Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Konfrontasi & Transmigrasi
In the early 1960s, Indonesia's increasingly
radicalised, left-leaning President Soekarno
laid claim to all of Borneo. His response to the
incorporation of northern Borneo into Malay-
sia was an undeclared war dubbed the Kon-
frontasi (literally, 'confrontation'; 1962-66), to
which Indonesians were rallied with the belli-
cose slogan
ganyang Malaysia
(smash Malay-
sia). Soviet-equipped Indonesian armed forces crossed into Sabah and Sarawak from Kali-
mantan. At the height of the conflict, 50,000 troops from Britain, Australia and New Zeal-
and patrolled Sabah and Sarawak's borders with Indonesia. Hundreds of soldiers and ci-
vilians on both sides were killed. When Soekarno's successor, President Soeharto (in of-
fice 1967-98), came to power, he quickly quieted tensions.
Soeharto also expanded the
transmigrasi
(transmigration) policies initiated by the
Dutch in the 1930s, which moved millions of people from densely populated islands such
as Java, Bali and Madura to more remote areas, including Kalimantan. From 1996 to
2001, hundreds of Madurese migrants were killed in attacks by Dayaks, joined at times by
local Malays and Chinese. The conflict made international headlines because of the many
reported cases of headhunting. Long-term, the most insidious effect of
transmigrasi
has
been to marginalise Kalimantan's indigenous communities.
The name 'Borneo', introduced by the Spaniards, is
a mispronunciation of 'Brunei' (or, according to an-
other theory, of
buah nyiur,
Malay for coconut). In
both Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia the en-
tire island is called Kalimantan.
Bruneian Independence
Brunei achieved self-government, except in matters of defence and foreign affairs, in
1971. In 1984 Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah reluctantly led his country to complete inde-
pendence from Britain. A graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he contin-
ues to maintain very close political and military ties with the UK.
TIMELINE
2.5 million BC
Borneo is attached to mainland Southeast Asia, affording plants, insects, animals and
eventually people easy migration routes.
