Overseas Indonesians

From Justapedia, unleashing the power of collective wisdom
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Overseas Indonesians
Orang Indonesia Perantauan
Flag of Indonesia.svg
Flag of Indonesia
Map of the Indonesian Diaspora in the World.svg
Map of the Indonesian Diaspora in the World
Total population
c. 4,694,484 (2021) (only Indonesia citizen)[1]
c. 9 million (2021) (include Indonesia illegal worker)[2][3]
Regions with significant populations
 Malaysia
 Netherlands
  • est 1,700,000 (2021)[8]
    (including Indonesian ancestry)
  • 352,298 (2021)[9][1]
    (excluding Netherlands-born,
    only Indonesian citizen)
 Saudi Arabia
  • est 1,000,000 (2019)[1][7]
    (including Indonesian ancestry)
  • 600,000 (2018)[10]
    (only Indonesian citizens)
 Taiwanest 300,000 (2020)[11]
 South Africaest 300,000
(including Indonesian ancestry)[12][13]
 Singapore198,444 (2019)[1]
(including Indonesian ancestry)
 Hong Kongest 168,214 (2019)[1][14]
 United Statesest 142,000 (2020)[15]
 United Arab Emirates111,987 (2019)[1]
 Australia92,400 (2020)[16]
 Bruneiest 80,000 (2018)[17]
(excluding Indonesian ancestry)
 Suriname
 Japan66,084 (2020)[20]
 Jordan46,586 (2019)[1]
 South Koreaest 42,000 (2019)[21]
 Chinaest 38,000 (2020)[22]
(only Indonesian legal workers)
 Qatar37,669 (2019)[1]
 Kuwait28,954 (2020)[1]
 Germanyest 24,000 (2021)[23]
 Philippines13,503 (2019)[1]
(including Indonesian ancestry)
 Syria12,904 (2019)[1]
Languages
Indonesian, Regional Languages of Indonesia, English, Dutch, Chinese, Arabic, Afrikaans, German, Japanese, Tagalog, Korean, Papiamento, Cantonese, Taiwanese
Religion
Islam · Christianity · Hinduism · Buddhism · Confucianism · Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Native Indonesians, Dutch Indonesians, Arab Indonesians, Chinese Indonesians
a This number does not include Malaysian citizens of Indonesian descent

Overseas Indonesians are people of Indonesian birth or descent who live outside of Indonesia. As of 2021, there are about 9 million overseas Indonesians globally,[2] 5.3 million undocumented overseas Indonesian workers,[3] 4.7 million overseas Indonesian officially,[1] and 3.254 million overseas Indonesian legal workers.[7]

History

Since ancient times, people from various ethnic groups of Indonesia have been leaving their hometowns to other parts of the world for purposes of trade, education, labor, or travel. During the colonial era, many Indonesians were sent for enslavement by the Dutch East Indies to their other colonies such as Suriname and New Caledonia, while political dissidents against Dutch colonization were sent to South Africa from Indonesia during the 18th century, forming a group known as Cape Malays.[24] Some ethnic groups outside of Indonesia also have Indonesian ancestry; for example, the Malagasy people are descended from Borneo seafarers who traveled to Madagascar from the Malay Archipelago in the 7th and 8th centuries during the peak of the maritime Srivijaya empire.[25]

Merantau

The practice of going abroad has been motivated by the Merantau culture of the Indonesian people since ancient times. Merantau has been associated deeply with the Minangkabau people as a cultural way of life. A Minangkabau man at the time of young adulthood (20–30 years old) is often encouraged to go abroad as part of the Minangkabau culture; this serves as a sign of manhood to accrue wealth, knowledge, and life experience.[26] This practice can be traced to the 7th century, when Minangkabau merchants played a major role in establishing of the Malay kingdom in Jambi, which was a strategic position for trade via the Silk Road.

Other Indonesian ethnic groups such as the Bugis, Banjar, Madura, Aceh, Batak, and Javanese have also been traveling overseas to gain opportunities, experience, knowledge, and versatility.

