Indonesians use terima kasih [thank you - RAP] and makasih only sparingly. When someone performs a routine service for someone else, they are often not thanked for it. In such situations, if you feel tempted to say terima kasih, you should try to replace it with some other way of acknowledgement, such as a nod.
Why do they thank sparingly? This seems to be linked to traditional values. Most Indonesians, especially Javanese, have a firm sense of social hierarchy and of status differences. So they are unlikely to thank a person of lower status in many everyday situations as they regard that person to be simply carrying out his or her social obligations.
That is according to Tim Hassall, an ANU’s linguistics expert.
I have no evidence or statistics of any kind to offer (he’d better have), but I do not think Indonesians thank sparingly. I can say that I thank all the time, and so do most people I know of.
I do not buy his claim that most Indonesians “have a firm sense of social hierarchy and of status differences” either. I mean, does he really think Indonesians and, say, Australians are really different on this matter?
What do you think?