Overseas Indonesian
Encyclopedia
An Overseas Indonesian is a person of Indonesian origin who lives outside of Indonesia. This term applies to people of Indonesian birth and descent who are citizens or residents of temporary status.
or the southern Sulawesi
) arrived in outrigger
sailing canoe
s. The influence of Indonesian culture is still strongly felt in Madagascar, especially in Madagascar language.
One of the migrations dates back to the Srivijaya Empire
when Srivijaya became the key player in Asian-Europe trade. Srivijaya sent people to explore and trade in the South China Sea
rim and Indian Ocean
rim. Many of them settled in Madagascar
, India
, Thailand
, and South Africa
.
In 1300 AD, Minangkabau people, one of the most mobile ethnic in Malay archipelago
, wandering to Malay peninsula
until South Philippines
. The Minangkabau settler were influence people in Malay kingdoms and modern Malaysia.
During the Dutch East Indies
era, many of the Javanese were sent to other Dutch colonies, namely Suriname
and South Africa
, as contract labourers.
Nowadays, many Indonesians go abroad as students, or labourers (known as TKI). Most of them settled in Malaysia, Arab world
, United States
, and Australia
.
and Sulawesi
, which are located in modern-day Indonesia, migrated to the Malay peninsula roughly 700 years ago. In 1300, many Minangkabau people migrated to Malaysia and settled in Negeri Sembilan
. In the 18th century, Pagar Ruyung kingdom appointed Raja Melewar
as Yamtuan Besar
(equivalent to king). In 1402, Parameswara, the Srivijaya prince, migrated to Malay peninsula and founded Sultanate of Malacca. When the Sultanate of Aceh was powerful, the Acehnese people
invaded the Malay peninsula a number of times. Nowadays, an estimated 1,500,000 Indonesians in Malaysia, with millions more of Indonesian descent. Tun Abdul Razak, former Malaysian prime minister, is one of many successful politicians originating from Indonesia in Malaysia.
, a region along the west coast of Saudi Arabia. Among them was Ahmad Khatib
, who served as the Imam
of the Shafi'i
school of law at the mosque known as Masjidil Haram, Mecca
. Today, most of Indonesians in Saudi Arabia are female domestic worker
s, with a minority of other types of labour migrant
s and students. Most of the santri extension studied in Saudi, as well as Al Azhar University in Cairo
.
and Harvard University
are favorite schools for Indonesian people. In the Silicon Valley region of Northern California, there are many professional Indonesian-American engineers in the high-tech industry that are employed in companies such as Cisco Systems
, KLA Tencor
, Google
, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems
, and IBM
. Sehat Sutardja
, CEO of Marvell Technology Group, is one of the success Indonesian professional in USA.
In April 2011 the Special English
service of Voice of America
reported on the push to get more Indonesians to study in the United States.
Singaporean citizens of Indonesian descent make the bulk of the Malay population is Singapore.
. In the early 20th century, many Indonesian students studied in the Netherlands. Most of them lived in Leiden and were active in Indonesian Vereeniging. During the Indonesian National Revolution
, many Moluccans
migrated to the Netherlands. Most of them were ex KNIL army. In this way around 12,500 persons were settled in the Netherlands. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst
, Denny Landzaat
, Roy Makaay
, Mia Audina
, and Daniel Sahuleka
are famous people of Indonesian ancestry in the Netherlands.
in their wooden pinisi
. They would stay in Australia for several months to trade and take tripang (or dried sea cucumber
) before returning to Makassar on the dry season off shore winds. These trading voyages continued until 1907.
. In the 19th century, the Dutch sent the Javanese to Suriname as contract workers in plantations. The most famous person of Indonesian descent is Paul Somohardjo
as the speaker of the National Assembly of Suriname
.
History
Most archaeologists estimate that the human settlement of Madagascar happened between 200 and 500 A.D., when seafarers from Indonesia (probably from KalimantanKalimantan
In English, the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while in Indonesian, the term "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo....
or the southern Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
) arrived in outrigger
Outrigger
An outrigger is a part of a boat's rigging which is rigid and extends beyond the side or gunwale of a boat.In an outrigger canoe and in sailboats such as the proa, an outrigger is a thin, long, solid, hull used to stabilise an inherently unstable main hull. The outrigger is positioned rigidly and...
sailing canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
s. The influence of Indonesian culture is still strongly felt in Madagascar, especially in Madagascar language.
One of the migrations dates back to the Srivijaya Empire
Srivijaya
Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...
when Srivijaya became the key player in Asian-Europe trade. Srivijaya sent people to explore and trade in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
rim and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
rim. Many of them settled in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
In 1300 AD, Minangkabau people, one of the most mobile ethnic in Malay archipelago
Malay Archipelago
The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....
, wandering to Malay peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
until South Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The Minangkabau settler were influence people in Malay kingdoms and modern Malaysia.
During the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
era, many of the Javanese were sent to other Dutch colonies, namely Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, as contract labourers.
Nowadays, many Indonesians go abroad as students, or labourers (known as TKI). Most of them settled in Malaysia, Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Malaysia
Malaysia shares a border with Indonesia and both countries share many aspects of their culture, including mutually intelligible national languages. Populations have long moved between the areas which make up the modern-day states. Many people from SumatraSumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
and Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
, which are located in modern-day Indonesia, migrated to the Malay peninsula roughly 700 years ago. In 1300, many Minangkabau people migrated to Malaysia and settled in Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan, one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia, lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the south....
. In the 18th century, Pagar Ruyung kingdom appointed Raja Melewar
Raja Melewar
Raja Melewar was the first Yamtuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. He was a prince from the state of Minangkabau in Sumatra, Indonesia.-History:...
as Yamtuan Besar
Yamtuan Besar
Yamtuan Besar, also known as Yang di-Pertuan Besar, is the royal title of the ruler of the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan. The ruler of Negeri Sembilan is selected by a council of ruling chiefs in the state, or the datuk-datuk undang. This royal practice has been followed since 1773...
(equivalent to king). In 1402, Parameswara, the Srivijaya prince, migrated to Malay peninsula and founded Sultanate of Malacca. When the Sultanate of Aceh was powerful, the Acehnese people
Acehnese people
The Acehnese are a people in Aceh, Indonesia. Their homeland is located in the northern-most tip of the island of Sumatra and had a history of political struggle against the Dutch...
invaded the Malay peninsula a number of times. Nowadays, an estimated 1,500,000 Indonesians in Malaysia, with millions more of Indonesian descent. Tun Abdul Razak, former Malaysian prime minister, is one of many successful politicians originating from Indonesia in Malaysia.
Saudi Arabia
Indonesian pilgrims have long lived in HejazHejaz
al-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
, a region along the west coast of Saudi Arabia. Among them was Ahmad Khatib
Ahmad Khatib
Shaikh Ahmad Khatib was a Minangkabau Indonesian Islamic teacher. He was born in Koto Gadang, Agam Regency, West Sumatra on 6 Dzulhijjah 1276 H and died in Mecca on 8 Jumadil Awal 1334 H . He served as the head of the Shafi'i school of law at the mosque of Mecca...
, who served as the Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
of the Shafi'i
Shafi'i
The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
school of law at the mosque known as Masjidil Haram, Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. Today, most of Indonesians in Saudi Arabia are female domestic worker
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
s, with a minority of other types of labour migrant
Migrant worker
The term migrant worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world. The United Nations' definition is broad, including any people working outside of their home country...
s and students. Most of the santri extension studied in Saudi, as well as Al Azhar University in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
United States
In the United States, most Indonesians are students and professional. Boston UniversityBoston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
are favorite schools for Indonesian people. In the Silicon Valley region of Northern California, there are many professional Indonesian-American engineers in the high-tech industry that are employed in companies such as Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
, KLA Tencor
KLA Tencor
KLA-Tencor Corporation is a supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. These technologies serve the semiconductor, data storage, LED, photovoltaic, and other related nanoelectronics industries...
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, and IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
. Sehat Sutardja
Sehat Sutardja
Sehat Sutardja , is the CEO, chairman, and co-founder of Marvell Technology Group. He has been awarded more than 150 patents and is a fellow of IEEE. In 2006, Dr. Sutardja was recognized as the Inventor of the Year by the Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Law Association...
, CEO of Marvell Technology Group, is one of the success Indonesian professional in USA.
In April 2011 the Special English
Special English
Special English is a controlled version of the English language first used on October 19, 1959, and still presented daily by the United States broadcasting service Voice of America. World news and other programs are read one-third slower than regular VOA English. Reporters avoid idioms and use a...
service of Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
reported on the push to get more Indonesians to study in the United States.
Singapore
According to the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore, as of 2010 there are 180.000 Indonesian citizens in Singapore. As much as 80.000 work as domestic helper, 10.000 as sailors, and the rest are either students or professional. But the number can be higher as registering one's residence is not compulsory for Indonesians, putting the number to around 200.000 people.Singaporean citizens of Indonesian descent make the bulk of the Malay population is Singapore.