Indonesians worldwide

Australia

Main article: Indonesian Australians

Before Dutch and British sailors arrived in Australia, Indonesians from Southern Sulawesi have explored the Australia northern coast. Each year, the Bugis sailors would sail down on the northwestern monsoon 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.[citation needed] Nowadays, many Indonesian residents of Australia are either foreign students or workers, with a large number being of Chinese Indonesian heritage. Furthermore, the Cocos Malays are descendants of native Indonesians were brought by the Clunies-Ross family to work in the copra industry in the 19th century.

Hong Kong

Main article: Indonesians in Hong Kong

Indonesians are the second largest foreigner group after Filipinos, mainly working as female domestic helpers from Java Island. There are also several Chinese Indonesian families and students that reside in Hong Kong. Central and Wan Chai are the main districts that most Indonesians live in.

Japan

Main article: Indonesians in Japan

In 2013, approximately 20,000 Indonesians lived in Japan, including about 3,000 illegal Indonesians. These numbers dropped from the previous years for various reasons, including the high cost of living in Japan and the difficulty of finding jobs in Japan. Most of them are in Japan for a short term and deportation remains high for Indonesian residents.

Malaysia

Main article: Indonesian Malaysians
See also: Indonesian citizens in Malaysia

Malaysia shares a land 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. Since the distinction between the two regions emerged in the early 19th century, many people from Java, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi, which are located in modern-day Indonesia, migrated and settled in the Malay Peninsula and in Malaysian Borneo. These earlier populations have mostly effectively or partially assimilated with the larger Malaysian-Malay community due to religious, social and cultural similarities. Currently, it is also estimated that there are around 2 million Indonesian citizens in Malaysia at any given time, ranging from all types of backgrounds including a significant majority of labour migrants alongside a considerable number of professionals and students.

Netherlands

Further information: Indo people

Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands from 1605 until 1942. In the early 20th century, many Indonesian students studied in the Netherlands. Most of them lived in Leiden and were active in the Perhimpoenan Indonesia (Indonesian Association). During and after the Indonesian National Revolution, many Moluccans and Indo people, people of mixed Dutch and Indonesian ancestry migrated to the Netherlands. Most of them were former members of the KNIL army. In this way, around 360,000 Indo people and Totoks (white people) and 12,500 persons from Maluke ancestry were settled in the Netherlands. Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Denny Landzaat, Roy Makaay, Mia Audina, and Daniel Sahuleka are notable people of Indonesian ancestry from the Netherlands. These 372,500 first generation people and their 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation offspring account for some 1.6 million Dutch passport-holders and form as much as 10% of the overall population of the Netherlands.

Philippines

Main article: Indonesians in the Philippines

Indonesians in the Philippines number anywhere from 43,871 to 101,720.[27] They reside mostly in the island of Mindanao, in the Muslim parts with a noticeable community in Davao City that has an international school for the overseas community. They tend to be protective of their separate ethnic identity. Most are Muslims, while many others are also Christian, coming from Minahasan-speaking ancestry.

Qatar

There are about 39,000 Indonesian citizens in the State of Qatar according to the Indonesian Embassy.[28]

Saudi Arabia

Islamic teachers from Indonesia in Mecca, 1955
Main article: Indonesians in Saudi Arabia

Indonesian pilgrims have long lived in Hejaz, a region along the west coast of Saudi Arabia. Among them was Shaykh Ahmad Khatib Al-Minangkabawi who was from Minangkabau origin in Sumatra. He served as the Imam and taught at the Shafi'i school at the Grand Mosque in Mecca during the late 19th century.[29]

Many Indonesians in Saudi Arabia are domestic workers, with a minority of other types of labour migrants and students. Most of the santris (Islamic boarding school pupils) from Indonesia also have continued to pursue their education in Saudi, such as in the Islamic University of Madinah and the Umm al-Qura University in Mecca. A number of Indonesian expatriates in Saudi Arabia work in diplomatic sectors and local private and foreign companies, such as in the Saudi Aramco, banking companies, Saudia Airlines, SABIC, Schlumberger, Halliburton, Indomie, etc. Most Indonesians in Saudi Arabia reside in Riyadh, Jeddah, and all around the Dammam area.

