pertahanan rakyat

Indonesian

Etymology

Compound of pertahanan (“defense”) +‎ rakyat (“people”), calque of Chinese 民防 (“civil defense”, literally “people defense”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəaˈmanan ˈraʔjat̚/

Noun

pertahanan rakyat

1. civil defense (US), civil defence (British), efforts to protect the citizens of a state from military attack.

Usage notes

• The term was used in the Indonesian translation of the Japanese 警防団(けいぼうだん) (keibōdan, “civil defense unit”) as laskar penjaga keamanan rakyat which formed in 1943 and followed the total war concept. The civil defense unit was formed in the Dutch colonial administration as the luchtbeschermingdienst (literally “air(-strike) protection service”) in 1939.
• The term was replaced by pertahanan sipil with the changing nature of Indonesian diplomacy with a less active threat. It was replaced by perlindungan masyarakat subsequently.

Alternative forms

• hanra