Konfrontasi Indonesia-Malaysia 1963-1965: Propaganda Parti Komunis Indonesia melalui akhbar Harian Rakjat dan Bintang Timur

This study investigates the role of propaganda in Harian Rakjat and Bintang Timur, newspapers affiliated with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation (1963–1965). It analyzes how the PKI employed these publications as tools of political propaganda and examines the primary messages communicated through written articles and political cartoons. The study also evaluates the extent to which the newspapers influenced Indonesian public perceptions of the conflict. This study has three primary objectives: first, to examine the propaganda strategies employed by the PKI during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation (1963 to 1965); second, to analyze how the PKI utilized the newspapers Harian Rakjat and Bintang Timur as instruments of political propaganda; and third, to assess the influence of propaganda conveyed through articles and political cartoons in these newspapers on the development of the conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia. This study employs a qualitative approach with triangulation to provide a comprehensive analysis of newspaper propaganda during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation (1963 to 1965). The methodology includes the analysis of historical documents, archival materials, and the newspapers Harian Rakjat and Bintang Timur, along with interviews conducted with selected figures and historians. The purpose is to understand how the PKI utilized print media to disseminate anti-Malaysia propaganda. The findings indicate that propaganda in the newspapers Harian Rakjat and Bintang Timur played a significant role in shaping public support for Sukarno’s confrontation policy. Through provocative articles and cartoons, the PKI effectively influenced public perceptions of communist ideology and reinforced anti-Malaysia sentiment. This study offers a detailed analysis of the propaganda content in the newspapers Harian Rakjat and Bintang Timur, which played a central role in disseminating anti-Malaysia and antiimperialist narratives. The findings affirm that mass media, particularly newspapers, functioned as effective instruments of propaganda in political history, especially within the context of conflict and confrontation.