Saudis of Indonesian descent

There are Saudi citizens who reside in Mecca and Jeddah that are of Indonesian descent. Their forefathers came from Indonesia by sea during the late 19th century til the mid 20th century for pilgrimage, trade, and Islamic education purposes. Many of them did not return to their homeland thus they decided to stay in Saudi and their descendants have become Saudi citizens ever since. Many of them also married with local Arab women and stayed permanently in Saudi. Their descendants today are recognizable with their family name originating from their forefathers' origins back in Indonesia, such as "Bugis", "Banjar", "Batawi" (Betawi), "Al-Felemban" (Palembang), "Faden" (Padang), "Al-Bantani" (Banten), "Al-Minangkabawi" (Minangkabau), "Bawayan" (Bawean), and many more. One of them is Muhammad Saleh Benten, a Saudi politician appointed by King Salman as the Minister of Hajj and Umrah.[30]

The former Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Gatot Abdullah Mansyur stated that 50% of Mecca residents are of Indonesian descent. This has been possible because of trade between the two nations, since the era of the Rashidun Caliphate with the Malay archipelago in the old times.[31]

Singapore

Main article: Malays in Singapore

The Malays in Singapore (Malay: Orang Melayu Singapura) make up about 14% of the country's population. Most of them came from what we know today as Indonesia and southern Malaysia. In the 19th century, Singapore was part of Johor-Riau Sultanate. Many Indonesian people, mainly Bugis and Minangkabau settled in Singapore. From 1886 till 1890, as many as 21,000 Javanese became bonded labourers with the Singapore Chinese Protectorate, an organisation formed by the British in 1877 to monitor the Chinese population. They performed manual labour in the rubber plantations. After their bond ended, they continued to open up the land and stayed on in Johore. Famous Singaporeans of Indonesian descent are the first president of Singapore Yusof bin Ishak, and Zubir Said who composed the national anthem of Singapore Majulah Singapura.

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 helpers/TKI, 10,000 as sailors, and the rest are either students or professionals. But the number can be higher as registering one's residence is not compulsory for Indonesians, putting the number to around 200,000 people.

South Africa

Main article: Cape Malays

South Korea

Main article: Indonesians in South Korea

Suriname

Main article: Javanese Surinamese

People of Indonesian descent, mainly Javanese, make up 15% of the population of Suriname. In the 19th century, the Dutch sent the Javanese to Suriname as indentured laborers in plantations. The most famous person of Indonesian descent is Paul Somohardjo as the speaker of the National Assembly of Suriname.[32]

Taiwan

Main article: Indonesians in Taiwan

United Arab Emirates

Main article: Indonesians in the United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

Main article: Indonesians in the United Kingdom

United States

Main article: Indonesian Americans

The United States is home to many Indonesian students and professionals. In the Silicon Valley region of Northern California, there are many professional Indonesian-American engineers in the technology industry who are employed in companies like Cisco Systems, KLA Tencor, Google, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems, and IBM. Sehat Sutardja, the CEO of Marvell Technology Group, is a prominent Indonesian professional in the USA.[33]

In April 2011, the Special English service of Voice of America reported on a push for American universities to attract more Indonesians to study in America in order to compete with students' preferred universities in Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia.[34]

