A Nation in Waiting

One of the courses I did at the Australian National University in the early 2000s was on contemporary Indonesian politics, and Adam Schwarz’s A Nation In Waiting: Indonesia’s Search For Stability was a part of the compulsory course reading. It was an updated version of his 1994 book with a different sub-heading “Indonesia in the 1990s”.

In my opinion pieces from around 2008 to 2018, I described Malaysia as “a nation in waiting” with reference to the conditions of Indonesia in the 1990s. Malaysia saw massive political shifts since 2008 but the establishment was not able to respond positively, thus resulting in a nation in drift.

Schwarz’s framing was referred to by successive Indonesian presidents in their speeches, including President Prabowo Subianto at the United Nations General Assembly recently, to argue that Indonesia was no longer waiting and had moved forward.

As I had the opportunity to meet the author, I searched my personal library and found that I have both the 1999 and 2004 editions of the book.

When we met, to my great surprise, Schwarz had bought a copy of the 1994 edition from a secondhand bookshop as a gift for me. This is the first edition of the book written when Indonesia was still ruled by the authoritarian President Suharto. The updated version includes the last weeks of Suharto as President as well as the brief 17 months of his successor B.J. Habibie’s presidency.

So, I now have all three editions of the book.

It was such a pleasure to meet Schwarz, also a former journalist, for the first time. I treasure the opportunity to meet with authors such as him who have inspired me.

For those interested in Indonesian politics and history, as well as the connections with Malaysia, this is still a great reference.

Happy reading!