It was totally unexpected.

I was just finishing an afternoon prayer in the mosque nearby Faculty of Economics at the University of Brawijaya. The meeting in the mountainous city of East Java brings together cool heads of Economics and Development students all over Indonesia together. We were on the verge of establishing a national organization for Economics and Development students.

Students in this major are proud for their fellow alumni and lecturers as they are known as a driving force in national and regional planning agencies as well as expert members of most of welfare and economic related policy committees. And some of them become top executives or lawmakers. Moreover, TV shows and newspapers are not complete without economic section.

Considering the enormity of tasks in setting up development plans, which usually fall into alumni of 70+ public universities in Indonesia with Economics major, with ten percent of them doing most of the heavy lifting, it is imperative that during studentship period that we get to know each other to build networks early on.

Little did I know that at I was bumping into a different kind of wall soon after.

A group of female students from Andalas University in West Sumatra, based in Padang the hometown of my tribe, looked at me curiously and braced themselves to ask a question. One of them said, “What are you doing in a mosque?”

I told them that I had just finished praying and she responded, ”Oh, I didn’t thought that you are Moslem since you look like a Chinese.”

I defended myself by explaining that I have a mixed blood of Padangnese from West Sumatra and Sundanese West Java, both of which have reputation of fair skin, then it is natural that my skin is even fairer than most Indonesian people.

They smiled to me and afterward the group’s behavior was growing warmer toward me. Having good-looking girls behaving nice is not usually a circumstance that makes me complain. But it did have me wondering.

Two strands occurred in my minds. First, why they changed behavior. Second, why I felt the strong urge to ‘defend’ myself.

I have an impeccable credential as a pribumi, translated literally into son of the earth, Indonesian. As I mentioned before, my parents are both from Indonesian tribes with no traceable of intermarriage with western or far east blood. Not only I am a Moslem but a leader of local chapter of Islamic Association of University Student (HMI), which has the largest number of student in the world among student associations in a single country. I even have, albeit weak, acquaintances with leaders of revivalist and progressive Islamic movements in the country.

Not that I have prejudices or bad experiences with minority in Indonesia. Some of my fondest childhood memories were during my three-year stay in Riau Island near Singapore where many of the inhabitants were Chinese descent.

Every time I saw a red envelope, it reminds of me of a well-kept tradition in Chinese New Year where children in a neighborhood will be given angpao, money in such envelope. Until now, I still count kwe tiaw (Chinese flat noodle) with seafood sauce as one of my favorite meals. And yes, I developed close friendship with a Chinese boy of my age whose photo still adorns my album and my mother still sometimes proudly shows to visitors of our house.

So why I have the need to differentiate myself and my identify that I am not one of “them”?

As much as having progressive and nationalistic parents could have impact, I could not escape influences of the media and community.  I am still a product of my generation.

In a way, it’s not totally the mistake of Chinese Indonesians. The Dutch colonial system that lasted more than three centuries in some areas of Java created a hierarchy of population. They and other European descendants were at the top of pyramid with all the power and perks that ensued while the pribumi were placed at the bottom of the vertical stratifications.

A few pribumis with royal blood or special circumstances could get Dutch education and even went all the way to study in Holland, but they retained little illusion that the barrier could go away longer than a flicker of moments. But there was also the second layer.

As the Netherlands was very far away from Indonesia and the state of sea transportation at the time was far from convenient, their number was too small for an effective power over economic and political matter in the archipelago. While they hold close to political power, the economic side was not held to close to the chest and many of trading activities were given up. Of course some of the spoil would reach them eventually.

Arab and Chinese descendants were classified as the second layer of population class. This arrangement had added benefits by making the pribumi saw that the Dutch was not the only group higher in hierarchy thus making their position even weaker.

The Arab had an advantage with having similar religious and cultural backgrounds with most of Indonesian population. With intermarriage often occurred, Arabian descendants had been accepted as a part of Indonesian diverse richness.

While there have been heroic cases of Chinese Indonesian fight against the Dutch colonial system, the main impression is how the group was privileged over suffering of pribumi Indonesia. Furthermore, Christianity was brought by Dutch and Portuguese to Indonesian archipelago and is still seen with suspicion of being external agents and less than fully loyal to Indonesia.

