Has anti-Chinese sentiment ebbed?<\/p>\n
By Harkiman Racheman<\/p>\n
MEDAN (JP): In the middle of May 1998, a series of engineered
\nanti-Chinese riots culminated in a horrific series of rapes in
\nJakarta and Surakarta. Condemned by the international community
\nfor its barbarity, the organized violation of human rights,
\nespecially women's rights, also triggered off the unprecedented
\nstudent-led overthrow of Soeharto's dictatorial regime.<\/p>\n
As a result, the whole country, still not fully recovered from
\nthe nightmare, has continued to lament the disappearance of its
\nonce-boasted \"racial harmony\". This atmosphere of mourning has
\nseemed to worsen day by day, with similar racial wars in Sambas,
\nAmbon and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Today, the masterminds behind these highly organized riots and
\nrapes have not been brought to court. Neither has any suspect
\nbeen clearly identified or disclosed to the waiting public. In
\nfact, the Habibie administration seems to have turned a blind eye
\nto all the international pressure on it to unravel one of the
\nmost wicked human tragedies in modern Indonesian history.<\/p>\n
Thus, in conjunction with the first-year commemoration of the
\nmid-May national tragedy, we may need to remind ourselves of how
\ndestructive the long-term institutionalized practice of state
\nracism is, especially toward the vulnerable Chinese minority. At
\nthe same time, it is essential to ensure that similar dark
\nincidents will never again happen in this reformed era of
\naccelerated democracy.<\/p>\n
Under the New Order regime, with its inherited Dutch colonial
\nracist politics -- devide et impera (divide and rule) --
\nIndonesians of Chinese descent for over three decades could only
\nsubmit themselves to various kinds of political mistreatments,
\nexploitation and other kinds of injustices imposed on them.<\/p>\n
It is widely acknowledged that, due to a blatant lack of
\npolitical and human rights protections, Chinese-Indonesians were
\nforced to become political scapegoats. They were used by the
\ncorrupt regime as a sacrificial buffer against indigenous
\nIndonesians' often radical anti-establishment outcries.<\/p>\n
Today, despite growing sympathy from around the country toward
\nChinese-Indonesians, there are clear signs that this pattern will
\nnot disappear immediately. Although major political parties, such
\nas Amien Rais's National Mandate Party (PAN) and Gus Dur's
\nNational Awakening Party (PKB), have openly condemned
\ninstitutionalized practices of racial discrimination against the
\nChinese, their promised corrective actions remain to be seen.<\/p>\n
However, such apparent willingness to accommodate the social,
\npolitical and cultural grievances of ethnic Chinese, as well as
\naspirations to eliminate the minority's historically inherited
\nmisfortune, cannot be underestimated. To a certain extent, it
\nwill suffice to lay down the necessary foundations for future
\ngenuine rehabilitation. That is to say, until the post-June 7
\ngovernment materializes.<\/p>\n
The inconsistency of the New Order administration in
\nimplementing the state ideology Pancasila and the 1945
\nConstitution -- especially with regards to fair and equal
\ntreatment of all Indonesian nationals -- has turned the Chinese
\ninto a \"floating mass\" or, in other words, an unprotected
\nminority community.<\/p>\n
Becoming a political orphan in the New Order political
\nconstellation, as it were, Chinese-Indonesians were continually
\nvictimized, systematically deprived of powers and constantly
\nfrustrated in their efforts to secure basic human rights,
\nespecially in the face of the excesses of indigenous Indonesians'
\npolitical intrigues.<\/p>\n
The Chinese were (and, to a certain degree, still are) banned,
\nor at least strongly discouraged, from demanding their
\nfundamental rights openly. Why? In order that they could be
\neasily turned into targets. It is not surprising, therefore, that
\nthe upsurge of Chinese cultural revivalism in Indonesia these
\ndays, in addition to the long-awaited Chinese political party the
\nBhinneka Tunggal Ika Party, has seemed to worry a number of
\nstatus quo supporters, who may be planning a political comeback
\nthrough cliched anti-Chinese political tactics.<\/p>\n
However, with mounting pressure from the country's vocal
\nreformists, we can rest assured that this old racist political
\nplot is not going to resurface unchallenged. With the idea of
\ncivil society ahead of us as the be-all-and-end-all destination
\nfor the entire nation, there is no way Chinese-Indonesians can
\nagain be easily exploited or utilized as political guinea pigs.<\/p>\n
However, it must be stressed here that, despite some
\nnoticeable changes of attitude within the indigenous majority,
\nthere is still in our society a disturbing amount of ethnic
\nnationalism. Closely associated with the sense of indigenousness,
