Topic: INDONESIA
The Flag of Indonesia is a simple bicolor with two equal horizontal bands, red (top) and white
(bottom)
Mother Earth (red) and Father Sky (white)
The flag of Poland has similar dimensions but has the colors reversed: white on top and red
on the bottom
Head of State : President Joko Widodo
Vice President Ma'ruf Amin
Government: Unitary Presidential Constitutional Republic
Legislature: People's Consultative Assembly
Regional Representative Council – Upper House
People's Representative Council – Lower House
Capital : Jakarta
Language : Indonesian
Currency : Rupiah
Indonesia - officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia, between
the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's largest island country, with more
than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometers (735,358 square
miles), the 14th largest by land area and 7th in the combined sea and land area. With over
275 million people, it is the world's 4th most populous country as well as the most
populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more
than half of the country's population.
The sovereign state is a presidential, constitutional republic with an elected legislature. It
has 34 provinces, of which five have special status. Jakarta, the country's capital, is
the second-most populous urban area in the world. The country shares land borders
with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the eastern part of Malaysia. Other neighboring
countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau,
and India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely
populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support a high level of
biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper,
and gold, while agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal
plants, spices, and rubber. China, the United States, Japan, Singapore, and India are
Indonesia's major trading partners.
Government and politics
Indonesia is a republic with a presidential system. Following the fall of the New Order in
1998, political and governmental structures have undergone sweeping reforms, with four
constitutional amendments revamping the executive, legislative and judicial
branches. Delegation of power and authority to various regional entities while remaining a
unitary state is among the most consequential reforms. The President of Indonesia is
the head of state and head of government, commander-in-chief of the Indonesian National
Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI), and the director of domestic governance,
policy-making, and foreign affairs. The president may serve a maximum of two consecutive
five-year terms.
The highest representative body at the national level is the People's Consultative Assembly
(Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat, MPR) . Its main functions are supporting and amending
the constitution, inaugurating and impeaching the president, and formalizing broad outlines
of state policy. The MPR comprises two houses; the People's Representative
Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR), with 575 members, and the Regional
Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah, DPD), with 136. The DPR passes
legislation and monitors the executive branch. Reforms since 1998 have markedly increased
its role in national governance, while the DPD is a new chamber for matters of regional
management.
La Nyalla Mattalitti - Speaker of Regional Representative Council
Puan Maharani - current speaker of the People’s Representative Council
Most civil disputes appear before the State Court (Pengadilan Negeri); appeals are heard
before the High Court (Pengadilan Tinggi). The Supreme Court of Indonesia (Mahkamah
Agung) is the country's highest court, and hears final cessation appeals and conducts case
reviews. Other courts include the Commercial Court, which handles bankruptcy and
insolvency; the State Administrative Court (Pengadilan Tata Negara) to hear administrative
law cases against the government; the Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi) to listen
to disputes concerning legality of law, general elections, dissolution of political parties, and
the scope of authority of state institutions; and the Religious Court (Pengadilan Agama) to
deal with codified Islamic Law (sharia) cases. Additionally, the Judicial Commission (Komisi
Yudisial) monitors the performance of judges.
Muhammad Syarifuddin - current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia since 30
April 2020.
Since 1999, Indonesia has had a multi-party system. In all legislative elections since the fall
of the New Order, no political party has managed to win an overall majority of seats.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which secured the most votes in
the 2014 elections, is the party of the current President, Joko Widodo. The Great Indonesia
Movement Party (Gerindra) is the third-largest political party. Other notable parties include
the Party of the Functional Groups (Golkar), the Democratic Party, and the National
Awakening Party (PKB). Based on the 2014 elections, the DPR consists of 10 political
parties, with a parliamentary threshold of 3.5% of the national vote. The first general election
was held in 1955 to elect members of the DPR and the Constitutional
Assembly (Konstituante). At the national level, Indonesians did not elect a president until
2004. Since then, the president is elected for a five-year term, as are the party-aligned
members of the DPR and the non-partisan DPD. Beginning with 2015 local elections,
elections for governors and mayors have occurred on the same date. As of 2019, both
legislative and presidential elections coincide.
Political divisions
Indonesia has several levels of subdivisions. The first level is the provinces, five out of a total
of 34 have special status. Each has a legislature and an elected governor. The second is the
regencies and cities, led by regents and mayors respectively and a legislature. The third is
the districts , and finally the fourth is the administrative villages. This number has evolved,
with the most recent change being the split of North Kalimantan from East Kalimantan in
2012.
The village is the lowest level of government administration. It is divided into several
community groups, which are further divided into neighborhood groups. In Java, the village
is divided into smaller units called (hamlets), which are the same as RW. Following the
implementation of regional autonomy measures in 2001, regencies and cities have become
chief administrative units, responsible for providing most government services. The village
administration level is the most influential on a citizen's daily life and handles matters of a
village or neighborhood through an elected village chief.
Aceh, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Papua, and West Papua have greater legislative privileges and a
higher degree of autonomy from the central government than the other provinces. Aceh has
the right to create some aspects of an independent legal system, and several regional
parties participate only in elections held there. In 2003, it instituted a form
of sharia. Yogyakarta was granted the status of Special Region in recognition of its pivotal
role in supporting the Republicans during the National Revolution and its willingness to join
Indonesia as a republic. Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya, was granted special
autonomy status in 2001 and was split into Papua and West Papua in 2003. Jakarta is the
country's Special Capital Region.