Some historians said that female Chinese prevented their males to convert to Islam for fear of the husband taking a second, a third or fourth wives that are allowed in mainstream Islam. Anyhow, the low percentage of Moslems in Chinese Indonesians made the group a triple minority in terms of ethnic, religion,  and wealth.

Being suspected as part of coup movement to oust Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia, certainly wasn’t helpful to the cause of integration. Chinese schools and newspapers were banned,  and people who were using Chinese names were forced to adopt proper Indonesian names.

During the New Order under Suharto, the marginalization of Chinese Indonesians reached a new height. One would be very hard pressed to find one member in government office or military. Chinese Indonesians were ghetto-ized into  businesses activities which fed into vicious cycles of resentment as the group grew richer. The riots of May 1998 were the culmination of that resentment. The harrowing stories of the incident will forever be kept in the conscience of Indonesians.

But it was not without any upside.

The president after the 1999 election was Gus Dur, who was a strong civil society leader and an avid defender of minorities. Chinese newspapers and daily news in Mandarin on a major national TV station and Chinese culture flourished again under his administration, while the next president did nothing to stem the tide.

Now the Chinese New Year is again a festivity of sight and sound. Who can forget barongsai dance with two persons in a dragon costume doing acrobatic feats, once you have seen them? Now I am happy that my children will not be barred from such amazing sight.

In retrospect, I wish I had echoed Collin Powell when he endorsed Obama for  president over John McCain in the eve of 2009 election. I would have said, “What if I am a Chinese Indonesian? Is there something wrong with being a Chinese Indonesian in this country?”

I expect that there will be time, not very far from now, when the question will meet a resounding no by all Indonesians. An individual should not be judged by the color of skin, religion, and racial heritage or wealth, but by the content of character and contribution to common good.[]

This article is exclusively published by Center for Minority, Gender, and Human Rights.

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One hundred bare-chested men in sarong (traditional cloth featuring batik prints) burst into the scene, chanting ancient Balinese songs.  In a matter of minutes, they were sitting in a large circle, their bodies and hands moving rhythmically to the chants, which sounded more like mantras to call forth the heavenly spirits.

A beautiful couple emerged and danced blissfully in the middle of the chanting men.  They were in full regalia, which indicated that they belonged to the royal family. Alas! A monster came and took the beautiful lady away with him, to the anguish of the prince.  A mystical white monkey, hanuman, came to the aid of the prince, who had to fight the monster’s barong, a frightening creature.  The spectacular performance reached its climax as the prince defeated the monster and rescued his princess.

This was the Balinese ketjak dance performance – one of the most stunning cultural performances in the world that is uniquely Indonesian.   The first time I watched a live ketjak performance was not at Bali or at the Indonesian National Theater.  It was at the tenth anniversary celebration of Perhimpunan INTI (The Chinese-Indonesian Association) at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, on June 23, 2009.

During the celebration, which was attended by 10,000 people and graced by the presence of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Jakarta Governor, Fauzi Bowo, and a host of cabinet ministers, the notion of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (United in Diversity) permeated every performance.  Originally banned in the 33 years of New Order era under Soeharto, at least 50 barongsai (lion dance) performed.  A tarian nusantara (national dance) was also one of the highlights of the evening.  The performance was a medley of Indonesian colors and flavors, in vibrant costumes from Minangkabau, Java, the Moluccas islands, Papua and Kalimantan.  The dance was performed by Chinese-Indonesian and pribumi (indigenous) youth.

During his opening speech at the beginning of the celebration, President Yudhoyono lauded the organizing committee’s theme of Menghayati Kebhinekaan¸ Memperkokoh Persatuan (Appreciating Diversity, Strengthening Unity).  He stated that

“it is important for the Indonesian nation to appreciate our rich cultural heritage and diversity.  We need to work hand-in-hand to build a harmonious nation and embrace the differences in our society…discrimination is a thing of the past; our future is colored with tolerance and harmony.”

