The Fifth Season

Kerry B. Collison
followed a distinguished period of service in Indonesia as a member of the Australian military and government intelligence services during the turbulent period known as ‘The Years of Living Dangerously'. This was followed by a successful business career spanning thirty years throughout Asia.

Recognized for his chilling predictions in relation to Asia's evolving political and economic climate through his books, he brings unique qualifications to his historically-based vignettes and intriguing accounts of power-politics and the shadowy world of governments' clandestine activities. Further information is available on the Internet site: http://www.sidharta.com.au 

It is now an accepted fact that Osama bin Laden and his
Al Qaeda
had established a sound network throughout Indonesia, parts of Malaysia, and in the southern Philippines, with the intention of supporting the realization of an Islamic state that would embrace all of these nations as one.

Today, in Indonesia, hardly a week goes by without another bombing or news or yet another massacre in Aceh, Maluku, West Papua, the Celebes or Indonesian Borneo, Kalimantan, and, sadly, the burning of mosques in Lombok or the desecration of temples in Bali. Mass graves have recently been discovered containing thousands murdered by the brutal Indonesian Special Forces, whose American trained leadership will, undoubtedly, escape judgment by international tribunals such as those established to prosecute Balkan war criminals.

Over the past two years Australia's own political landscape has changed, influenced by the threat of a flood of refugees entering its waters via the vast Indonesian archipelago to the north.
The Fifth Season's
premise that one day Australia could, as a result of the destabilization of Indonesia, be inundated with a massive wave of refugees seeking asylum is no longer a matter of fiction, but an event which has become inevitable as that great country continues to disintegrate socially, politically and economically.

In 1998, when Indonesia's political climate became confused, then convulsed violently, many of the Archipelago's two hundred millions sensed that the long-awaited winds of change carried the elusive promise of reform, and a political shift towards democracy.

Pancaroba
, the brief and often erratic time which conjoins the tropical Wet and Dry, is accepted in Equatorial Asia as the Fifth Season, and is known as the transitional climatic period when weather patterns become confused and turbulent.

Often, during these uncertain periods omens become apparent, tempting people whose cultures have been so deeply rooted in mysticism, spiritualism and animism through the millenniums to succumb to even greater superstition than would be their norm.

This is an account based on factual events, and the men and women who struggled to survive the bitter turmoil of Indonesia's Fifth Season.

This simple glossary includes
Bahasa
Indonesia words used throughout the novel and may assist readers who have not yet been fortunate enough to visit the beautiful archipelago and become familiar with its multi-faceted culture and language.

ABRI                    
Indonesian Armed Forces

ADRI                    
Indonesian Army

ALRI                      
Indonesian Navy

AURI                     
Indonesian Air Force

Allahu Akbar       
God is Great - (Moslem chant)

Allah                     
God

ANZUS                
Australian, N.Z., U.S. Defence Treaty

ASEAN                
Association of South East Asian Nations

Asalamalaikum    
welcome greeting

babat-pedas        
chili tripe

Bahasa                
language

bangsat               
arsehole, bastard

Bapak                  
respectful address to an older male, father

batik                     
printed cloth

becak                   
three-wheeled pedicab

bule                     
derogatory name for white people

CIA                       
Central Intelligence Agency

COMINT              
Communications Intelligence

cukong                 
middle-man, broker

DIA                       
Defense Intelligence Agency

dukun                   
unlicensed herbalist who casts spells

El Nino                
devastating weather pattern.

Fatwah                
religious statement of condemnation

Golok                   
field knife of sword length

ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule

Tafkidim Meyuhadim   
Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks

Haji                       
one who has completed the pilgrimage to 
Mecca

hati goreng           
fried liver

Ibu                          
mother, respectful form for older woman

kain batik               
sarong

Kalimantan            
Indonesian Borneo

KOPASSUS          
Indonesian Army Special Forces

KOSTRAD            
Indonesian Army Strategic Forces

kretek                     
clove cigarette

La Nina                  
El Nino's twin sister - opposing weather 
pattern

Lohor                     
one of the five prayer periods, around 1330 
hours.

magrib                   
sunset

mas                         
friend, you

Mufti
Muharam        
Islamic religious/political party

nasi                            
rice

nasi goreng            
fried rice

NSA                        
National Security Agency

Nusantara             
early name for Indonesia ( Java to the east) 

Ombar-Wetar         
deep submarine trench off Timor

Oom                        
uncle - idiomatic term for older male

Ora Et Labora          
a school in Jakarta

Pancaroba             
The Fifth Season

Pak                           
abbreviation of Bapak

Pancasila               
the five basic principles underlying 
Indonesian life

paru-paru                 
lung

pribumi                     
indigenous person - son of the soil

Perkarya Party          
(Perkumpulan Karya) Workers' Party

rakyat                       
the people, the masses

sambal                     
sharp spice

sate                          
meat, chicken, cooked on skewers

Selamatan                
blessing ceremony

Selamat Pagi           
good morning

selamat datang        
welcome

sialan!                       
damn!

surat-kaleng             
anonymous note

terima kasih               
thank you