PDI Perjuangan apologizes for racism incident<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto and Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
\noffered a public apology on Friday for an incident involving one
\nof its legislators this week that some said smacked of racism.<\/p>\n
PDI Perjuangan faction chairman Roy B.B. Janis said, however,
\nthat no disciplinary action would be taken against Gusti Basan
\nBurnia, who was accused of physically and verbally abusing fellow
\nlegislator Alvin Lie of the Reform faction on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Alvin, a vocal and brash legislator, is one of a rare breed of
\nethnic Chinese Indonesians who have made it to the House. As
\nrecently as three years ago, the Chinese were virtually barred
\nfrom a political career.<\/p>\n
The precise nature of the verbal attack is unclear, with Alvin
\nclaiming that Gusti used the word \"Chinese\".<\/p>\n
Gusti said he referred to Alvin as a keturunan (descendant),
\npopular shorthand for ethnic Chinese, but stressed that there was
\nnothing \"racist\" about the term.<\/p>\n
\"For the incident, we apologize to the public and to the
\nHouse's faction whose member became a victim,\" Roy told
\nreporters, choosing his words carefully by not mentioning the
\nspecific details of the incident or the individuals involved.<\/p>\n
\"We hope such an incident will never happen again,\" he said
\nafter chairing a faction meeting.<\/p>\n
Gusti and Alvin, both members of House Commission V, became
\nlocked in a shouting match during a hearing with the directors of
\nPT Jamsostek, the state-owned workers social insurance company.<\/p>\n
According to newspaper accounts, Alvin's probing questions of
\nJamsostek directors so irked Gusti that he took on the job of
\nanswering them instead of the directors.<\/p>\n
That, in turn, so irritated Alvin that he sarcastically asked
\nthe forum, \"Is there a Jamsostek spokesman among us?\"<\/p>\n
Their row continued later outside the meeting room, with Gusti
\ngrabbing Alvin by the collar.<\/p>\n
What exactly happened afterward is still a contentious point.<\/p>\n
Alvin claimed that Gusti said, \"As a Chinese, you should not
\noveract.\"<\/p>\n
Gusti claimed he merely said, \"As one of the keturunan, you
\nshould not overact because you could offend a lot of people.\" He
\nadded that there was nothing racist about that.<\/p>\n
The House members' code of ethics, updated only this year,
\napparently makes no provision for such behavior; hence Gusti is
\nunlikely to be punished by the House's leadership.<\/p>\n
Article 7 of the Code calls on members to show decorum and to
\nmaintain order during meetings.<\/p>\n
Alvin, who briefed his faction's leaders on Friday about the
\nincident, called on the House's leadership to set up a
\ndisciplinary committee to investigate the matter, suspecting that
\nthere was more to the incident than met the eye.<\/p>\n
\"The council should look into allegations that 12 Commission V
\nmembers had dinner with a Jamsostek director at the Hilton
\n(hotel) two days before the hearing,\" Alvin told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Alvin said there was another legislator, besides Gusti, who
\nverbally attacked him on the basis of his race, but he could not
\nrecall his name.<\/p>\n
\"It's sad to learn that some of my colleagues still have this
\nracist attitude.\" he said.<\/p>\n
Reform faction chairman Ahmad Farhan Hamid said he would write
\nto the House Speaker next week about the incident.<\/p>\n
\"Let's await the Speaker's reaction. If the incident comes up
\nbefore a disciplinary committee, we will be ready to speak,\"
\nAhmad told the Post.<\/p>\n
Nusa Bangsa Solidarity, an organization promoting racial
\nharmony, urged the House to dismiss Gusti, saying that in his
\nposition, he should have set an example to the public.<\/p>\n
The group recalled that in 1999 Indonesia ratified a UN
\nconvention on the elimination of all racial discriminative
\npractices.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia should take concrete action to implement the
\nconvention, particularly in state institutions like the House of
\nRepresentatives,\" it said in a statement.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pdi-perjuangan-apologizes-for-racism-incident-1447893297",
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