The president’s rhetoric was apt for the celebration that marked the first decade of INTI’s existence as a major Chinese-Indonesian organization.  INTI was formed in the wake of the May 1998 riots.  These riots were so horrendous, from massive looting and burning of Chinese-owned properties and businesses to the rapes of Chinese women, that these events, according to sociologist Mely G. Tan, “jolted the ethnic Chinese from their attitude of compliance to an attitude of greater assertiveness, expressed in more active participation in political activities.”

Although Chinese political parties fizzled in the first decade of the Reformasi (post-Soeharto) era, Chinese-Indonesians became more active in the 2009 parliamentary and presidential elections.  Singapore’s The Straits Times reports that at least 12 ethnic Chinese politicians, mostly from secular nationalist parties, have secured places in the 560-seat national Parliament after the April 9, 2009 legislative elections, compared with 13 in the 2004 election and six in the 1999 polls.  Moreover, it is significant to note that all vice-presidential candidates requested to meet with the largest Chinese organizations – INTI and PSMTI (Paguyuban Sosial Marga Tionghoa Indonesia or the Chinese-Indonesian Social Organization), whose membership is in the thousands.  Chinese-Indonesians also turned out in droves on July 8, 2009 to vote for their preferred presidential candidate.

As of July 9, 2009, quick counts of the presidential election showed that Yudhoyono would win the election by a landslide.  Although formal counting would be conducted between July 20 and July 24, 2009, the nation was already celebrating Yudhoyono’s triumph.

Yudhoyono’s second term as the president of Indonesia is encouraging for minority groups such as the Chinese in Indonesia.  Throughout his first term, he had always stressed that Indonesia should be seen as a home to many ethnic groups that have worked together hand in hand to build a better future.  After all, diversity has always colored the rich tapestry of Indonesia’s socio-cultural landscape.  From Sabang to Merauke (West to East of Indonesia), spanning 13,677 islands and 5,150 kilometers, more than 300 ethnic groups have lived side by side for centuries.

At one of the first major Chinese-Indonesian events he attended, such as the Chinese New Year celebration at the Jakarta Fair Ground on February 28, 2009, Yudhoyono declared that the enactment of the Presidential Decree Number 12, signed in 2006 means that legal discrimination against non-indigenous Indonesians, which mostly affects the Indonesian Chinese, was no longer acceptable.  There was now only one way to refer to citizens of Indonesia: as Indonesians.

In my earlier entry for this column, I have discussed that, although discriminatory policies against the Chinese have been eradicated on a judicial level, they are still very much in practice in real-life.  It will take intensive training and education to erode prejudice against the Chinese in Indonesia.  A government that is supportive of multiculturalism, led by Yudhoyono, is thus imperative to push the nation forward towards tolerance and racial harmony.

On the part of the Chinese, social organizations that flourished in the Reformasi era have worked hard to expunge the notion of exclusivity by  helping to alleviate the nation’s burden in times of need, especially by providing aid (monetary or otherwise) in the aftermath of natural disasters.  They have also supported education not just for the Chinese but for Muslim children.  An example of this would be the contribution of several school buildings made by the Teochew Association to the Muhammadiyah school in West Kalimantan.  Through these activities and many others, it is clear that these organizations are united in their orientation and loyalty towards Indonesia.

As we celebrate Indonesia’s 64^th year as an independent nation, we should be mindful of our nation’s “rich cultural heritage and diversity.”  Repression of cultural expressions and values, which occurred during Soeharto’s New Order, should never be repeated.  As a nation, we ought to learn from Budi S. Tanuwibowo, the president of Indonesia’s Confucian Association, INTI’s secretary-general and the head of the organizing committee for INTI’s tenth anniversary.  He promotes the cultivation of pluralism and mutual understanding in his stirring poem about nationalism, the national elections and diversity (reproduced here both in Bahasa Indonesia and English (my translation)):

Indonesiaku, Indonesia Kita

Meski Pemilu mengkotakkan kita,
Namun merah putih tetap berkibar di dada,
Meski Pilpres memisahkan kau dan aku,
Namun hati kita tetap menyatu…

