Progress of Chinese assimilation<\/p>\n
By Junus Jahja<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): At a very early stage Indonesia issued a
\n\"political manifesto\" for Chinese people residing in Indonesia.
\nThis was announced in an official statement on Nov. 1, 1945.
\nThrough citizenship regulations all Indo-Asians and Indo-
\nEuropeans should quickly become full-fledged Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Now, half a century later, how is the journey \"from Chinese to
\nIndonesian\" developing?<\/p>\n
Together with a number of fellow ethnic Chinese, I left
\nIndonesia in 1949 for the Netherlands, to attend the well-known
\nRotterdam School of Economics. A couple of years later we were
\njoined by pribumi (indigenous) Indonesians.<\/p>\n
We all got along very well, and avoided coming together on
\nexclusively ethnical grounds. Our way of life was based on the
\nvery fact that we were all Indonesians, irrespective of racial
\nand cultural background. These daily contacts in Rotterdam could
\nbe considered a total 100 percent assimilation, although we never
\nused that word at the time.<\/p>\n
During this time there were, in fact, two different groups of
\nIndonesian students in the Netherlands. The first was under the
\numbrella of Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia (PPI), and the other was
\nunited in the Chung Hua Hui (CHH). The PPI consisted of a group
\nof students sent by the Indonesian government and other pribumi
\nstudents. In the CHH were ethnic Chinese students. The principle
\nquestion that arose was whether CHH had a right to exist.<\/p>\n
During the colonial period, ethnic Chinese were so-called
\nNederlands onderdaan (Dutch subjects), but in 1952 the majority
\nof CHH members (307 out of 329) had opted for Indonesian
\ncitizenship. Therefore, was it still appropriate to be a member
\nof an organization based on Chinese ethnicity? In fact, Chung Hua
\nHui means Chinese Association. According to the board of CHH, in
\n1952, people of Chinese descent who have Indonesian citizenship,
\nshould loosen their ties with their Chineseness and replace it
\nwith a strong orientation toward Indonesia only.<\/p>\n
They should abandon any orientation toward China; nor should
\nthey strive for overseas Chinese citizenship. Therefore, the only
\nsolution acceptable was to dissolve CHH and join PPI. To
\nliquidate CHH, the Articles of Association had to be amended, for
\nwhich the approval of two-third of the votes was needed.<\/p>\n
This could not be obtained, but all those voting for the
\namendment left the meeting, handing in their CHH membership
\ncards, stating that they would join PPI instead. In February
\n1978, the now defunct Tempo magazine described this event as the
\n\"first shot\" aimed at total assimilation. (CHH was finally
\ndissolved 10 years later, 1962.)<\/p>\n
Returning from Holland, we were confronted with a totally
\ndifferent situation. In fact, two years later, on March 13 1954,
\n44 prominent ethnic Chinese founded Badan Permusyawaratan
\nKewarganegaraan Indonesia (Baperki). The objective was to fight
\nagainst racial discrimination (by the government) and to
\nenlighten members about their obligations as citizens. It was
\nstipulated that Baperki was not a political party, although it
\nparticipated in the General Elections in its own right.<\/p>\n
However -- although it was open to all Indonesians
\nirrespective of race -- it was not a big surprise that in
\npractice only ethnic Chinese became members. At one time,
\naccording to Baperki's regional, Central Java, chairman
\n(Semarang, Dec. 30 1963 press coverage) there were 260,000
\nmembers, almost 100 percent Chinese origin. Baperki boasted being
\nthe \"spokesman\" for ethnic Chinese in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
It was only after their leaders, including Siauw Giok Tjhan
\nand Oei Tjoe Tat, began increasingly leaning towards the left --
\nPartai Komunis Indonesia (PKI) and Partai Indonesia (Partindo)
\n-- that ethnic Chinese start questioning the wisdom of \"building\"
\npolitical strength through ethnic\/racial solidarity.<\/p>\n
Is it not so that, as a result of such policy, any controversy
\nwith other ideologies or groups involving Baperki (although
\nsometimes supported by President Sukarno) will, in fact, be seen
\nas \"political antagonism\", identical to \"racial antagonism\"? Thus
\njeopardizing the future of ethnic Chinese and their offspring in
\nIndonesia. Baperki's fame was further accentuated when its
\ntrumpet Republik was banned because of \"hostility towards the
\npeople, state and government of the Republic of Indonesia\".<\/p>\n
In 1960 a number of prominent ethnic Chinese challenged
\nBaperki and Baperkiism. They were known as the assimilationists,
\nwho stated that \"the Chinese minority problem should be solved by
\nvoluntary and active assimilation in all fields\".<\/p>\n
According to them, the time had come for ethnic Chinese to
\nassimilate and unite with pribumi Indonesians and abandon racial
\nexclusivism\/isolation. For whatever purpose, it was not proper
