No longer 'cash cows' and 'black goats'?<\/p>\n
Christine Susanna Tjhin
\nDepartment of Politics
\nand Social Change
\nCentre for Strategic and
\nInternational Studies
\n(CSIS)
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
"If the world knows about 12 Chinese signs of the zodiac,
\nChinese-Indonesians know only of two -- the cash cow and black
\ngoat," joked Mely G. Tan years ago. The sardonic joke seems to
\nhave endured throughout Indonesian history and may be further
\naccentuated in the 2004 elections -- or not.<\/p>\n
The post-1999 political climate has been more conducive to
\ngreater participation. Increased Chinese-Indonesian participation
\nas legislative (House of Representatives) and Regional
\nRepresentatives Council (DPD) candidates can clearly be seen --
\n172 so far, as noted by The Jakarta Post. Quality, however, is
\nnot as apparent.<\/p>\n
Last Saturday, Paguyuban Sosial Marga Tionghoa Indonesia
\n(PSMTI) and Forum Masyarakat Tionghoa (FORMAT), two of
\nIndonesia's distinguished Chinese-Indonesian associations,
\ncohosted a "Meet the Chinese-Indonesian candidates" gathering.
\nThree DPD candidates and 12 legislative candidates of Chinese
\ndescent from 8 different political parties were given an
\nopportunity to campaign in front of just over 600 PSMTI
\nmembers\/associates.<\/p>\n
The enthusiasm seemed very encouraging. The audience was eager
\nto listen, question, clap, yell support and wait, for around
\nseven hours. Candidates were also full of brio in using their
\nallotted time. Except for one person during the first session,
\nwho seemed appallingly self-content with his lack-luster answer
\n"We are in the process of discussing it", whenever asked about
\nhis party's platform on gender and other matters.<\/p>\n
The intense forum, for all its worth and triviality, was an
\ninteresting portrait of Chinese-Indonesian political
\nparticipation, particularly with regard to social associations
\nand political party affiliation.<\/p>\n
First, it reconfirms the heterogeneous nature of Chinese-
\nIndonesians. Twelve candidates are spread between eight different
\nparties. When a participant criticized the three DPD candidates
\nfor not letting just one candidate run, thereby focusing the
\nChinese-Indonesian vote, others vehemently rejected this. While
\none participant regretted that no Chinese-Indonesian political
\nparties had passed the electoral threshold, others did not.<\/p>\n
Second, creativity of the candidates has so far been limited
\nto form (style of presentation and facilities) rather than
\nsubstance (issues or ideas). Ideas presented were mostly uniform,
\ndistinguishable only by eloquence, noise level or forcefulness.<\/p>\n
Third, in terms of substance, the "ethnic discrimination"
\ntheme remained dominant on all platforms. This is not to say that
\none should drop the antidiscrimination movement. There must be a
\nbalance between making rightful demands against discrimination
\nand delivering responsible civil and political obligations.
\nUnless the balance is evident in the eyes of the public, the
\ntheme will generate only vague sympathy. It will also become
\nincreasingly less empowering for Chinese-Indonesians themselves.<\/p>\n
Fourth, gender and youth issues occupy a miniscule place in
\nthe agenda, if at all. This may be a consequence of the current
\npatriarchal system within society and\/or the Confucianist concept
\nof filial piety. Or was 10 minutes simply not enough to do
\njustice to their vision and mission? Still, much has to be
\ndeveloped.<\/p>\n
The overall tone of efforts to overcome the prevalent
\napolitical situation was pretty optimistic. But was this simply
\nelection hubbub or something more significant?<\/p>\n
Many people might be curious about how the Chinese-Indonesian
\nvote will be distributed, for reliable polling is well-nigh
\nimpossible. Chinese-Indonesians are obviously anxious about where
\ntheir vote should go. But the more important, yet often
\noverlooked, moment of democratization is actually the period
\nbetween elections.<\/p>\n
Most of the candidates in the forum were baffled when a female
\nparticipant solemnly asked what they would do if not elected. Had
\nshe asked the entire audience what they would do after casting
\ntheir vote, I wonder what would have happened?<\/p>\n
Ideally, as responsible citizens, Chinese-Indonesians should
\nbe more involved in social and political participation. This goes
\nbeyond party membership or pursuing electoral candidacy. Chinese-
\nIndonesian associations, to a certain extent, can play a critical
\nrole in stimulating participation, at least among their members.<\/p>\n
Political education may well depend on the creativity of these
\nlonger-established associations. What PSMTI, FORMAT and others
\nhave done must be given credit, provided that they can maintain
\ntheir non-exclusive objectives, engage in creative repositioning
\nand apply a facilitative approach to their upcoming activities.<\/p>\n
While their membership may be exclusive, their objectives and
\nactivities must remain far-reaching. Allegations that these
\nassociations are exclusive will automatically be rendered invalid
\nonce action proves otherwise. The forum has shown how
\nassociations can relate to party members. The associations have
\ncreated the space for members to engage in dialog with candidates
\nwithout imposing a collective party preference.<\/p>\n
Though no social contracts were signed, the event has produced
\na moral commitment between members of associations and
\ncandidates. What can be pushed further on both actors is creative
\nrepositioning from "passive victims" to "proactive contributors".
\nBecoming quasi-watchdogs\/moral guardians by scrutinizing and
\n"punishing" rotten Chinese-Indonesian politicians could be an
\nalternative way of supporting the national movement against
\nrotten politicians.<\/p>\n
Of course, Chinese Indonesian associations are not the only
\ncatalyst for greater participation, but they remain influential.
\nThey still have a lot of gaps, for example limited participation
\nby young people and women. Empowerment, unfortunately, does not
\nseem to be on the associations' main agenda thus far. The
\nrelevance, sustainability and quality of these associations are
\npretty much determined by how well they deal with the empowerment
\nof young people and women because both will definitely bring a
\nfresh nuance to the whole endeavor.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, cash cows and black goats may soon be replaced by
\nsomething else: Honorable hares and daring dragons, perhaps?<\/p>",
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