Wahai Saudaraku,
Garudaku adalah Garudamu,
Benderaku juga Benderamu,
Pancasilaku Pancasilamu,
Indonesiaku pasti Indonesiamu,
Indonesia kita yang terus bertahta,
Dalam hati sanubari, Dalam jiwa dan sukma,
Dalam kehormatan kita sebagai manusia…

Saudaraku,
Pilihan kita boleh berbeda,
Namun kita tetap bersaudara,
Saatnya berpeluk hangat tanpa jarak,
Atas nama Indonesia,
Atas nama harkat martabat kita…

Ayo Saudaraku,
Ibu Pertiwi tlah lama menunggu…

Salam Kebangsaan Indonesia,

Budi S. Tanuwibowo

My Indonesia, Our Indonesia

Although elections force us to be in a box,
Red and white are still rippling in our chest.
Although elections divide you and me,
Our hearts are still one.

Dear brothers and sisters,
My Garuda is your Garuda,
My flag is your flag,
My Pancasila is your Pancasila,
My Indonesia must be your Indonesia,
Our Indonesia that has always be enthroned
In our deepest hearts, In our souls and spirits,
In our pride as human beings…

My brothers and sisters,
Our choices may be different,
But we are all still connected,
It is time for us to embrace without distance,
In the name of Indonesia,
In the name of our dignity and self-respect.

Come, my brothers and sisters,
Our motherland has been waiting for a long time…

My national regards,
Budi S. Tanuwibowo

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The 14-year-old girl cowered in fear as terror erupted outside of her family’s Chinese medicine shop.  Screams of people fleeing for their lives could be heard clearly as angry mobs hunted down the Chinese, burning and looting their shops and houses.  She wanted to help those people outside but she was afraid to leave the shop.  She knew that the pandemonium outside was a horrible sight to behold.  She took a peek out of the window while her mother was not looking and saw countless bodies, many without heads, cluttered all over the sidewalk.

The girl’s parents had taken in many of their relatives seeking refuge; their shops and houses set on fire just hours before they ran to her family’s medicine shop.  It was as if they knew that her parents’ medicine shop would not be disturbed.  The girl wondered if it was because her father prayed to Kuan Kung (the warrior god) every 15 minutes, asking him to ward off evil and to protect their family during this time of crisis.

The year was 1965 and the city was Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia.  The ethnic Chinese were the targets in the aftermath of a failed attempted coup that was allegedly masterminded by the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party). Because China was suspected of backing the PKI, the political instability that occurred between 1965 and 1966 caused the masses to unleash their animosity toward the ethnic Chinese.

When the riots had cooled down in the following weeks, the girl and many of her schoolmates could not return to school.  The Chinese schools they attended were closed by the government and they were not welcome in the indigenous schools.  Consequently, the girl chose to help her parents’ Chinese medicine business instead of going back to school.  Meanwhile, her brothers attended Indonesian schools when they were open to Chinese children.  There would be no more Chinese schools after 1965.

The government also prohibited the use of Chinese characters in public spaces, the import of Chinese-language publications, and all forms and expressions that can be traced to be of Chinese cultural origin, such as the public celebration of the Lunar New Year.   Furthermore, a tract issued by the government in 1968 stipulated that the Chinese would have to substitute Indonesian for Chinese names to show their commitment to their country.  As a result of these restrictions, most Chinese children born after 1966 speak, write, and read only the Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia).

Although Chinese-Indonesians adhered to this policy of forced assimilation for 33 years, there is evidence that the pribumi (the indigenous population) still see the Chinese as not fully integrated into the Indonesian society.  The Chinese have been envied and vilified for their economic prowess as they are believed to control 70 percent of the country’s private economic sector and make up only 3 percent of the 240 million people who reside in Indonesia.  This imbalance of economic power relative to their size, along with suspicion of pribumi leaders regarding their loyalty to an external power (before Indonesian independence, to the Dutch colonialist or China; and after independence, to China) are some of the reasons why the Chinese often became the targets of violence during each event of political turbulence in Indonesia’s history.

