Search

The article reports on an order issued by Indonesian Finance Minister Sjafruddin Prawiranegara for Indonesians to use their scissors and cut their paper money in half above five guiders. Under his plan, the left halves of the money will be legal tender at half the face value through April 9, 1950. Meanwhile, the right halves of the money will be redeemable for 3 percent government bonds.

The article offers information on the condition of the Dutch companies in Indonesia after securing its independence. It states that Indonesia for long, has been the center for Dutch investments. It mentions that most of the Dutch companies are turning to holding operation. It highlights that the Indonesian nationalists, supported by Communists are behind closing the Dutch plantations and offices. It states that this has affected several Dutch workers who have returned to Holland from Indonesia.

The article reports on the impact of the conflict between Malaysia and Indonesia on the economic condition in Malaysia. It states that the threats posed by Indonesian President Sukarno have caused few foreign investors to be cautious and affected tourism. However, it is noted that the government has managed to attract more foreign investors, resulting to the 40% increase in the return on capital and the creation of various development programs.

A photograph of Dutch East Indies villagers collecting discarded gasoline barrels, bicycle frames and other junked iron materials for export to Batavia as Japanese and Chinese buyers scour for old iron to convert them into shot and shell is presented.

The article reports on the lavish preparations during the cremation of Balinese feudal lord Rajah Ide Anak Agung Ngurah Agung . Accordingly, Agung had ordered the most festive form of cremation ceremony practiced by the Hindus of Bali called Karye Pitra-Yadnje Palebon first class before he died. It adds that President Sukarno of Indonesia deplored the celebration as an unnecessary extravagance, but the Gianjar people did not heed.

The article offers information on the civil unrest in Indonesia. It is stated that the country is under the threat of military dictatorship as the marauders, who fought against the Dutch, are laying waste to farms and plantations and starving the cities for food. Moreover, it is stated that there is widespread labor unrest in the country, caused partly due to shortage of rice and other necessities.

The order freezing Japanese assets in the United States, supported by parallel action in Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Dutch East Indies, was a direct answer to Tokyo's move, and it followed by one day a formal statement by Acting Secretary of State Welles denouncing Japan's aggression in the South Pacific as a threat to American interests and possessions. In view of the growing concentration of control of the means of disseminating information, the Federal Communications Commission is rendering a public service in beginning an investigation of the relations between the press and the radio.

The article offers information on the house arrest of "Indonesia Raya" newspaper editor Mochtar Lubis. It states that the house arrest is ordered by President Achmad Sukarno and is based on the views of Lubis regarding the efforts of Sukarno towards Communism in Indonesia. It mentions that the newspaper was banned due to Lubis' arrest, however; it committed that it will continue to present the truth for the people which can be regarded as a risky and lonely mission.

The article shares how the author and his partner B. Kenneth Johnstone made Javanese Batiks in Bali, Indonesia by painting on silk. The materials they used for silk painting, which requires patience and careful planning, include Japanese white silk, dye, beeswax, heater, brushes, and gasoline. Procedures and considerations for designing are provided and some of the author's silk paintings, including "Balinese Procession" and "Earth Mother", are presented.

This article focuses on U.S. Democratic Congressman Adam Clayton Powell's visit to the Bandung conference that took place on April 8, 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia. He says the U.S. did not send greetings to the conference. Official messages of good-will poured in immediately from Soviet Russia. The "Indonesian Observer" of April 19 ran on its front page the headline, "United States Refuses to Send Message to Asian-African Conference," and on the following page "Best Wishes for Asian-African Conference From the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." The Premier of Canada also sent official greetings to the conference.

The article reports that Indonesia has violated the crude oil price freeze agreement by lifting its price to 11.70 dollars from the agreed amount of 10.80 dollars per barrel.

The article offers information on the investments of foreign oil companies to increase the productivity of the petroleum industry in Indonesia.

Presents a letter to the editor about Indonesian revolts.

