In colonial times, Indonesian physicians engaged in public debates by publishing articles in newspapers and magazines, participating in political parties, organisations, and social movements, becoming members of city councils and the colonial parliament, strengthening the Indonesian medical profession, and advocating health policies. They were public intellectuals who interpreted colonial society according to medical and scientific hermeneutics. After independence, these nationalist physicians became Indonesia’s national physicians, building Indonesia’s health care system in close association with the state. As a consequence, they relinquished their political engagement and focused on health and medicine exclusively. After the fall of Suharto, a policy of political decentralisation was implemented. At the same time, global health started to dominate the work of international health organisations, which now preferred to bypass national governments in favour of private initiative and non-government organisations. The recent shift to global health has eroded the position of Indonesia’s national physicians.