Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation

The Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, or konfrontasi, was a political and military conflict between Indonesia and the then-forming Federation of Malaysia that lasted from 1963 to 1966. The conflict began on the island of Borneo after three nations there—Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo (modern-day Sabah)—prepared to combine into an independent Federation of Malaysia.

Seeing this combination as a means of keeping former colonial power Great Britain in control of the region, Indonesian president Sukarno launched an ongoing military and political campaign to disrupt and destabilise the process in these states. However, Malaysian forces, with extensive help from Britain and its allies, successfully thwarted Indonesian forces for several years. Sukarno’s confrontational policies crumbled along with his presidency, which he gave up following an attempted coup in 1966. Following this period of aggression, Indonesia and Malaysia entered into a more stable relationship.

Background

Throughout the twentieth century, several world empires collapsed or retracted, allowing their former colonies and protectorates to become independent countries. Although this process was an essential step in ending colonialism and promoting freedom, it led to many sudden and sometimes chaotic political shifts. Many newly independent countries faced tensions, conflicts and wars, both externally and internally, during the process of gaining their independence.

By the early 1960s, Britain had established a large influence in some parts of Asia, including the region near what is today the world’s largest island country, Indonesia. Britain’s colonial claims in that area at the time included the protectorate Brunei and the colonies of Sarawak and North Borneo. These British-dominated areas occupied the northern coast of the island of Borneo, with the rest of the territory (called Kalimantan) controlled by Indonesia.

At the start of the 1960s, Britain was preparing to largely withdraw from the region and Brunei, Sarawak and North Borneo were on the path to independence. However, British officials envisioned these regions not entering this new phase as separate countries but rather as a single political unit. This plan, announced in May 1961, pushed for the three areas to join with nearby Singapore (another British colony) and states on the Malayan Peninsula to form a new federation called Malaysia.

This idea did not appeal to Indonesian leaders. Indonesia shared control of Borneo and did not want the island to be split to form a new federation. Indonesian president Sukarno was concerned that the move would allow the British to continue to hold excessive sway in the region. In particular, Britain would be allowed to maintain military bases in Singapore and the Malayan states, creating the impression of colonialism in the guise of freedom.

Sukarno believed that the newly independent areas of Borneo should be incorporated into Indonesia instead, where they would expand the current province of Kalimantan. Sukarno’s vision of a Greater Indonesia stood in stark opposition to the plan for the Federation of Malaysia. However, he did not publically speak out against the British plan until another crucial event, the Brunei revolt, took place.

In December of 1962, the North Kalimantan National Army (Tentera Nasional Kalimantan Utara, or TNKU) led a revolt in Brunei, the British protectorate on Borneo slated to become part of the Federation of Malaysia. The TNKU forces attacked government buildings and police forces and successfully conquered the city of Limbang. The insurgents also tried to capture the Sultan of Brunei, hoping to force him from office and claim the region for Indonesia.

At this time, President Sukarno began to speak out in favour of the TNKU and support its revolt in Brunei. However, the Sultan of Brunei had other ideas and quickly called for help from nearby British forces. Within hours, two companies of soldiers from the Gurkha Rifles Regiment arrived by air from British bases in Singapore. Gurkhas are renowned soldiers hailing from Nepal. In the coming days, several other British-aligned units arrived to support them, including the Queen’s Own Highlanders and the 42 Royal Marine Commando unit.

British forces acted quickly to put down the revolt and restore order to Brunei. They liberated hostages and a captured Limbang from TNKU forces. They also formed lines of defence around official buildings, oil refineries, radio stations and other sensitive installations. Within days, the British took more than 3,400 prisoners and forced the other insurgents to flee into the jungles.

Impact

Although Britain quickly quashed the Brunei revolt, President Sukarno and other Indonesian leaders continued speaking out vehemently in favour of the Brunei independence movement. In January of 1963, Sukarno began to refer to his new policy towards Malaysia as one of confrontation, or konfrontasi. He vowed to do whatever was necessary to interrupt the formation of Malaysia. Sukarno’s hostile stance only increased tensions between Indonesia and the elements of the Malaysian Federation and set the scene for another, even more violent, clash between the powers.

Although many of the konfrontasi policies related to social and economic positions, the military quickly became involved. Indonesian forces began prodding northward into the politically ambiguous border areas of the Malaysian territories of Sarawak and North Borneo. There, the troops attacked cities, sabotaged equipment and tried to stir up revolutionary supporters. Most of the actions were limited in scope, but they still drew serious concern from Malaysian and British authorities.

One of the primary British commanders was Major-General Walter Walker, who led five battalions of British and Gurkha troops. These soldiers deployed along a thousand miles of jungle-covered borderlands. There, they used helicopters to search for Indonesian forces. They also made friends with many local communities, trading information about medical innovations and farming techniques for hints about the movement of insurgents. Many locals grew so close to the British forces that they became scouts for them.

Seeking to stop the fighting, Indonesian and Malaysian leaders agreed to hold a plebiscite, a direct vote, to settle the matter. President Sukarno headed the Indonesian contingent, while political leader Tunku Abdul Rahman represented the Malaysian side. Sukarno pledged that Indonesia would respect the decision of the people if they chose to form the Malaysian Federation, and only intercede if they voted against it. Despite this assurance, Rahman did not actually participate in the plebiscite and instead met directly with British leaders in July 1963.

On 9 July, without consulting with Indonesian leaders, Rahman signed the London Agreement, cementing the creation of the Malaysian Federation for 31 August 1963. This move caused outrage in Indonesia, despite tense talks and negotiations in the coming weeks and a slight delay in the scheduling. On 16 September, the Malaysian Federation began, encompassing all of the former colonies but excluded Brunei, which chose to abstain.

On 25 September, an infuriated Sukarno called for Indonesian forces to ramp up their confrontational policies for a new initiative he called ‘Crush Malaysia’. Part of this effort involved regular Indonesian soldiers forming small units of about two hundred to break through the borderlands and set up bases. British-aligned forces, still under Major-General Walker, used his own bases and helicopters to thwart this effort. He also began Operation Claret, a secretive campaign of attacks into Indonesia itself meant to harass army units there before they could enter the fray.

In time, Walker was replaced by Major-General George Lea, who would command some thirteen infantry battalions along with engineers and artillery. This combined force encompassed British troops as well as Malaysians, Australians, New Zealanders and the Nepalese Gurkhas. These forces fared well against the Indonesians. However, throughout 1964, Indonesian forces continued to fight and stir disorder in the new Malaysian territories, mainly Singapore. Indonesians sabotaged transportation, incited rioting and bombed buildings. The most infamous bombing occurred on 10 March 1965 at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (later known as the MacDonald House) in Singapore, in which three people died and many others sustained injuries.

Despite the Indonesian activities, their cause soon faltered. In 1965, Indonesia was rocked internally by an attempted coup by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), some of President Sukarno’s most devoted supporters. After the Indonesian army put down the coup, it began killing PKI members until the party was left powerless. Without PKI support, Sukarno could not continue in office and stepped down in March of 1966. The new leader would be General Suharto, whose perspective on the Malaysian affair varied drastically from that of Sukarno.

Once president of Indonesia, Suharto declared an end to the konfrontasi policies. In August of 1966, he summoned Indonesian forces to return from the Malaysian borderlands and signed a peace treaty with Malaysian leaders in their capital city of Kuala Lumpur. With that, the long battle was over. An estimated 114 Malaysia-aligned soldiers had died and another 180 had been wounded. However, with the confrontation over, the two sides took a peaceful approach to the partition of Borneo, and Indonesia and Malaysia entered into a much more stable relationship.

Bibliography

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