Chinese-Indonesians want discrimination abolished<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
With the elections fast approaching, Indonesians of Chinese
\norigin have set conditions for legislative and presidential
\ncandidates to win their support, namely the ending of all
\ndiscriminatory policies and regulations.<\/p>\n
\"We will support candidates who work to abolish the excessive
\nnumber of permits and licenses imposed on us,\" said Agus Susanto,
\nthe caretaker of a Confucian temple in Glodok, West Jakarta, over
\nthe weekend.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will hold a legislative election in April 2004, and
\ndirect presidential election in July 2004. A total of 24
\npolitical parties have been declared eligible to contest the
\nlegislative election.<\/p>\n
Agus was referring to the controversial Certificate of
\nCitizenship (SBKRI) required of Indonesians of ethnic Chinese
\norigin.<\/p>\n
Although the SBKRI has been officially abolished, it is still
\nrequired of Indonesians of ethnic Chinese origin if they want to
\nobtain identity cards, passports, and registration forms to enter
\nstate-owned universities.<\/p>\n
Aside from ensnaring people in complex bureaucracy, the SBKRI
\nalso imposes a financial burden for Indonesians of ethnic Chinese
\norigin due to the high prices, sometimes millions of rupiah, they
\nhave to pay to obtain the certificate.<\/p>\n
Chinese-Indonesians are also required to state ethnicity in
\ntheir birth certificates, something that other ethnic groups are
\nnot required to do.<\/p>\n
Since Confucianism, the traditional religion for many
\nIndonesians of ethnic Chinese origin, has not been recognized by
\nthe state, there have also been cases of Chinese-Indonesian
\nmarriages not being registered by the Civil Registration Office,
\nwith children from these marriages simply considered to have been
\nborn out of wedlock.<\/p>\n
\"We were born here, work here, live here and blend in well
\nwith other ethnics here. So why are we still treated differently?
\nI really hope the next government sincerely addresses this
\nissue,\" said Rina Komala, a doctor living in Kota.<\/p>\n
Skepticism over the commitment of candidates to fulfilling
\ntheir promises, however, remains high among Chinese-Indonesians.<\/p>\n
\"That's politics. Politicians say one thing and then forget
\nabout it. What can we do?\" Agus said exasperatedly.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, political apathy was shown by Irwan Kurnia, an
\nelectronics vendor in Glodok, though he said that he would still
\ncast his vote in the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n
\"I don't really know about politics. I just hope the elections
\nwill run smoothly and things will get better afterwards,\" said
\nIrwan Kurnia.<\/p>\n
During a discussion organized by the Tionghoa Indonesian
\nAssociation (Inti) on Friday, many Chinese Indonesians attending
\nthe event enthusiastically asked panelists Bara Hasibuan, Faisol
\nReza and Benny Susetyo whether they should support candidates
\nwith a military background, since they were seen as being more
\ncapable in ensuring security and stability in the country.<\/p>\n
Responding to the question, Bara Hasibuan, a former National
\nMandate Party (PAN) activist now active in the Preparatory
\nCommittee for the Indonesian Movement (KPPI), pointed to the May
\n1998 mayhem had targeted Chinese Indonesians.<\/p>\n
\"Where was the military then? They were too busy with their
\nown power struggles that they forgot their responsibility to
\nensuring the security of the nation, and, in this particular
\ncase, the security of Chinese-Indonesians,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Faisol Reza, former leader of the Democratic People's Party
\n(PRD), warned that though military figures portrayed themselves
\nas being capable of ensuring security and stability in the
\ncountry, \"the military is still the military with all its
\nauthoritarian traits, which if given access to the nation's
\nsociopolitical scene will pose a threat to democracy in the
\ncountry.\"<\/p>\n
Benny Susetyo from the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI)
\nCrisis Center, meanwhile, proposed that the public closely
\nscrutinize all legislative and presidential candidates, and black
\nlist those with bad track records.<\/p>\n
\"Any candidate who appears to have been involved in corruption
\nand human rights violations must be kept out and not voted for,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Chinese-Indonesians account for around 3 percent of the
\ncountry's 215 million population but control a big percentage of
\nthe country's economy.<\/p>",
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