Being Malay in Indonesia

Histories, Hopes and Citizenship in the Riau Archipelago

In 1999, the people of Indonesia's Riau Archipelago were angry. Resentful of decades of "internal colonialism" by Mainland Sumatra, and concerned that they lacked the education and skills to flourish in a globalised world, they dreamed of inhabiting a province of their own. When the post-authoritarian state committed itself to democracy and local autonomy, they lobbied vigorously and successfully for the region to be returned to its "native" Malay residents. Riau Islands Province was born in 2004. This book explores what happened next.

Success in business was an achievement tantamount to that of his ancestors (“
we don't have sultanates any more,” he told me, “but we do have business”) but
also promised him an important enough voice in society to promote the historical
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