The article focuses on Wang Jen-shu, Communist China's first ambassador to the new Republic of Indonesia, who has been tasked to woo about 2,000,000 Chinese in Indonesia to become Indonesian citizens. According to the author, the ambassador had a disturbing habit of drinking from a bottle in public. It has been discovered that he wrote a book in 1948 advocating the overthrow of the Indonesian government over its failure to represent the people.

The article reports on the liberation of Indonesia from President Sukarno's twenty years of misrule. It states that Indonesia has changed not only its government but also its political direction with its new leader Suharto. It details Suharto's plans and moves for the development of the country including calling off its undeclared war with Malaysia and revived its friendship with other neighbors. It adds that Suharto's regime intends to maintain strict neutrality between West and East.

As the Republics red-and-white flag rises over the two-thousand-mile crescent of Indonesia's verdant islands in 1949, Indonesia's millions cheer it as a symbol of their formal independence. Still they fear lest under the terms of their agreement with the Dutch, the Hague will still have too great a voice in Indonesian affairs. Although the Dutch did not obtain the overlordship for which they strove, they have kept enough influence in significant areas to curtail Indonesia's freedom of action. Through their investment of about three and a half billion guilders in key industries the Dutch can easily dominate the islands' economy. Their administrative control is continued by the provision that the new government is to take over the whole Dutch bureaucracy for a minimum of two years.

The article compares the policies advocated by the U.S. National Defense Department towards the Far East with that of the U.S. State Department. The non-military approach is represented by Secretary of State Dean Acheson, who advocates economic security with Indonesia and India as the key powers. The other group is led by National Defense Secretary Louis Johnson, who advocates giving aid to anti-Communist countries and building a defense system around Japan. The role of Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek in the debate is also discussed.

The article reports on the move of Indonesian President Sukarno to withdraw from the United Nations (UN). It cites the possibility that Sukarno may join China to drive the Anglo-American presence out of Southeast Asia. Moreover, it is argued that Sukarno might intensify his effort to attack Malaysia following his withdrawal from the organization that played an important role in achieving the Indonesian independence from the Netherlands in 1949.

The article looks at an attempt by China and the Soviet Union to turn Indonesia a Communist arsenal that poses a threat to U.S. foreign policy and other Southeast Asian countries. Indonesia is being led by neutralist President Sukarno, who has resisted Soviet pressure to include Communists in his inner cabinet. However, Sukarno has accepted Soviet military equipment, including jet fighters and bombers. The question of U.S. aid eventually became a challenging one.

At and preceding SEATO meetings, the Secretary voiced his usual dark apprehensions of "new aggressive Communist plans" for subversion in Asia. He had some kind words, however, for the Moslem Association, which was preparing a revolt in Central Sumatra, Indonesia. This revolt clearly could not be termed subversive since it was directed against the "guided democracy," of an Indonesian President in which the Communists are collaborators. Other ingredients in the Indonesian brew are the economic and political difficulties of the regime of its President.

This article presents news including the policy of the administration of United States President John F. Kennedy on foreign trade, an address made to the associated press by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy regarding the opinion of the United States by Indonesia and Japan, and the practice of sending African Americans from Louisiana up to the northern states to burden the northern relief agencies.

The article presents world news briefs as of March 28, 1960. Accused criminal Caryl Chessman is scheduled to be executed in April 1960, although he has appealed the execution eight times. The U.S. and the Soviet Union have been discussing a ban on nuclear weapons testing. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev visited Indonesia but was reportedly not met with enthusiasm.

The article presents some political and military updates. It says that if the Dutch are allowed enough time to carry out their plans, they may succeed in making aggression look like quite a gentlemanly performance. When the United nation's Security Council asked the Netherlands government for an immediate cease-fire, Prime Minister Willem Drees replied mildly that there was no hurry and that he had better be allowed to make his contemplated visit to Indonesia before anything was done. In the meantime, Dutch troops will have completed their occupation of the country. Then, when the independent Indonesian Republic has been destroyed, hostilities can cease, the imprisoned Indonesian leaders will be released and the Dutch government will report to the Security Council that all is quiet again.

