Local skinheads take a walk on the milder side<\/p>\n
Jan Johannsson, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
On Jl. Barkah, an otherwise nondescript side street in the South
\nJakarta suburb of Tebet, several long-established Jakarta
\nskinheads have gathered in a small store known as the Warriors
\nShop.<\/p>\n
Among them is an easygoing young man by the name of Uti, who
\nis acknowledged by many as having been the first skinhead in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
He opened the Warriors Shop several months ago in order to
\nspread the traditional skinhead message, as well as to sell
\ndifficult to find skinhead accessories and tapes of the many
\nIndonesian bands that play Oi! music, a peculiar skinhead take on
\npunk music.<\/p>\n
Of all the Western-derived subcultures that developed in this
\ncountry during the 1990s, skinheads are the most surprising to
\nmany. After all, skinheads seems unavoidably linked with
\nspecifically Western concerns and with Western racism.<\/p>\n
Over the last decade Indonesia has developed its own version
\nof this surprisingly durable youth cult. Most of the nation's
\nmajor cities now contain pockets of youths who have adopted the
\nstyle -- shaved heads, Doctor Martens boots, braces, black flight
\njackets, Fred Perry shirts -- music and some of the beliefs of
\ntheir Western counterparts.<\/p>\n
Before you dismiss the phenomenon as mere mindless imitation
\nof Western trends, it's worth taking a closer look at the goals
\nof the skinheads. The existence of Indonesian skinheads says
\nsomething about the struggle for identity that people face in an
\nage of cultural globalization.<\/p>\n
Perhaps those people who peddle simplistic prophecies of a
\n\"clash of civilizations\" might be surprised by an Indonesian
\nskinhead subculture that can encompass not only religion but also
\nfeminism.<\/p>\n
The story that Uti and the others tell has nothing to do with
\nfascism or racism -- rather it is a universal one of the struggle
\nfor self-respect and meaning in tough times.<\/p>\n
\"I first became aware of skinheads when I went to study in
\nSingapore in the mid '90s,\" said Uti. \"At the time I was hanging
\naround with skateboarders and punks who showed me a copy of The
\nSkinhead Bible. I immediately wanted to become a skinhead,
\nbecause it seemed different, more positive -- not like other
\nyouth movements.<\/p>\n
\"Skinheads were neat, smart and clever.\"<\/p>\n
Uti returned to Jakarta with a copy of The Skinhead Bible and
\nbegan spreading the word among Jakarta's punk and skateboarder
\ncircles. Soon after came the region-wide financial crisis,
\nproviding a ready audience for a message of working-class pride
\nand identity.<\/p>\n
During 1997 and 1998 the numbers of skinheads in Jakarta
\nboomed, helped no doubt by the spread of Internet cafes offering
\neasy access to information about Western subcultures.<\/p>\n
Uti puts the numbers of skinheads in Jakarta now at between
\n500 and 1,000, and says the number in other towns is impossible
\nto estimate.<\/p>\n
Just like in other countries, local skinheads usually come
\nfrom lower-middle class and working class backgrounds. However,
\nIndonesia's economic circumstances have dictated some differences
\nfrom the subculture as it exists in other countries.<\/p>\n
\"In Singapore you see all the guys decked out from head to
\nfoot with skinhead accessories. But here in Indonesia it's not
\nalways easy for us to get those clothes,\" said Dani, another
\nJakarta skin.<\/p>\n
As a result, and perhaps also as a concession to the climate,
\nIndonesian skinheads can often be seen getting around not in
\nheavy Doctor Martens boots, but rather in the classic local
\nrubber thong.<\/p>\n
As Hadi, a Jakarta skin who sings in the band Antisquad and
\nalso happens to be a film student at the Jakarta Arts Institute,
\nsaid: \"Being a skinhead is not what you wear, but who you are\".<\/p>\n
But while Singapore and Malaysia play host to the ridiculous
\nspectacle of Malay skinheads with swastika armbands who assault
\nBangladeshis in the street, Indonesians seem to have opted almost
\nexclusively for the nonracist version of the cult.<\/p>\n
Another major point of difference with the original subculture
\nin Europe is that the bulk of Indonesia's skinheads are Muslim.<\/p>\n
\"We still go to the mosque and pray every week,\" said Uti.
\n\"There is no reason why we can't be skinheads and Muslims also.\"<\/p>\n
But they are far from being fundamentalists or extremists. The
\npolitics they do display often seem to be of a traditional left
\nwing variety.<\/p>\n
When asked about what he wants the government to do, Hadi
\nsaid: \"I would like the government to give more money to support
\nart and music.\"<\/p>\n
When pressed further, the skinheads come out with the usual
\ngrievances of corrupt officials, inflation and unresponsive
\npoliticians. They plainly see that fascism and racial or
\nreligious antagonism is not the solution and dismiss the racist
\nskinheads of other Asian countries by noting.<\/p>\n
\"It's silly. Nazism is for white people -- we have our own
\nproblems here,\" Hadi said. \"Our band is not nationalist, just
\nproud to be Indonesian.\"<\/p>\n
Dani is an admirer of Indonesia's first president Sukarno and
\nis interested in learning about socialism.<\/p>\n
\"The Soeharto government twisted our history so I don't know
\nmuch about Indonesian socialism in earlier times. But I know
\nSukarno advocated socialism and I think that capitalism is not
\ngood for third world countries.\"<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Indonesia is perhaps the first country in the
\nworld to feature a female skinhead band with a feminist message.
\nThe members of Keep On, who are also all Muslim, say that they
\nlike the skinhead attitude of self-respect and started the band
\nto improve the status of women in the underground music scene.<\/p>\n
\"Before that we couldn't even watch bands without having some
\nguys trying to grope us,\" one of the members said.<\/p>\n
This may seem like a slightly quixotic endeavor, but at a
\nrecent Keep On concert in Purwokerto, Central, a crowd of largely
\nmale skinheads sang along enthusiastically to songs with a
\nfeminist message.<\/p>\n
Since the band started the situation for women has improved in
\nthe underground scene, says Keep On singer Debby, but not in
\nIndonesian society.<\/p>\n
\"There are more women in the work-force now, but maybe it's
\njust because employers think they are easier to exploit.\"<\/p>\n
But beyond their political concerns, what the skinheads in
\nIndonesia seem most hungry for is recognition by fellow skinheads
\naround the world.<\/p>\n
Antisquad will soon have its album released in Europe by
\nFrench record label Bords de Seine and Keep On are in
\nnegotiations with another French label, but the Indonesian
\nskinhead scene is still largely unknown in other countries.<\/p>\n
While for superficial observers the idea of Indonesian
\nskinheads seems like an oxymoron, Indonesian skinheads' own sense
\nof identity seems to transcend racial and religious differences.<\/p>\n
As I leave the Warriors Store, I decide to buy a souvenir, a
\nT-shirt with a red and white logo and the words \"Indonesian
\nSkinheads Division\". Is it OK if I buy it, given that I'm
\nobviously not Indonesian?<\/p>\n
\"No problem. Just wear it in Melbourne and let them know we
\nare here.\"<\/p>",
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