#Countries #Part #Indonesia #Separated
Jakarta –
Apart from East Timor, it turns out there are several other countries that were once part of Indonesia. Complex history and political dynamics are the reasons for various divisions and separation attempts in the archipelago.
What regions were once part of Indonesia and then separated? Here’s the list.
Countries that Separated from Indonesia
Based on historical records, several of these countries were once part of the Indonesian archipelago which later separated from Indonesia:
1. Timor Leste
Before independence, Timor Leste was a province in Indonesia called East Timor Province. This country does have a long history with the Indonesian nation.
During the era of President Soeharto, in 1975 there was an attack on East Timor. This happened because of the political crisis and pressure from the Australian government.
Soeharto included Timor Leste as the 27th province of the Republic of Indonesia. However, the merger of the Timor Leste region did not receive support from the world.
In 1999, President BJ Habibie held a referendum, which was won by the pro-independence group. Thus, Timor Leste separated from Indonesia.
Reporting from the International Development Cooperation Fund (LDKPI), Timor Leste officially became independent from Indonesia on May 20 2002, with its capital being Dili. As of 2021, Timor Leste has an area of 14,874 km2 with a population of 1,413,958 people.
2. Singapore
Quoted from the Journal of Religious Lectures in an article entitled Tumasik: Early History of Islam in Singapore (1200-1511 AD), initially Singapore was called Temasek, Tumasik, or Sea Town.
Its strategic location and being called a trade center made the region targeted by several kingdoms and invaders.
There were several kingdoms that once controlled the Singapore region, namely the Srivijaya kingdom until the end of the 13th century AD, Majapahit until the 14th century AD, Ayutthaya-Thailand in the 15th century AD, the Malacca Sultanate, until the Portuguese occupation in 1511 AD.
3. Filipina
During the Majapahit Kingdom, the Philippines was part of Indonesia.
Quoted from Swantara Lemhannas RI Quarterly Magazine No.11 Year III/December 2014, Majapahit’s territory is very broad, not only covering all the islands that are currently the territory of the Republic of Indonesia.
At that time, the Majapahit naval fleet controlled the entire archipelago, down to the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines.
Majapahit’s political strategy, which wanted to unite the entire archipelago, pushed for the priority of building a strong naval fleet.
Initially, the Majapahit Kingdom was an agricultural kingdom. However, after Gajah Mada was appointed mahapatih, the Majapahit kingdom developed into a maritime kingdom.
4. Malaysia
The maritime glory of the archipelago cannot be separated from the golden era of the Sriwijaya Kingdom. At that time, Sriwijaya was a maritime country where most of its people lived from shipping and trade.
That’s why a number of historians say that Malaysia was once part of the Srivijaya kingdom. The Malaysian region was conquered by the largest maritime empire in the history of the archipelago during the reign of King Balaputradewa.
5. Brunei Darussalam
In the book Negarakertagama written by the Majapahit kingdom in 1365, the name Brunei is listed in it as the Buruneng region. This area was controlled by the Majapahit Kingdom, after Patih Gajah Mada was ambitious in carrying out his Palapa Oath.
Apart from Majapahit, the Srivijaya Kingdom also controlled the Brunei Darussalam region. In fact, the name “Vijayanegar” is mentioned in several settlements in Brunei Bay.
6. Cambodia
The Sriwijaya Kingdom conquered the Cambodian region. Its vast and strategic territory means Sriwijaya can easily sell natural products and economic resources in the region.
In historical records, Sriwijaya’s power in the Cambodian region came from a priest named I Tsing (he also lived in this kingdom).
These are several countries that used to be Indonesian territory and then separated themselves. There are countries that separated after Indonesia became independent, there are also those that were separated since the kingdom era. Hopefully this adds to your insight into history, detikers.
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(khq/inf)