Presents several editorials which discuss different subjects. "The Shape of Things" which discussed economic conditions in Great Britain and how the country's exporting industry will effect all countries in the Western Hemisphere; "The Ruhr Reborn," which discussed the effect of British occupation of the Ruhr countries including Germany; "Aggression in Indonesia," which discussed the dutch invasion of Indonesia.

The article presents news briefs and commentary on international and U.S. politics as of the week of August 1, 1955. U.S. political opinion concerning international relations meetings, particularly between China and the U.S. are discussed. The rising of the minimum wage to $1 is explored. Political instability in Indonesia is described between the military and the civil government.

Focuses on economic conditions in Indonesia during 1973. Statistics related to national growth rate and inflation rate; Steps taken by President of Indonesia General Suharto for economic development of the country; Information on export trade of Indonesia.

This article presents information on social conditions around the world. Part of the nightmare of history is the "holy war," only now it is not so much a past nightmare as a current reality. The 1965 massacre by Moslems of some hundreds of thousands of Indonesian Communists, real or tarred with a convenient brush, is an especially gruesome instance. In this case Moslem animosity against "atheistic communism" may have played a significant part, but in modern religious conflicts political motivations are paramount. Meanwhile, like their American counterparts, the West German labor unions largely follow the establishment line, disregarding the tensions of the times while trying to protect the status quo.

The article reports on a proposal offered by Communist China to Indonesia for a defense agreement. It informs that Communist China has offered Indonesia for forming a mutual defense pact in Southeast Asia and South Asia. It tells that this agreement will unite the non-Communist countries of these areas with Beijing, China. It further informs about the non-participation of Indonesia in the Southeast Asia conference which was held in September 1954.

This article examines the socioeconomic scene in Indonesia. The author narrates the situation as he came across during a visit to the national capital Jakarta. There seems to be more automobiles in Jakarta now than four years ago. Indonesian petrol is the cheapest (some say the worst) in the world, but cars are not cheap; and yet officials claim that there are close to half a million of them running through Jakarta's streets. Every visitor is puzzled to understand who can afford them. Wages for everybody, including Army officers, are miserably low. The Central Bureau of Statistics gives out that the population now stands at 109.5 million. If the labor estimates are reasonably accurate, there are tremendously more workless than workers in Indonesia.

The article presents information on the political development around the world during the late 1960's. The forced transfer of authority from President Sukarno to Army Chief of Staff General Suharto was probably the best of several bad alternatives in Jakarta, if only because it is closer to the present reality of Indonesian politics. The article also presents information on the Vietnamese war poll that was conducted in the U.S. by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. No President has ever read polls as sedulously as President Johnson. He is conducting the Vietnamese war more or less by poll. This procedure suffers from at least two weaknesses. The first is that the people are entitled to a certain minimum of initiative and leadership from their chief executive. To be popular is surely not his first duty. The second weakness is that the established polls are far from infallible.

The article looks at the changes in Indonesian politics and economics following the downfall of President Sukarno. The new regime of Lieutenant General Suharto is starting to address the nation's economic chaos, while foreign businessmen are testing the country's business conditions. The Dutch company Fokker Aircraft Co. is attempting to revive a deal to build an aircraft assembly plant in the country. It is noted that the country needs austerity measures and foreign aid.

Comments on various foreign news and issues as of January 18, 1964. Success of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro to persuade the Christian Democrats to accept a political venture, the collaboration between Socialists and Catholics; Border dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia; Casualties in the war between Turks and Greeks which was prompted by a proposal by Archbishop Makarios, president of Cyprus and head of the Greek Orthodox Church, amending the Constitution to rob the Turks of their minority veto.

The article offers world news briefs. U.S. analysts suggested that messages of peace delivered by Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung on Russian dictator Joseph Stalin's birthday may indicate unrest between communist nations. A U.S. Senate agricultural subcommittee has issued a report suggesting that rumors of coffee shortages are incorrect. Indonesian President Ahmad Soekarno has appointed a cabinet.