ABSTRACT

Until recently, there were only two quick answers in Indonesia to the question of who constituted the rich. They were unequivocally Westerners and the Chinese. Occasionally one would include top government officials in the list, but at a tier lower than the previous two. Now there can be more diverse answers to the same question, with some hesitation and necessary qualifications. Before 1990 there were more or less fixed stereotypes of Westerners, the Chinese, and top government officials in Indonesian popular culture. Now their public images have undergone significant changes.