He broke the course record with a nine-under-par 63 and at one stage looked like he could break the 60 barrier.
His compatriot Matthew Griffin finished in second place with a 66 at Imperial Klub Golf, just outside Jakarta.
The US$1 million tournament is the season opening event on OneAsia, which boasts 13 events this year.
Japan’s Hiroshi Iwata, and Australians Andre Stolz and Chris Campbell shot 67s.
“I am very, very happy with that. Played really well up until the last hole where I had a complete misunderstanding with my caddie which was my fault. I took the wrong club and the wrong line. I was lucky not to go into the water and was pleased to make par,” said the 34 year old.
He bombarded the golf course with 10 birdies including six in a row from the sixth.
At 10 under after 14 a 59 was looking very possible but he made his only bogey of the day on the 15th.
He added: “I have been playing pretty well recently but the last couple of days I wouldn’t say it was really on or anything. I have never shot 10 under before and on the last three or four holes that definitely got in the way a little bit. You are not really supposed to think about your score but I had it to 10 under and the pressure was on. I have shot nine under probably a dozen times now. It is a bit disappointing not to get to 10.”
Millar turned professional in 2002 and played on The European Tour for four years starting in 2006.
He is still looking for his first win as a professional but has come close several times including a joint fifth place finish in the 2005 Indonesia Open.
Griffin, ranked the number three amateur in the world before turning professional in 2008, also toured the front nine in six-under-par 30 with four birdies and an eagle on the ninth.
The tournament’s star players all made steady starts. China’s Liang Wenchong, who won twice last year on his way to winning the OneAsia Order of Merit, fired a 70.
Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng and Michael Hendry from New Zealand, winner of last year’s Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta, also carded 70s.
Thaworn Wiratchant from Thailand, Australian Kim Felton and Korea’s Bae Sang-moon returned 71s.
Korean star Kim Dae-hyun was the only top player to struggle and surprisingly came in with a 78.
Rory Hie ended the day as the leading Indonesian. He shot a 68 on the course where he won The International Championship on the ASEAN PGA Tour in 2008.
The Indonesia PGA Championship will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 400 million homes in more than 40 countries.
Full coverage of OneAsia is available internationally on ESPN Star Sports, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Network Ten, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 in the USA, and ViaSat and Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.
Leading first round scores:
(Par 72)
63 – Matthew Millar (AUS)
66 – Matthew Griffin (AUS)
67 – Andre Stolz (AUS), Chris Campbell (AUS), Hiroshi Iwata (JPN)
68 – Rory Hie (INA), Kim Hyung-woo (AUS), Michael Long (NZL), Peter Fowler (AUS),Anthony Summers (AUS), Lee Kyoung-hoon (KOR), Son Joon-eob (KOR)
69 – Heath Reed (AUS), Maan Nasim (INA), Peter Wilson (AUS), Steve Jeffress (AUS), Leigh McKechnie (AUS), David Oh (US), Burhan Bora (INA), Paul Sheehan (AUS), Rohan Blizard (AUS), Ryan Haller (AUS), Wu Asun (CHN)
Selected:
70 – Michael Hendry (NZL), Prayad Marksaeng (THA), Nicholas Fung (MAS), Stephen Leaney (AUS), Liang Wenchong (CHN)
71 – Thaworn Wiratchant (THA), Kim Felton (AUS), Bae Sang-moon (KOR), Denny Wijaya (INA)
72 – Wayne Grady (AUS), Ilyassyak (INA), Hamzah Rahmadi (INA)
73 - Abrahamsyah (INA), I Nengah Dharma (INA), Andik Mauludin (INA)
74 - Ramadhan Alwie (INA), Benny Kasiadi (INA), Sandro Bernard (INA)
75 - Junaidi Ibrahim (INA), Sarmilih KZ (INA)
76 - Khamid MH (INA), Hardjito (INA), Nasin Surachman (INA), Sanusi (INA)
77 - Indra Hermawan (INA), Ade Sebul (INA)
78 - Gunawan (INA), Jamel (INA) Effendi K (INA)
79 - Asep Caprie (INA), A Suganda (INA), Dede Idris (INA)
80 - Chaerul Chan (INA), Zulharmen Tabusalla (INA)
81 - Randy Mawuntu (INA)
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