Pinang
| Pinang | |
|---|---|
| Free State of Pinang | |
| |
| Motto | Wij zijn bereid |
| Established | 1976 |
| Capital | Willemshaven |
| Population | 7,012,890 |
| Government Type | Democratic |
| Languages |
|
| Currency | Pinang Gulden |
Pinang, officially the Free State of Pinang (Dutch: Vrijstaat Pinaang, Soedanese: Negeri Babas Penang, Chinese: 自由邦檳城), is a sovereign microstate located on the Malayan peninsula. The country's territory is composed of the main island of Pinang along with a hinterland that stretches north to the Merbok river, east to the Bintang mountains and south past the municipality of Taiping. The combined area of the nation has increased by some 20% since its founding, mainly due to extensive land reclamation projects as well as territorial swaps with the Union of Soenda.
Pinang has one of the highest population densities in the world with Pinang proper being among the top 3 densest cities on Earth. The population of Pinang is predominately ethnically Chinese with a large and influential minority of Eurasians and Europeans who descend from 20th century Dutch settlers and military men (along with their offspring). The nation was forged from an alliance of rouge Royal Netherlands East Indies Army units stationed in Pinang & diasporic local Chinese militias and settlers during the East Indies Crisis. The unique cultural mixture and founding of the nation is evident in all factors of it's governance and the nation is considered to be a highly militarized society with a strong engrained siege mentality (stemming from it's rocky relationship with it's neighbors). After early years of turbulence, the nation has rapidly developed to become one of the so-called “Rising lions” of Asia and in doing so it has created a vibrant export economy with a focus on industrialism, textiles and advanced manufacturing
Pinang is a centralized indirect democracy with industry (through local trade organizations called "Kongsi") and the military holding the majority of the nation's political power.
History
Government and Politics
The politics of Pinang takes the form of a bicameral national assembly with an indirect representative semi-democratic republic, whereby the chief executive is the head of state and the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the Chief executive that is chosen by the national Zongting, the National Zongting is not directly elected, it has representatives from the civil society, the military and the 13 key industries of Pinang (Kongsi). This symbiotic relationship, combined with a weak lower house and its indirect nature, has led people to describe Pinang as an indirect representative technocratic state.
Legislative power is vested in both the government and the national assembly, the Zongting is more powerful, and can override the national assembly her decisions. The members of the national assembly are directly elected. There are parties in the national assembly but these are considered not that influential. The national assembly does have some powers, principally it approves the civil budget, has the right to approve foreign treaties, can “Advice” the Zongting on the military budget and makes civil legislation. It also exercises powers over civil service appointments and broader domestic issues.
National Defense
The Armed forces of Pinang, officially: Indies Leger (IL) is arguably the most technologically advanced military force in southeast Asia, it consists of the army, navy, and air force and is seen as the guarantor of the country's independence and survival. This has translated into Pinang culture involving all citizens in the country's defence. Despite this, it's well known that the military remains a highly independent force, with stakes in many industries, its own political agenda and various dubious programs.
After its independence, which itself originated from the rogue KNIL forces in the sector of the East Indies campaign declaring independence. Pinang thus in its early days had a well-rounded military force, with air assets, a strong battle-hardened land force and a strong officer corp. It did know that now it lacked the support from the Netherlands and thus it needed immediately to reorganize to fight against a foe that was massive compared to itself. It thus began to set up a military industry on its island, create a policy of national defence and built the state like a fortress, this siege mentality has led to the development of a small but highly capable military-industrial complex in Pinang, which is headed by the Defence Science & Technology Administration (DSTA), which is responsible for resourcing, procuring the military equipment.
The IL has been developed to respond to a wide range of issues of both conventional and unconventional warfare. The geographic restrictions of Pinang mean that the IL must plan to fully repulse an attack, as they cannot fall back and re-group, without losing the civilian economic base. The small size of the population in combination with a lack of hinterland has led the IL to become a small active force with a large number of reserves.
Because of the scarcity of open land, training is often restricted to areas designated for such things and urban warfare is commonly practiced. It is thus also said that Pinang has a national defence policy that can be seen in the cities.
Demographics
