'My family does not celebrate Imlek'<\/p>\n
The Soeharto regime, in its futile effort to force the Chinese to
\nbecome Indonesian, banned Chinese art and culture. Now, the
\ngovernment has lifted the restriction and even recognizes Chinese
\nNew Year, locally called Imlek, as a national holiday.
\nDiscrimination against the Chinese Indonesians, however, remains.
\nThe Jakarta Post spoke with some Indonesians of Chinese descent
\nabout their personal views.<\/p>\n
Maria, 18, is an employee at a private company in Kuningan,
\nSouth Jakarta. She resides in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, with
\nher family:<\/p>\n
I have to admit that I don't celebrate Chinese New Year
\ndespite my ethnicity. My family has abandoned the tradition, so
\nI'm not doing anything special in observance of the upcoming
\nImlek.<\/p>\n
However, I do appreciate the government's effort to recognize
\nthe country's Chinese ethnic community, especially in designating
\nImlek as an official, public holiday.<\/p>\n
I have rarely experienced discrimination from any part of
\nsociety, even when I have had to deal with complicated
\nbureaucratic procedures. I think, so far, so good.<\/p>\n
Well, I might be treated in a somewhat discriminatory manner
\nwhen I walk in public, as some men would shout at me and call me
\nChinese. But it doesn't bother me much, as long as there is no
\nphysical harassment.<\/p>\n
John, 32, works at a multinational company in Kuningan, South
\nJakarta. He is a resident of Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta:<\/p>\n
I don't think I will hold a special party to celebrate Chinese
\nNew Year. I know it's part of the Chinese tradition, but it's not
\nnecessary for me to observe it, because my family abandoned the
\ntradition a long time ago.<\/p>\n
Anyway, \"thank you\" to the government, who has acknowledged
\nthe existence of the Chinese in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
However, I still face discrimination, for instance when I
\napplied for my identity card. The administration officials
\napparently treat native- and Chinese Indonesians differently.<\/p>\n
The district administration official told me clearly that he
\ntreated and charged us differently because I am Chinese.<\/p>\n
I still remember that I had to pay about Rp 500,000 for my ID
\ncard. I regretted the experience, even though I got it in only a
\nday.<\/p>\n
I had to pay this \"fee\" to the neighborhood unit chief.
\nOtherwise, I would have had difficulties obtaining my ID card.<\/p>\n
Not all Chinese here are treated in such a way, though. There
\nare many who are lucky to have a kind neighborhood unit chief,
\nwho is very cooperative and not greedy.<\/p>\n
I haven't had any problems with other bureaucratic procedures,
\nsuch as with my driver's license.<\/p>\n
Everything has been fine so far at my workplace, at my school
\nor in my neighborhood. I get along well with all my friends.<\/p>\n
Aipi, 23, has been working for a private company in Mangga
\nBesar, West Jakarta, for two years. She lives in Pademangan,
\nNorth Jakarta, with her family:<\/p>\n
I will celebrate Chinese New Year, but of course, it will be
\ndifferent from when I was a child. One thing for sure, is that I
\nwon't get any ang pau (a gift of money given at New Year).<\/p>\n
I'm glad that us Chinese have now received recognition from
\nthe government. At least there won't be any more bans on Chinese
\ncultural activities.<\/p>\n
However, I think that there is still a lot of discrimination
\nagainst the Chinese, particularly when I have to deal with
\napplying for my ID card with the district administration. The
\nproblems start from the neighborhood unit chief, who tends to
\nmake the procedures much more complicated, compared to the normal
\nprocedures for native Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Once, I protested the irregular procedure, and the
\nneighborhood unit chief threatened me, saying that I would not
\nget the ID card. He said that it was normal for Chinese to pay
\nmuch more than usual. I had to pay him more than Rp 100,000. In
\nthe end, I had to accept such discrimination in the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, I think I have gotten along well at school
\nor at my company. One thing I need to be careful about is riding
\npublic transportation, because a friend of mine who was once
\nmugged told me that crooks usually target Chinese.<\/p>\n
I think this is too much, because not all Chinese are well-
\noff. So why should they target us?<\/p>\n
I only wish in the long run that the government and all the
\npeople in this country will treat us the same as other
\nIndonesians, especially in bureaucratic matters and our welfare.<\/p>\n
-- Leo Wahyudi S<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/my-family-does-not-celebrate-imlek-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }