Malik, Adam
(1917–1984), vice president of Indonesia. Adam Malik was Indonesia's vice president from 1978 until 1983. He also was one of Indonesia's most successful foreign ministers, a position he held during the early New Order from 1966 to 1976. He was distinguished as a shrewd diplomat, known by the nickname "mouse-deer," derived from a popular Malay fable, as well as for his diplomatic words, "everything can be managed." Born in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra on 22 July 1917, Malik dropped out of secondary school because of his interest in political activism. At the age of twenty, he left his hometown for Batavia (Jakarta). With only one typewriter, he built the Antara News Agency, which became Indonesia's national news agency. During the struggle for independence, he was jailed several times by the Dutch. As one of the young emerging leaders in 1945, he and his friends kidnapped Sukarno (1901–1970) and forced him to declare the independence of Indonesia.
Malik served many government positions under both the Sukarno (1945–1966) and Suharto (1966–1998) regimes. Having no diplomatic background, he initially questioned Sukarno's decision to appoint him as ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1959. He nevertheless proved to be a capable diplomat, and Suharto entrusted to him the project of building a new image of Indonesia as a capitalist and pro-Western country. As foreign minister, Malik was active in reducing tensions between Indonesia and neighboring nations. He also was one of the founders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. Malik was appointed the twenty-sixth president of the U.N. General Assembly in 1971 and was a member of the Willy Brandt Commission in 1977. Prior to becoming vice president of Indonesia, Malik briefly was the Speaker of People Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat, MPR) in 1977. He died on 5 September 1984.
Further Reading
Malik, Adam. (1980) In the Service of the Republic. Singapore: Gunung Agung.
Salam, Solichin. (1990) Adam Malik dalam Kenangan (In Memoriam Adam Malik). Jakarta, Indonesia: Yayasan Adam Malik.
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