The Netherlands
Indonesia was the colony of the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. In the early 20th century, many Indonesian students studied in the Netherlands. Most of them lived in Leiden and were active in Indonesian Vereeniging. During the Indonesian National Revolution
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire, and an internal social revolution...
, many Moluccans
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
migrated to the Netherlands. Most of them were ex KNIL army. In this way around 12,500 persons were settled in the Netherlands. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni Christiaan van Bronckhorst OON , known as Gio in Spain, is a retired Dutch footballer of Moluccan descent who served as the captain of the Dutch national team from August 2008 until his retirement....
, Denny Landzaat
Denny Landzaat
Denny Domingoes Landzaat is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Dutch Eredivisie club FC Twente.-Early life:Landzaat is born and raised in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
, Roy Makaay
Roy Makaay
Rudolphus "Roy" Antonius Makaay is a retired Dutch footballer. While playing for Bayern Munich he picked up the nickname Das Phantom , for his ability to score out of nowhere.-Career:...
, Mia Audina
Mia Audina
Mia Audina Tjiptawan ; born 22 August 1979) is a former Chinese Indonesian badminton player who represented Indonesia and later the Netherlands in international competitions. A badminton prodigy, Audina first played Uber Cup for Indonesia at fourteen, winning the decisive final match in the...
, and Daniel Sahuleka
Daniel Sahuleka
Daniel Sahuleka is a Dutch musician and singer of South Moluccan and Sundanese-Chinese descent. His Ambonese father Simon Pieter Sahuleka was born 3/2/1919 in Semarang. His Sundanese mother Joassi Charlotte Wilhelmientje Mohanab was born 3/2/1923 in Pontianak...
are famous people of Indonesian ancestry in the Netherlands.
Australia
Before the Dutch and British sailor arrived in Australia. The Indonesian from Southern Sulawesi have been explored Australia northern coast. Each year, the Bugis sailors would sail down on the northwestern monsoonMonsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
in their wooden pinisi
Pinisi
The Pinisi is a traditional Indonesian two masted sailing ship. It was mainly built by the Konjo tribe, a sub-ethnic group of Bugis-Makassar mostly residents at the Bulukumba regency of South Sulawesi but was and currently used widely by the Buginese and Makassarese mostly for transportation and...
. They would stay in Australia for several months to trade and take tripang (or dried sea cucumber
Sea cucumber (food)
Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea used in fresh or dried form in various cuisines.The creature and the food product is commonly known as bêche-de-mer in French, trepang in Indonesian, namako in Japanese and in the Philippines it is called balatan...
) before returning to Makassar on the dry season off shore winds. These trading voyages continued until 1907.
Suriname
The Indonesian people, mainly Javanese, make up 15% of the population SurinameSuriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
. In the 19th century, the Dutch sent the Javanese to Suriname as contract workers in plantations. The most famous person of Indonesian descent is Paul Somohardjo
Paul Somohardjo
Paul Slamet Somohardjo is a Surinamese politician of Javanese descent.In 30 June 2005, Somohardjo was appointed as the speaker of the National Assembly. He is also chairman of the Pertjajah Luhur party.-References:...
as the speaker of the National Assembly of Suriname
National Assembly of Suriname
The National Assembly is the Parliament, representing the legislative branch of government in the Republic of Suriname. It is a unicameral legislature...
.
See also
- Cape MalaysCape MalaysThe Cape Malay community is an ethnic group or community in South Africa. It derives its name from the present-day Western Cape of South Africa and the people originally from Maritime Southeast Asia, mostly Javanese from modern-day Indonesia, a Dutch colony for several centuries, and Dutch...
- Cocos MalaysCocos MalaysCocos Malays are a community that form the predominant group of the Cocos Islands, which is now part of Australia. The Cocos Malays are originated from the descendants of Malay settlers from the British colonies of British Malaya, Singapore, Brunei and the Riau Archipelago of Dutch East Indies.The...
- Overseas AcehneseOverseas AcehneseOverseas Acehnese are people of Acehnese birth or descent who live outside the province of Aceh. Acehnese community can be found most significant in Malaysia. Also there are Acehnese community significantly in Thailand, Singapore, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Scandinavia countries , United States, Canada,...
- Overseas MinangkabauOverseas MinangkabauThe Overseas Minangkabau are people of Minang birth or descent who live outside the province of West Sumatra. Nowadays, over half of the Minangkabau people can be considered Overseas Minangkabaus. They make up the majority of the population of Negeri Sembilan and Pekanbaru...