SUBJECTS: Civics and Citizenship, History
YEARS: 9–10
How do you distract your citizens from the hardships they face?
You give them a common enemy.
This clip from 1966 reveals the way in which President Sukarno rallied Indonesians behind an undeclared war against Malaysia, which he painted as a puppet of the United Kingdom.
Things to think about
- 1.Which English word does the word 'Konfrontasi' remind you of? Name any other 'undeclared' (or unofficial) wars you can think of. Do they have anything in common?
- 2.Why did Sukarno see Malaysia as a threat to Indonesia? In what way might the Konfrontasi have been seen as a distraction for the Indonesian people? Why might Sukarno have preferred that the war with Malaysia remained 'undeclared'? Referring to what you can see in this clip, how would you describe the mood of the people as they prepared to 'crush' Malaysia? What does this episode in Sukarno's history suggest about him as a leader?
- 3.
Was 'Konfrontasi' an effective way for Sukarno to consolidate his leadership? Why/why not? Why might Sukarno have preferred that the war with Malaysia remained 'undeclared'? War is costly, both in terms of the number of people who are killed and the amount of money that must be spent. Is it ever worth the cost?
Date of broadcast: 7 Sep 1966
Copyright
Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).