In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos

Indonesia in 1997-1999 was a country in a heavy turbulence. As the 32-year rule of dictator Suharto came to an end, rules of laws were collapsing, long-frozen conflicts that were suppressed under the chill of the dictatorship were re-emerging, and violence were triggered across the vast archipelago with many believed that the country was on a verge of break up like Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.And during this dark period of time the author, Richard Lloyd Parry, travelled around the country as a foreign correspondent and obtains his story directly from the people who suffered from the chaotic mess, as well as experienced it directly himself. And right from the beginning it is immediately clear that Parry has a flair of writing in an exquisitely descriptive manner, which is key for painting the big picture.First, his bone-chilling report on the Dayak-Madura conflict in West Kalimantan, where he witnessed first hand the level of violence so eerie it made the content of that Joshua Oppenheimer documentary “Jagal” arguably looks like child play. Parry’s coverage gives the feel of real tension like in the movie Hotel Rwanda about the genocide, but with an added twist of black magic, trance, cannibalism, and beast-style massacre. In fact there are many instances when I had to stop reading and gasp to myself holy crap what did I just read? One of them was a very tense point where Parry himself was just one bite away from almost forced to engage in cannibalism.Second, as the effect of the economic crisis started to creep into society Parry found himself walking in the streets of Yogyakarta and Jakarta, covering the mass student protests against the crisis including the one in Trisakti that culminated in the shooting of the students by the police and triggered a massive riot the day after. Parry then continues with seemingly almost minute-by-minute account of the gripping sequences that eventually lead to the end of the 32 years of New Order.And third, in the aftermath of the resignation of Suharto, Parry went deep into the jungle in East Timor to be embedded with the guerrilla fighters, and provides the story of the independence movement straight from the freedom fighters’ point of view.In between the reporting Parry inserted vital backstories to provide us with the bigger context, such as the cultural dynamics in Kalimantan, the effects of the 1997 economic crisis as the mother of all triggers, Indonesia’s political map, an excellent short biography of Suharto (with plenty of fresh information that I, an Indonesian growing up during the dictatorship, had never heard of before), as well as background descriptions of the inner workings of the mystics in Java, complete with all the Javanese prophecies and the few stories of wayang which curiously came to be reflected in real life.True to Indonesia’s nature, history is never clear and blurry at best. Even the account of what really happened in 1965 coup that gave rise to Suharto has never really been resolved even today in 2021. Yes, they say history is written by the victors, and thus it does makes one think that with the New Order’s dark truths still concealed, was the “regime change” in 1998 really occur or the same regime is still pretty much in control today only with different clothing since the resignation of Suharto?Naturally, any historical analysis on Indonesia during this period of time are all asking the same questions. Was it really a regime change? Who gave the command to shoot the students? Was the riot and the looting and the rape orchestrated? Why Suharto never went to trial? This is where the book plays its enlightenment role, where Parry addresses these questions with commanding certainty and convincingly pointing to very solid arguments and even proofs. It’ll all make perfect sense once you read the book.

Absolutely stunning eyewitness account of some of Indonesia's most grim and most recent events. I would recommend this to anyone who's living in Indonesia, just to understand the country a little better. I would consider it essential reading for expats, and I hope it will be translated into Indonesian some time soon.What really happened in East Timor? What legacy has Suharto left the nation? Is it true there was cannibalism in Kalimantan, against the Madurese? Reader gets the full scoop on these incidents, in a fast-moving, eyewitness-style reportage. Lloyd Parry does his best to be the cool-headed journalist going after the facts, but as he witnesses more and more inhumanity, we see his own humanity struggling to shine through the reports. His writing is crisp and to the point, and so his moments of shock and horror are written without embellishment.These were times of madness for Indonesia, but also for anyone who had to witness it. So that would include the author. He introduces the book with a passage about nightmares in a quiet, safe bungalow in Bali. What, reader wonders, has he seen?Format is a bit like each chapter being a good, thorough news magazine essay. Unfortunately, his publisher probably wanted to grab readers with some really sensational and gruesome stuff and so graphic bits about massacres and cannibalism make up the first chapter, even though it is out of sequence with the timeline of other events he writes about for this book. Once I made my way out of that dark jungle, I quite enjoyed the book, and I would call this the best read that really sums up what's been happening to Indonesia since the mid 90's.People out of the line of fire depend on our journalists to report on what's happening in the trouble spots of the world. I remain grateful to RLP for his courage, tenacity, and excellent writing. And I thank him for retaining his humanity and his concern for justice and simple goodness. I'd like to see more reporters like him, and more editors who let their reporters be themselves.Interestingly, the recent documentary film The Act of Killing (about men who assassinated enemies of the state in the 60's) depends to a large degree on the element of the personal viewpoint. In the west, there's growing concern and fascination with Indonesia's odd political realm. Anyone who's seen that film and been intrigued with THAT madness, can now pick up In The Time of Madness and get more insight on how this country has been dealing with its declared or imagined enemies.

The author was there, and he bears witness. Throughout the time I spent reading this book, I was reminded again and again of all the journalists who go into the war zones around the world and tell us what happened there. The risks they take are terrible. But like this author, those who take the greatest risks typically don't brag about it.This is a book about a particular slice of Indonesia's history. It begins with blood and violence in 1997 in Kalimantan, and it ends with more blood and violence in early 2000 in East Timor. Less than three years, and how many lives ended so horribly? Indonesia is a complex society, a nation with a huge and diverse population spread among thousands of islands, and Lloyd Parry doesn't try to tell its whole story. He weaves in some background and some history where possible, but mostly, he tells us what he saw on the ground.I really appreciated his accounts of interviews with people in villages, people who are not "the official voice." I marveled again and again at the image of him riding around in the countryside, in a truck or on the back of a motorbike, unarmed, unprotected. But how else would he have been able to talk to people under the conditions that existed then? To get these stories, the journalist must expose himself. It's brave and it's crazy. I really admire people who do this. I'm grateful that they tell us stories like this one -- as horrible as they are, these things must be told.

This is three books in one really: one about tribal violence in Borneo, one about the fall of Suharto, one about East Timor. The final section on the violence that accompanied East Timorese independence, a first-hand witness account, is truly shocking, not least for the utter pointlessness of the murder and mayhem sponsored by the Indonesian military. Parry couldn't write badly if he tried - if you are interested in the subject matter this is highly recommended.

A gripping read covering events in Indonesia in the late 90s, the book falls into three parts - one about ethnic violence (including headtaking and cannibalism) in Kalimantan, one about the Jakarta protests that brought about the fall of Suharto and one about the pre-independence violence in East Timor. This book brought to mind, for me, some of the best retrospective reporting from the Vietnam War with its vivid backdrop for individual vignettes. It brought to mind Michael Herr's classic 'Dispatches' and Jon Swain's 'River of Time'. For anyone interested in SE Asia, definitely recommended.

Brilliantly written, well-researched and harrowing account of what was happening in Indonesia in 2000 which the rest of the world didn't seem to know or care about.

either savage jet lag or this book's excellent first hand narrative history of Indonesia since independent meant I missed a night's sleep reading this. Not dense, heart felt.

A very well written account of the situation in East Timor after Suharto.