Affirmative action won't work<\/p>\n
By Iwan Pranoto<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): Political observer Jusuf Wanandi said in the
\nJakarta Post on July 1, 1998, that a policy of affirmative action
\nwould bring Indonesian people closer together.<\/p>\n
The rationale for such a policy was that existing racial
\ntensions had come about as the result of the gap between rich and
\npoor.<\/p>\n
I strongly believe that implementing such a policy in
\nIndonesia is inappropriate. The policy has worked in neighboring
\nMalaysia because the bureaucracy there is reasonably clean, but
\nthat is not case with our own system. How can we be sure that
\nhelp intended for poor people will reach the right target?<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the issue cannot be set clearly along ethnic
\nlines because as Wanandi pointed out, not all Chinese-Indonesians
\nare rich. Contrary to popular belief, many of them are very poor.<\/p>\n
Populist sentiment would have it that racial tensions which
\nexist between Chinese-Indonesians and those of Malay origin have
\ncome about because of the relative affluence of the former, but
\nthis is not true. If it were true, tensions would exist between
\nrich Malays and poor Malays, but this is not the case.<\/p>\n
We can therefore conclude that economic factors are not the
\nprimary cause of racial tension. There must be something else.<\/p>\n
One reason is that we still cannot see people as they really
\nare. We still cannot accept other people if they are different
\nfrom us and we are more interested in the label one bears than
\nthe qualities one has. It is more important to consider one's
\nreligion, race, ethnic background and gender, rather than to
\nconsider one's attitude and expertise. It seems we are not yet
\nmature enough to become a great nation.<\/p>\n
We should ease the tension using a variety of methods, but
\naffirmative action is not one of them. To fight racism with
\nracism, which affirmative action does, is inherently
\ncontradictory.<\/p>\n
Our society must improve its respect for universal human
\nvalues and we must start to see things differently. Jobs should
\nno longer be filled on the basis of race. Teaching people to
\ncommunicate with others without considering race is the most
\neffective way to fight racism.<\/p>\n
The objective of affirmative action is good, but the means of
\ngetting there is wrong. The objective cannot justify the means.<\/p>\n
Deep inside we can see and feel that we are all the same and
\nthat we live on the same planet. It is true that we are not all
\nexactly the same, but God created us with variations so that we
\ncould learn from these differences. Imagine if we had to live in
\na world where everybody looked the same. It would be very boring,
\nwouldn't it?<\/p>\n
There is an old fable on this subject. A group of fleas lived
\non the skin of a dog and ate by sucking his blood. They slept in
\nthe dog's hair -- it really was a very cozy place to live. "Skin
\nsweet skin," they used to say.<\/p>\n
One day, a new group of fleas joined them. The two groups
\nlived together peacefully on the dog until some fleas declared
\nthe dog belonged to the first group of flees only. The new group
\ndid not have equal rights to the dog's blood and were
\ndiscriminated against. The first group of fleas became known as
\nthe indigenous fleas and the second group were always referred to
\nas nonindigenous.<\/p>\n
This lead to discord between the two groups and the tension
\nwas such that even the dog could feel it.<\/p>\n
After contemplating the problem for a while, the dog
\nphilosophically mused: "It is absurd. They are both living on my
\nbony body. They are sucking the same blood, my blood. They are
\nsleeping in the same skin, my skin. They all are parasites on my
\nbody. How can one colony of fleas declare that they have more
\nright to suck my blood and enjoy my body than another colony."
\nThe dog then asked himself: "How can one group of flees call
\nthemselves indigenous and brand others nonindigenous. Aren't they
\nthe same fleas and created by the same God?"<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer at the Bandung Institute of
\nTechnology.<\/p>",
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