\nanymore to associate along racial lines. The above ideas were
\nwidely supported, especially by the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
My former colleagues from PPI in the Netherlands actively
\njoined us, including Soemantri Brodjonegoro, Moeljoto
\nDjojomartono, Radius Prawiro, Frans Seda, Hendrobudijanto and
\nmany others. Some were board members in Lembaga Pembinaan
\nKesatuan Bangsa (LPKB), which later became a governmental body
\ncoordinating the process of assimilation.<\/p>\n
How risky the existence of Baperki was for ethnic Chinese was
\ndemonstrated when there were strong indications that its leaders
\n(Siauw Giok Tjhan, Oei Tjoe Tat and others) were involved in the
\nabortive communist coup of Sept. 30 1965.<\/p>\n
In this context, Dr. Charles Coppel, in Indonesian Chinese in
\nCrisis (1983), referred to the important role of ethnic Chinese
\nassimilationist leaders in LPKB during the two years after the
\nabortive coup. Their partnership with the Armed Forces and other
\nanti-communist Indonesian groups demonstrated that there were
\n\"good Chinese\", neither pawns of Peking, nor camp-followers of
\nPKI.<\/p>\n
By pressing the rank and file membership of Baperki to
\ndissolve all their branches voluntarily, LPKB moderated the
\nextent of anti-Chinese violence at that time. LPKB was further
\nsuccessful in presenting Baperki's mass following as a
\npolitically \"illiterate\" group, which had merely been duped by a
\nleftist leadership. As a result, 260,000 ethnic Chinese and their
\nfamily-members narrowly escaped a major disaster.<\/p>\n
In 1985, Professor Stuart W. Greif wrote a book titled
\nIndonesians of Chinese Origin: Assimilation and the goal of one
\nnation-one people. According to Greif, the New Order government
\ncan be proud of its assimilation-policy successes. The young
\ngeneration, among ethnic Chinese, supported it. People under 10
\nhave become more and more Indonesian-centered, and the
\norientation toward China has diminished sharply. I am reminded of
\nthe following event.<\/p>\n
My good friend Ridwan Saidi has just returned from Kuala
\nLumpur, after not having visited there for quite some time. While
\ndriving through the Thamrin\/Sudirman business-center, which is
\nnow crowded with sky-scrapers, he said to me: \"Junus, economic
\ndevelopment here is much better than at our neighbor.\" I agreed
\nand said: \"Frankly speaking, if our new citizens of Chinese
\norigin could be heartily accepted as fellow-Indonesians by the
\npeople in this country, there wouldn't be any problem whatsoever.
\nWe are economically much better off, what else could we want?\"
\nHowever, in the case of rapid economic progress in Indonesia,
\nwhereby ethnic Chinese Indonesians are in a remarkable position,
\nthere are apparently still big problems.<\/p>\n
A minority is making very fast progress, while the people at
\nlarge are left far behind. So there are very serious economic
\ngrievances.<\/p>\n
In this respect, retired general Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo once
\nwrote that ethnic Chinese Indonesians (through the process of
\nassimilation) should have a national consciousness, as is now
\npossessed by their pribumi compatriots. At the same time, pribumi
\nentrepreneurs should emerge, becoming the backbone of our middle
\nclass, to strengthen the nation.<\/p>\n
Only by achieving a strong Indonesia will sensitive issues
\ndisappear. Then will the Chinese (especially those belonging to
\ntotok, newcomers, dominating our economy) become interested in
\nassimilation and see the advantage of participation. On the other
\nhand, being economically well-off, the pribumi feel like \"masters
\nat home\", making the acceptance of ethnic Chinese as compatriots
\nmore feasible.<\/p>\n
In this context we welcome the Bali Declaration, in which 100
\nbig businessmen (mostly ethnic Chinese) expressed their
\ncommitment to build a strong Indonesia, not only beneficial to
\nthe few at the top, but also to the men on the street, paving the
\nway toward \"From Chinese to Indonesian\". Let's wait and see.<\/p>\n
On July 19 my assimilationist friends and I met with
\nCoordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo
\nSoedarman. We asked the government to introduce a militia which
\nalso involved ethnic Chinese Indonesians. Such compulsory
\nmilitary service would certainly speed up assimilation.<\/p>\n
As a matter of fact, in the 1960s, the government introduced
\nWamilda Wajib Militer Darurat, which was obligatory for new
\nuniversity graduates, and involved many ethnic Chinese
\nIndonesians. For a short period of time, its positive impact is
\nstill felt today. The effect would be more so if we had a fully-
\nfledged militia, involving every Indonesian citizen finishing
\nsecondary school. Minister Soesilo Soedarman was apparently very
\ninterested. Let's also wait and see. We have been independent now
\nfor 50 years. We must look forward.<\/p>\n
The writer is Director of the Institute for Studies on Ethnic
\nChinese Assimilation in Indonesia.<\/p>",
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