開発体制下のインドネシアにおける新中間層の台頭と国民統合 (<特集>インド ネシア国民の形成 : 故土屋健治教授を偲んで)

Abstract

It is largely agreed that a considerable number of middle class people have emerged in Indonesia as the result of rapid economic development under the Suharto regime. This new middle class can be roughly defined as having monthly income of one to several million Rupiahs (one US dollar is approximately 2, 250 Rupiahs), being professionals, business executives, bureaucrats, and high-ranking army officers in profession, and having high education equivalent to academy or university. Most of them share more or less the same way of thinking, behaviour pattern, values and life style. For example, they enjoy a wide range of access to information, having portable telephones, fax machines, parabolas, a wide choice of printed media, and newly established private TV stations. Second, they tend to live in a new, modern, Western-style housing complex or a condominium built in Western style. Third, their diet is wide, consisting of Western, Japanese, Korean, Thai and other foreign cooking including various fast foods. Fourth, they value education and spend lots of money on it. Fifth, they enjoy shopping at very gorgeous and expensive shopping centers that are emerging in various parts of Jakarta. Sixth, they are very conscious of maintaining prestige ("gensi"), which they express by wearing expensive suits, riding in expensive cars, organizing extravagant parties, etc. Seventh, they are very anxious to keep healthy and spend money on membership fees for prestigious sports clubs and highly equipped medical centers. Eighth, they have frequent contact with overseas. In short we can conclude that their culture is extremely extravagant and exposed to foreign influence. This group of people pay relatively little attention to politics and it is very doubtful that they can be an "agent of change" towards democratization, because they are the very beneficiaries of development policy and are still very dependent on the regime. Facing the emergence of such a social group, government are anxious to control and guide them in such a direction that they should not lose discipline and identity as Indonesians and as Moslems (in most cases). Pancasila Moral Education and Islamization of the middle class are considered very important in this context.