(Part 2 of 3)

By the 1930s the Malay archipelago was swept by the fervour of anti-colonialism and ethno-nationalism. The world of Southeast Asia was open to developments abroad, and the nationalists of the region turned to India, China, Japan, Burma and Vietnam for inspiration.

The heroes of the time were men like the Filipino martyr Jose Rizal, Subhas Chandra Bose, Ho Chi Minh, U Ba Mau and Aung San of Burma (father of the present-day pro-democracy reformer and human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi).

The Indonesian nationalists in particular, led by men like Sukarno and Hatta, were at the forefront of the move to oust the colonial powers and reconstruct the political, cultural and social frontiers of .