The most recent example occurred in May 1998.  Following the revolution that removed Suharto at the helm of power in May 1998, riots erupted in Jakarta where mobs robbed, murdered, and raped hundreds of Chinese individuals.  They also destroyed and pillaged Chinese homes and establishments.  The May 1998 riots sadly revealed that the Chinese remained an unwanted part of Indonesian racial/cultural make-up despite their adherence to Suharto’s policy of assimilation.  No matter how long they have spent in the country, the loyalties of the Chinese would always be questioned by most of the pribumi.  Historian William H. Skinner refers to this as the “Once a Jew, always a Jew” syndrome.

Because of extensive media coverage of the May 1998 tragedy, the atrocities of the riots were condemned by the international community.  It was partly because of the international condemnation of the May 1998 riots that the fall of Suharto in 1998 saw the dawn of an era of Reformasi (Reformation).  This era seeks to correct the many instances of injustice targeted against the Chinese of Indonesia.

When Abdurrahman Wahid served as the President of Indonesia between November 1999 and August 2001, he abolished the Presidential Instruction Number 14, signed in 1967 by Suharto, which restricted the practice of Chinese customs and religions to private domain. Following this abolition, he signed the Presidential Instruction Number 6, stipulated in the year 2000, which allows the public celebration of the Chinese New Year. Megawati took a step further by declaring Chinese New Year as a national holiday in 2003.

One of the most revolutionary steps that the government took to revoke discriminatory practices against the Chinese and to uphold human rights is the promulgation of a ‘Circulation Letter of the Directorate-General of Immigration of the Department of Justice and Human Rights no. P.U.M. 01.10.0626, dated April 14, 2004 on SBKRI for the Application of a Passport of the Republic of Indonesia.’  The SBKRI (Surat Bukti Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia) or the Proof of Indonesian Citizenship has been an ongoing problem for Chinese-Indonesians because they had to show this document whenever they had to apply for a passport.

According to Frans H. Winarta, a leading human rights lawyer in Indonesia, in his essay, “No More Discrimination Against the Chinese,” many aspects of Chinese-Indonesians’ life, such as legal interests, economical interests, and the application of citizenship have been hampered because of the SBKRI.   This regulation has clearly violated the 1945 Indonesian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.  Since it only affects Chinese-Indonesians, the SBKRI is a form of apartheid (segregation) or state racial discrimination.  Moreover, SBKRI has also caused bureaucrats and civil servants to constantly and shamelessly ask for bribes from Chinese-Indonesians who cannot present their SBKRI.

Although many of the discriminatory regulations targeting Chinese-Indonesians have been annulled by the government, discrimination still exists in practice. For example, government officials still ask for the SBKRI when Chinese-Indonesians apply for a passport.  Several letters to the editor, published in The Jakarta Post during Chinese New Year celebrations in February 2009, also voice the opinions of several readers that the Chinese are still deemed as ‘exclusive’ and not contributing enough to their country.  It is clear that these readers are not aware that the Chinese have formed hundreds of social organizations that channel aid to victims of natural disasters and the building of Muslim schools.  Although the organizations’ contributions are widely reported by Chinese newspapers, they rarely appear on national newspapers such as The Jakarta Post or Kompas.

As Natalia Soebagjo, the co-founder and vice-chair for the University of Indonesia’s Center for Chinese Studies points out in her essay, “Love-Hate Relationship of Ethnic Chinese and Ethnic Indonesians,” solving the ‘Chinese problem’ is part of the unresolved challenge of Indonesia’s ongoing nation building process.  According to Soebagjo, “Unless Indonesians – Chinese and non-Chinese alike – are able to shed misperceptions and stereotyping, create a more equitable society, overcome corruption, improve governance, and tighten law enforcement as part of its long ‘to do’ list, it will take longer to delete the separating line” between the Chinese and indigenous Indonesians.

Along with improving governance and tightening law enforcement, I would add education to her ‘to do’ list.  In order to eradicate discrimination and uphold human rights in Indonesia, the younger generation has to learn to be tolerant of their country’s rich diversity and be taught not to stereotype by encouraging them to befriend people from all kinds of ethnicities.  After all, the personality of the individual should be the key to maintaining a friendship, not our ethnic origins.[]

This article is exclusively published by Center for Minority, Gender, and Human Rights.

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