\nthis demonstrative moody love for the country, though seemingly
\ninnocent, spontaneous and natural, is still heavily characterized
\nby unhealthy anti-Chinese sentiment, deeply rooted in racist and
\nreligious fanaticism. It is not surprising, therefore, that
\nunless this apparent misconception is reformed, this species of
\nnationalism will potentially be the primary source of
\ndiscriminative and xenophobic attitudes.<\/p>\n
Deliberately nurtured by the New Order regime (why?, some
\nask), this primordialism is still \"alive and kicking\" in our
\nneighborhood, even though the initiator may have temporarily left
\nthe country's political scene. The present government, in fact,
\nseems to continue to underestimate and ignore the continuing
\ncontributions of Chinese-Indonesians in all spheres of national
\nlife (including, of course, the economy).<\/p>\n
To mention but one example, the assassination of Hendriawan
\nSie, the Chinese reformist student martyr from Trisakti
\nUniversity, has not even been properly mentioned in contemporary
\ndiscourses on the country's political reformation. It is as if,
\ndue to Hendriawan's ethnic Chinese background, his self-sacrifice
\nis not deemed instrumental to the reform movement at all.<\/p>\n
That is why the racial polarization, coldbloodedly slicing the
\ncountry into indigenous and nonindigenous segments across the
\nformal, social as well as bureaucratic structures, should be
\nimmediately abolished forever.<\/p>\n
Such anti-Chinese sentiments will not only continue to
\ndiscredit the Indonesian government as well as the indigenous
\npopulation (for continually committing wicked discrimination),
\nbut will increasingly cause suffering on the part of the Chinese-
\nIndonesians themselves. If unfair practices are not halted but
\ntolerated, the Chinese will soon be deprived of all their natural
\nrights.<\/p>\n
In other words, unless the \"legalized\" practice of anti-
\nChinese discrimination is totally terminated, ethnic Chinese will
\nalways be the traditional targets of the tyrannical indigenous
\nmajority (backed by the government) who are not only judgmental,
\nbut dictatorially undemocratic.<\/p>\n
With the May 1998 fall of Soeharto's administration,
\nremembered by the Chinese for its transparently unjust and
\nunprotective policies (except for a handful of corrupt Chinese
\ntycoons who were Soeharto's accomplices), it is now time for
\nindigenous Indonesians to put an end to the anti-human rights,
\nanti-religion and anti-nationalism practices that the old regime
\nhas handed down.<\/p>\n
Now, exactly one year later, the question remains the same:
\nWhat can we do to solve the problem of anti-Chinese racial
\ndiscrimination in Indonesia? Even though the answer does not get
\nany easier, the following suggestions may prove realistic and
\nrelevant.<\/p>\n
First, structural racism implemented by the New Order regime
\nshould stop right now. Authorities must put an end to racial
\ndiscrimination, including numerous gaps in the legal system still
\nexisting, from the top of the bureaucratic ladder down to the
\nvery bottom.<\/p>\n
Although some of these measures have been implemented by the
\nHabibie transitional government, more far-reaching policies to
\nstop racial discrimination be encouraged. It seems that, in the
\nabsence of necessary legal sanctions, these new regulations will
\nnot be translated into empirical actualization.<\/p>\n
It is also high time that the nation returned whole-heartedly
\nto the contextual substance contained in the all-encompassing
\nPancasila ideology and the undiscriminating 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
Even though a certain amount of revision of certain parts of
\nthe Constitution has been suggested to be essential to bring it
\nup to date to the test of time, the ideology, not yet
\ncontaminated by biased interpretations, may function as the most
\nlegitimate reference for equal treatment for all citizens of the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Finally, it cannot be overemphasized that there is nothing
\nmore urgent today than legal certainty to bring about justice and
\norder. For instance, criminals must be brought to court
\nregardless of their backgrounds. The provocateurs or
\n\"intellectual actors\" behind the racial riots must be arrested
\nand held responsible for the collateral damage they have caused.<\/p>\n
Thus, even though it would be too much to ask for a complete
\nabolition of anti-Chinese discrimination now -- the ideal
\nstandard which Indonesia will find hard to achieve -- there is
\noptimism for a future Indonesia free of racial discrimination.<\/p>\n
The writer graduated from Victoria University of Wellington.
\nBased in Medan, he is currently a freelance writer and teacher at
\nprivate universities.<\/p>",
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