List of Indonesian diaspora by ethnicity and culture

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Data Agregat WNI yang Tercatat di Perwakilan RI" (PDF) (in Indonesian). General Elections Commission. 2019. Retrieved 2022-02-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b Purnomo, Indra. "Tersebar di Berbagai Negara, Pekerja Migran asal RI Capai 9 Juta Orang". idxchannel.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  3. ^ a b c "5,3 Juta PMI Ilegal Diperkirakan Bekerja di Malaysia hingga Timur Tengah". merdeka.com (in Indonesian). 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  4. ^ Liputan6.com (2020-03-23). "Kondisi 3,5 Juta WNI Merasakan Lockdown di Malaysia karena Corona COVID-19". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  5. ^ RI, Setjen DPR. "Pemerintah Diminta Lindungi WNI Terdampak MCO di Malaysia". www.dpr.go.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  6. ^ "Antisipasi PMI Ilegal, Pemerintah Diminta Awasi Daerah Perbatasan | Ekonomi". Bisnis.com (in Indonesian). 2021-01-05. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  7. ^ a b c "JUMLAH TENAGA KERJA INDONESIA (TKI) MENURUT NEGARA PENEMPATAN" (PDF) (in Indonesian). Bank Indonesia. 2019. Retrieved 2022-02-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Diaspora Indonesia di Belanda Semangat "Bangun Negeri via Investasi"". Kementerian Luar Negeri Repulik Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  9. ^ "KBRI Den Haag Dorong WNI Gali Peluang Bisnis Kuliner di Belanda". medcom.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  10. ^ Maulana, Victor (23 October 2018). "600.000 WNI Tinggal di Saudi, Dua Menlu Bahas Perlindungan". SINDOnews.com. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  11. ^ "KDEI Taipei - Kantor Dagang dan Ekonomi Indonesia". www.kdei-taipei.org. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  12. ^ Vahed, Goolam (13 April 2016). "The Cape Malay:The Quest for 'Malay' Identity in Apartheid South Africa". South African History Online. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  13. ^ "Malay, Cape in South Africa". Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  14. ^ Jumlah WNI di Hongkong mencapai lebih dari 170 ribu dimana 160 ribu orang merupakan PMI
  15. ^ "Pastikan Keselamatan Dan Keamanan Para Wni Perwakilan Indonesia Di Amerika Serikat Rangkul Tokoh Tokoh Masyarakat | Portal Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia". kemlu.go.id. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  16. ^ "Department of Home Affairs, Country Profile - Indonesia". Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  17. ^ "Bertemu Sultan Brunei, Jokowi Akan Bahas Perlindungan WNI". kumparan (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  18. ^ "Indonesia Suriname To Enhance Economic And Socio Cultural Cooperation | Portal Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia". kemlu.go.id. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  19. ^ "Profil Negara Suriname". Kementerian Luar Negeri Repulik Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  20. ^ "Gempa Di Jepang Tidak Terdapat Korban Wni | Portal Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia". kemlu.go.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  21. ^ "42 Ribu Orang WNI di Korea Selatan | Databoks". databoks.katadata.co.id (in Indonesian). 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  22. ^ antaranews.com (2020-02-03). "Menaker pastikan belum ada TKI di China terjangkit virus corona". Antara News (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  23. ^ "Uang Kuliah Gratis Ayo Kuliah Di Jerman Saja - | KEMENTERIAN LUAR NEGERI REPUBLIK INDONESIA". Kementerian Luar Negeri Repulik Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  24. ^ "Bo Kaap: The History Behind the Cape Malays of Cape Town". pilotguides. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  25. ^ "How the Banjar people of Borneo became ancestors of the Malagasy and Comorian people". theconversation. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  26. ^ "The Wanderers of Nusantara". roadsandkingdoms.com. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  27. ^ Population by country of citizenship, sex, and urban/rural residence; each census, 1985–2004, United Nations Statistics Division, 2005, retrieved 2011-06-15
  28. ^ Snoj, Jure (18 December 2013). "Population of Qatar". Bqdoha.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013.
  29. ^ Ricklefs, M. C. (1994). A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1300. Stanford University Press.
  30. ^ Mohammed Saleh Benten, Menteri Arab Saudi Keturunan Banten. Ini Profilnya (Mohammed Saleh Benten, A Saudi Minister of Banten Descent. This is his Profile) (in Indonesian), Nusantarakini.com, March 2017, retrieved 23 September 2019
  31. ^ Mantan Dubes RI: 50 Persen Penduduk Makkah Keturunan Indonesia (Former Indonesian Ambassador: 50 percent Mecca residents are of Indonesian descent (in Indonesian), Republika.co.id, 28 March 2016, retrieved 23 September 2019
  32. ^ "English Not On Menu For Wednesday's Press Briefing". Malaysian National News Agency. 22 September 2005. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  33. ^ "Meet Marvell" (PDF). Forbes Magazine. 14 August 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2006.
  34. ^ Ember, Steve; Schonhardt, Sara (13 April 2011). "A Push to Get More Indonesians to Study in US". VoA. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
Retrieved from "https://justapedia.org/index.php?title=Overseas_Indonesians&oldid=1116395812"