Indonesian Slang. Christopher Torchia

him the tail!” they said. Kasih dia pecut!

      

Tapol (acronym) TAhanan POLitik

      Political prisoners.

      The tens of thousands of people arrested for alleged links with the communist movement.

      Tapol fell into three categories. Golongan A (Category A) were high-level communist planners suspected of plotting against the government. They were prosecuted. Golongan B were mid-level suspects, many of whom were jailed without trial. Golongan C were accused of sympathizing with the communists, but were not considered a serious threat. Thousands of civil servants fell into Golongan C, and were fired, passed over for promotions and transfers, or were docked pay. They were Tapol kelas teri (small fry political prisoners).

      Accused communist supporters who were released from jail carried national identity cards that read ET, or Ex-Tapol. Those with an ET stamp had trouble getting jobs or bank loans.

      After Suharto was ousted, successor B.J. Habibie released many tapol. The president who followed him, Abdurrahman Wahid, freed the rest.

      The communist party remains banned in Indonesia, and former political prisoners still face discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled that former communists can run for office beginning in 2009.

      

Orde Baru

      New Order.

      Indonesia’s experiment with parliamentary democracy in the 1950s was chaotic. The country entered a new period of stability after the tumult of the mid-1960s. President Suharto developed strong ties with the West, and the economy improved. The military was heavily involved in all aspects of government. This was Orde Baru, also known by its acronym Orba. Orde refers to a system, or set of rules. Suharto’s government disparaged the years under his predecessor, Sukarno, as the Old Order (Orde Lama).

      Orde Baru lasted until Suharto was toppled in a 1998 upheaval reminiscent of the one that brought down Sukarno. By that time, state corruption and repression had tainted the New Order label.

      

Pembangunan

      “Development” = A slogan of the New Order government.

      Suharto attracted foreign capital and steered Indonesia’s economic growth rate into double digits. Resource-rich Indonesia profited from rising oil prices, and achieved self-sufficiency in rice production in 1984, though it later resumed imports.

      Posters carried the slogan along with an image of a smiling Suharto as Bapak Pembangunan (Father of Development). He was usually clad in a farmer’s caping (a coned, straw hat), holding aloft an ear of rice.

      Suharto mentioned Pembangunan in speeches and orchestrated chats in public. The slogan showed up in schoolbooks and cinema advertisements before the showing of feature films. Development was also a theme under Sukarno, who sought to lift Indonesia out of its colonial-era poverty.

      

Tinggal landas

      “Take off” = A New Order slogan.

      Suharto wanted Indonesia to ascend to the ranks of developed countries like an airplane taking off from a runway. The term was listed in the 1989 Gramedia Indonesian–English dictionary, one of the most widely available dictionaries in Indonesia. The dictionary describes how the 6th five-year economic development plan will enable Indonesia to “take off” and attain the status of an industrialized nation. The end of that plan coincided with the beginning of the economic crisis that helped end Suharto’s rule.

      A third, unrevised edition of the Gramedia dictionary came out in 2004, long after the demise of five-year plans. It included Tinggal landas, which is still used by local authorities in speeches and development plans.

      

Semut hitam

      “Black ants” = Hard workers.

      Manpower Minister Sudomo promoted the black ant as a symbol of productivity in the 1980s. A huge drawing of a grinning black ant in a hard hat once stood in front of the Department of Manpower. The industriousness of the ant matched the government’s creed of fast economic development. The rights of workers got short shrift. The government banned independent labor unions, and jailed many labor activists.

      

Pahlawan devisa

      Foreign exchange hero.

      The New Order government said Indonesian migrant workers were heroes because they funneled revenue back into their country. Indonesia’s leaders still use the term.

      Hundreds of thousands of people leave Indonesia annually to seek work elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and in the Middle East.

      Working abroad can be perilous for Indonesians who don’t know foreign languages and cultures. Many are illegal immigrants, and don’t have the resources to defend themselves if trouble looms. Most get menial work for little pay. Indonesian men work as plantation or construction workers, and women work as maids. Indonesians usually earn half the wages made by Filipino workers, who are better educated and skilled, and speak better English. Indonesian migrant workers still make three times more than what they would earn in Indonesia.

      These expatriate workers are usually called TKI (Tenaga kerja Indonesia; Indonesian workers), or TKW (Tenaga Kerja Wanita; women workers) because most of them are women.