was possible.[4]

In January 1942, Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM) requested the Japanese to grant Malaya
the independence the Japanese had promised earlier. This was the first request for
Malayan independence by a Malaya-wide political body. The request however was
turned down.[5] The Japanese authorities instead disbanded Kesatuan Melayu Muda and
established the Pembela Tanah Ayer (also known as the Malai Giyu Gun or by its
Malay acronym PETA) militia in its stead.

In July 1945 the KRIS (Kesatuan Rakyat Indonesia Semenanjung) or Indonesian

Peninsular People Union, that later the name would be changed to Kekuatan Rakyat
Indonesia Istimewa (Special Indonesian People Force) was formed in British Malaya
under the leadership of Ibrahim Yaacob and Dr. Burhanuddin Al-Hemy with the aim to
achieve independence from Great Britain and union with Republic of Indonesia. This
plan has been consulted with Sukarno and Hatta.[6]

On 12 August 1945, Ibrahim Yaacob met with Sukarno, Hatta and Dr. Radjiman in
Taiping, Perak. Sukarno transited in Taiping airport on his flight back from Saigon
back to Jakarta. Previously Sukarno was summoned by Field Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi
in Dalat to discuss about the Indonesian independence and to receive direct
statement from Terauchi that Japanese Empire permitted the independence of
Indonesia.[7] During this meeting Yaacob expressed his intention to unite Malay
Peninsula into independent Indonesia. It was in this short conference that Sukarno,
flanked by Hatta, shook hands with Ibrahim Yaacob and said, 'Let us form one single
Motherland for all the sons of Indonesia'.[8]

However, on 15 August 1945 Emperor Hirohito declared the surrender of Japanese

Empire through radio broadcast. Promptly, Sukarno and Hatta proclaimed Indonesian
Republic independence on 17 August 1945. Accused as collaborator, on 19 August
Ibrahim Yaacob flew in Japanese military aeroplane to Jakarta. Yaacob sought refuge
in Jakarta with his wife Mariatun Haji Siraj, his in-law Onan Haji Siraj and Hassan
Manan. Ibrahim Yaacob that fought for the unity of Malay Peninsula into Indonesia
then resides in Jakarta until his death in 1979.

With the surrender of Japan in August 1945, former Kesatuan Melayu Muda cadres
formed the nucleus of the emerging political movements like the Malay Nationalist
Party, Angkatan Pemuda Insaf, and Angkatan Wanita Sedar.[9][10][11] With the fall
of Japanese power in August 1945, and its key advocates are accused as traitors and
Japanese collaborators in Malaya, the ideas of the union between the peninsula with
Indonesia were faded and almost forgotten in Malay peninsula.[6]

On the other hand, after the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, through armed
battles in Indonesian National Revolution between 19451949, the Republic of
Indonesia finally gained recognition of sovereignty from the Netherlands during
DutchIndonesian Round Table Conference in 1949. While across the straits after
Japanese occupation the Malay Peninsula returned to British control.

Confrontation and the Greater Indonesia ideal[edit]

After the end of World War II, the idea of Greater Indonesia was little heard until
more than ten years later. In the late 1950s, Sukarno strongly opposed the British
decolonisation initiative involving the formation of the Federation of Malaysia
that would comprise the Malay Peninsula and North Borneo. That hostile political
stance led to the IndonesiaMalaysia Confrontation in the early 1960s that was
manifested in an undeclared war with small scale transborder battles and military
infiltration in Borneo. Sukarno accused the new nation of Malaysia of being a
British puppet state aimed at establishing neo-imperialism and neo-colonialism in
Southeast Asia, and also at containing Indonesian ambition to be the regional
hegemonic power. However, it was also suggested that Sukarno's campaign against the
formation of Malaysia was actually motivated by a desire to unite the Malay
Peninsula and the whole island of Borneo under Indonesian rule and to complete the
previously abandoned idea of Greater Indonesia.

In late 1965, the failed 30 September Movement coup attempt caused Sukarno to fall
from power and General Suharto to seize power in Indonesia. Because of this
internal conflict, Indonesia lost its desire to continue its hostile policy against
Malaysia, and therefore the war ended. On 28 May 1966, a conference held in Bangkok
secured an agreement between the Federation of Malaysia and Republic of Indonesia
to resolve the conflict. The violence ended in June, and the peace deal was signed
on 11 August and officially recognised two days later. With this treaty, Indonesia
and Malaysia officially agreed to be two separate national entities that mutually
recognised each other's existence and sovereignty.

Contemporary events[edit]