Deja Vu: Indonesia’s ongoing political conflicts are rooted in its past, according to author of new historical book ‘Majapahit’
Indonesia’s ongoing protests began late last month in response to controversial legislation that aimed to reserve power for outgoing President Joko Widodo’s two sons and prevent a leading government critic from running for governor of Jakarta.
At many locations across the world’s third-largest democracy, young protesters, mostly university students, demonstrated outside government buildings. Protests in capital city Jakarta took place at the gates of the House of Representatives, with violence breaking out between police and demonstrators in the afternoon and lasting through the late evening.
Some protests in Central Java featured banners with the words “Kita Tolak, Masa Pahit” written on them. The phrase translates to “We Reject Bitter Times” and its historical reference was instantly recognised by author Herald van der Linde.
“They say, ‘We do not want to see the dynasty stuff that we’ve seen in the past. We reject that,’” he explained.
“Masa Pahit” is a direct reference to the Majapahit Empire that lasted from 1290 to 1520, a near 200-year period where dynasties and power struggles dominated Indonesian life. Majapahit also happens to be both the title and subject of Linde’s latest book, Majapahit: Intrigue, Betrayal and War in Indonesia’s Greatest Empire (2024).
Sitting alongside Professional Committee member Philip Bowring, Linde delivered a detailed explanation on the history and cultural significance of Majapahit, as well as the writing process that brought this book to life.
Linde works full-time as HSBC’s Chief Asia Equity Strategist, but in his spare time, he travels frequently to Indonesia. He’s even fluent in Indonesian, as well as English and Dutch, and has earned the nickname “The Flying Dutchman” for his frequent travels around the region.
He spent three years digging into historical archives across Indonesia, searching for everything he could find, including not just information about the Majapahit era, but also historical events leading up to this empire and its impact on the rest of Asia.
None of the information he found was in English, yet his book is. Majapahit has now become the first-ever English-language publication on the subject, a fact that Bowring pointed out early on in the discussion.
“In the English language and among English-language academics, there is a profound ignorance of the whole history of the Indonesian archipelago,” Bowring said when recalling trying to write a chapter about Majapahit for his own book Empire of the Winds (2019).
Majapahit’s long history can be summarised into two themes: division and reunification.
Pre-Majapahit leaders attempted to divide Indonesia in order to distribute power, but could never truly accomplish this task due to the legendary tamarind tree that once stood in what is now Jakarta.
While the country was never truly divided, Linde explained that there are major differences in culture, language, and religion that stretched across Majapahit — differences that are still reflected in modern Indonesia. He specifically referenced West Java.
“Even today, West Java is separated to a certain extent,” Linde said.
Despite its differences, Linde elaborated on how Indonesia preserves itself by remaining tolerant towards all of its ethnic and religious groups. This value was instilled after the fall of the Majapahit Empire, which coincided with the “birthday” of modern Indonesia.
“Majapahit, to a large extent, created Southeast Asia as we know it very much today. That’s why I think it deserved about three years of my life to write the book,” he concluded.
To watch the full discussion, please visit our YouTube channel:
