UNDERSTANDING INDONESIAN CULTURES

1. The many faces of the “Indonesian smile”

One thing that is apparent from the first minute is the smile of local people.
Indonesians, no matter from which region they come from, are known to be
friendly. And honestly, isn’t it wonderful to arrive in a foreign country and face
so much positive openness? The crux is that Indonesians do not only smile if
they are happy. They also smile to cover up negative feelings such as
discomfort in tense situations or even disagreement. People do so in order to
save their face in an uncomfortable situation and to maintain a harmonic and
positive atmosphere. Often, this is believed to be the only strategy in
overcoming a difficult situation. It takes a while and some mindful yet critical
observation to understand the true message that lies behind a smiling face.

2. Messages between the lines

Smiling or the use of body language, mimes and gestures are part of the
indirect way of communication. In Indonesia it is not common to express a
message in a straightforward, blunt way. It is more polite to wrap it into a
blend of verbal and non-verbal messages by using body language and a large
deal of diplomacy – especially when it comes to delicate topics. A good
understanding of the cultural context helps to interpret indirect
communication and verbalize the unsaid parts. As a foreigner living here, you
do good to learn as much as possible about Indonesian culture. This will help
you to understand the setting and interpret the context.

3. Attention to other people

Talking about positive openness: During everyday life, you may soon realize
that in case you are a Non-Asian looking person you attract a lot of attention
by local people. They may call out to you by saying “Hello Misterrr!”. Many
foreigners are bothered by this constant attention and easily ascribe negative
intentions to it. In fact, the “Hello Misterrr” phenomenon is often inspired by a
genuine yet positive interest for people, especially to those from different
countries. And by a deep cultural value: Indonesian cultures, no matter if you
deal with people from Aceh in Northern Sumatra or folks from the Eastern
Islands have one in common: To take care of each other. This orientation
towards others (and not only to oneself) makes it easy for Indonesians to get in
touch with people and build relationships. And to offer and receive help, in
case someone needs it.

4. Together is better
In general, people like to be among others. Therefore the Indonesian culture is
known as a group-oriented culture. You may observe this in daily life: People
hanging out in groups in the streets, go shopping/sightseeing/dining with a
bunch of others, take group-selfies here and there. This is called
“ramai-ramai”– being in “busy togetherness” or “in a crowd” (the word crowd in
this context is seen completely positive, by the way). Indonesians LOVE to be
among others. Having company around cheers people up, builds ground for
relaxation and gives a lot of positive energy. In contrast, for example, being on
their own especially for a longer time feels like a nightmare for many.

5. Leadership and followership

This orientation towards others also causes that at work people are more
comfortable to cooperate closely with colleagues and managers. Getting
guidance and direction from somebody of a higher hierarchy level is a strong
need for many employees. This goes for every kind of work situation – in
offices as well as production sites or private households. Although leadership
images are currently shifting in Indonesian society, many still feel comfortable
with the traditional image of an authoritarian leader that demands loyal
followership with limited self-responsibility.

6. The Importance of Learning and Using Bahasa Indonesia

Only a relatively tiny proportion of the Indonesian people are able to speak
non-Indonesian languages such as English. When dealing with high positioned
people at big Indonesian companies (particularly those companies that are
internationally oriented) or with the reception and management staff of
luxurious hotels there will be no problem when applying English. These
Indonesians have excellent mastery over this language. But life is not confined
to offices of big companies or luxurious hotels only. Outside these domains
there is the constant and urgent need to use Indonesian in order to lead an
efficient and effective life. Whether it is to instruct a taxi driver, request
information about medicines in a pharmacy or to communicate with people on
the street, the only way to succeed in good communication is by using the
Indonesian language.

Indonesians will highly appreciate it if you (try to) speak their language, even if
the quality of your Indonesian is not that great. In fact, if you only know a
couple of words you will probably already receive many compliments from the
locals. This is typical Indonesian behaviour: they generally enjoy to make
compliments as it will enhance social harmony (and - as such - it is good to
make compliments to Indonesians too). But despite such pleasant
compliments, beginners in this language should not start to think that their
Indonesian is great. The Indonesian language is actually more complicated
than meets the eye; not morphological or syntactically, but culturally. Each
language contains a separate cultural framework which is conveyed through
words, phrases, sentences, and discourse. Much of this needs to be learned
through experience and by observing Indonesian communication. This
learning process will take years and cannot be done through a simple language
course.
Thus, we advise you to observe carefully how Indonesians communicate in
various contexts or settings, both verbally and non-verbally. For example,
when addressing those that have a high(er) position within society (for
example due to their job status or age) it is better to choose your words as well
as your body gestures or body language carefully. Compared to western
nations, Indonesians tend to show more respect to their "higher ranked"
speaking partners through their selection of words and body language.

It should be underlined that wrong usage of the Indonesian language can - in

some situations - offend Indonesians (see point 2). This particularly applies to
those foreigners who can already speak the language rather fluently and are
thus expected to use this language in a culturally correct manner. However, for
beginners sociolinguistic mistakes are acceptable (and an Indonesian will
know whether you are a beginner or advanced speaker within a couple of
seconds). Therefore, this risk of offending people should not stop you from
using and practicing Indonesian. A good solution is - at the beginning of
conversations with people that you are not familiar with - to apologize for any
possible mistakes. For example, you can say:
Bahasa Indonesia saya belum lancar. Maaf kalau ada kata yang salah.
(My Indonesian is not yet fluent. Please forgive me if I make mistakes)

7. The Hierarchical Society in Indonesia

Hierarchy is very important in Indonesian society and people's status should

be respected at all times. Status is mainly based on a person's age and (job)
position. How can we respect this Indonesian status?

First of all through correct language usage (as was mentioned in 1). Most
Indonesians - but in particular those of higher status - should be addressed
with a specific title (Bapak for men and Ibu for women). This can be in
combination with their name (Bapak Dicky) or position (Bapak Presiden). These
titles should continuously be used when talking to a person of higher or
similar status. And it is always good to talk in a subtle (almost soft) manner.

It is important to be aware that people of higher status in Indonesia should not

lose face (especially not in public) and therefore it is advised to be very careful
when correcting or criticizing a person of higher status. It is in fact better not
to do that at all. But if an Indonesian corporate leader makes mistakes or
implements wrong policies that affect business in a negative way (and thus
affects you), you can try to create an opportunity to meet, with just the two of
you, and gently explain how business or policies can be improved, in your
opinion, without criticizing existing policies too much. In point 10 below we
also explain that you need to be careful with criticizing Indonesian employees.
8. Be Ready to Socialize

Compared to Indonesians, western people can, quite generally, be labeled as

rather individualistic. For Indonesians, however, most activities (such as
watching television, doing grocery shopping and eating) are done in the
company of others. It is highly recommended to join such activities - instead
of being individualistic - in order to develop and maintain good social
relations. Long and good discussions are necessary for a friendship to develop.
Depending on the background and interest of both sides topics can involve
food, sports, food, politics, etc.

For Indonesians it is common to talk to strangers. As such, foreigners are

interesting 'objects' and therefore you should not be surprised if people start a
conversation with you. Moreover, during a first conversation Indonesians tend
to ask questions which - from a western viewpoint - can be considered quite
private (such as your marital status or age). This is not only sincere interest but
also their way to assess your social status. If you do not like a question which is
posed it is wise to respond with a vague answer or a joke, instead of becoming
annoyed or complain (such a direct confrontation would endanger the social
harmony).

When it comes to business relations it is important to use a more personal

approach. For example inviting business partners or colleagues to have dinner
is a sensible thing to do as Indonesians need to see you in person in order to
maintain a good relationship. Correspondence through email or telephone
only is therefore not recommended. Business deals often happen in the
restaurant or at the golf course.

When you, especially if you're a (white) westerner, walk on the streets of

Indonesia, people will surely stare at you. Contrary to the West, it is not
impolite to stare at people in Indonesia. Although this can make you feel
uncomfortable in the beginning, it is something you will get used to. It is best
to simply ignore peoples' staring. Furthermore, Indonesians (especially the
younger generations) will often yell out "bule" to you (which actually means
albino but has become commonly-used to describe a foreigner, especially
those of European descent). Others will simply yell out "hey Mister" when they
see you passing by. It is best to answer by smiling and nodding your head.

9. Learn about Indonesian food

It seems like every Indonesian has a sincere passion for food. Indonesian
cuisine is very versatile due to the many cultures within the country. For most
Indonesians it is common to eat daily in restaurants or small food stalls
(called warung) as it is usually cheaper than to cook themselves. These
restaurants or warung are present on basically every street in Indonesia. For
the Indonesian middle class and elite it is common to go to the more luxurious
restaurants (often in the big malls) which also include foreign cuisine. As
mentioned above eating is an important social activity in Indonesia but the
topic food is also one of the most popular conversation pieces in any casual
situation. Therefore it is recommended to explore Indonesian food a bit in
order to be able to join actively in such conversations.

One interesting matter related to food is that burping is not considered an

impolite act. Hence, when you are in a restaurant or having dinner at people's
houses, you can often hear these sounds, and you will rarely hear people
excusing themselves after having burped.

10. Being Indirect is Polite

Generally Indonesians place high value on maintaining harmonious social
relations. When necessary this implies being indirect (in other words, not say
what they really think or feel if that would jeopardize the social harmony)
which by westerners sometimes can be interpreted as being dishonest or
hypocritical. We would like to stress however that this merely constitutes a
difference in culture and we should therefore not think in terms of good or bad.
Vice versa, Indonesians expect others to be indirect to them too. For example,
be cautious when criticizing Indonesians in case they make a mistake. It is
better not to confront them using blunt speech or with a raised voice. Instead
try to correct them calmly with a smiley face and it is always good to make
some casual jokes in these situations. And when you are planning to criticize
an Indonesian employee it is usually better to start of the conversation by
complimenting on some of his/her good qualities.

11. Values, morals and ethics

Religion plays a very important role in Indonesian society and in the daily life
of the Indonesians. Therefore values, morals and ethics which stem from
religion, tradition and culture (although these three are often highly
intertwined) are important matters that influence Indonesian cognition. The
number of Indonesians that do not believe in (a) God is almost negligible. This
is also the reason why a large segment of the Indonesian people think about
the western world with mixed feelings. On the one hand they admire the
modernity of the western world (and copy modern features like clothing and
technology) but on the other hand do not understand the decreasing influence
of religion together with the decrease in morals it brings along (for example
couples living together before marriage/free sex).

These feelings are strengthened by images from Bali where some westerners
drink large amounts of alcoholic beverages and some western women sunbath
wearing revealing bikinis. Western movies which sometimes contain explicit
sexual scenes between non-married couples are also a cause for negative
sentiments. It is advised to have respect for such Indonesian values, morals
and ethics when residing in Indonesia as people will subsequently respect you
more.

Although free sex, homosexuality, adultery, consumption of alcohol and other

"sins" (from a religious perspective) are all present in Indonesia, throughout
history, Indonesians often tend to look at these matters as being negative
influences from the West. It is important to realize that the average person's
knowledge of western lifestyle mainly originates from western TV shows and
movies.

12. Jam Karet (Elastic Time)

Indonesians have a different attitude towards time and are generally quite
flexible when it comes to meeting deadlines or showing up at appointments.
The cultural phenomenon of arriving late for an appointment is called jam
karet meaning 'elastic time' (literally 'rubber time') and is part of the game
when living in Indonesia. It is difficult to say whether Westerners are more
aware of the scarcity and finiteness of time compared to Indonesians, but for
sure the different attitude brings along a different approach to time
management. Therefore, do not be surprised if deadlines are not met or
people are late for an appointment (or do not show up at all). Usually, a small
excuse is used to explain the situation. For example, in the bigger cities of
Indonesia a late arrival is often blamed on the traffic congestion (whether true
or not).