Registration for Jakarta's of stateless Chinese begins<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of Chinese who lack proper citizenship
\ndocuments registered at the Tambora and Tamansari district
\noffices in West Jakarta yesterday as the city administration
\nbegan collecting data expected to settle their immigration
\nstatus.<\/p>\n
As of yesterday afternoon, almost 300 Chinese were present at
\nthe Tamansari district office, over 100 of whom registered
\nthemselves.<\/p>\n
According to the chief of the office, Satibi Darwis, those who
\nhave not registered yet lacked some of the documents required for
\nadopting Indonesian citizenship.<\/p>\n
Satibi said that there are over 5,000 Chinese in the area, or
\nthree percent of the district's total population, who are
\ncategorized as stateless.<\/p>\n
\"The 5,000 are only those previously registered, while the
\nunregistered stateless Chinese living in this district are
\nestimated to total over 1,500 people,\" Satibi told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
The current registration is offered free of charge to
\nstimulate the people of Chinese descent, who are still stateless,
\nto register.<\/p>\n
The people of Chinese descent who are considered stateless are
\nthose who do not have either Chinese or Indonesian citizenship.
\nThe suspension of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic
\nof China and Indonesia in the wake of the 1965 aborted communist
\ncoup made it impossible for the people of Chinese descent
\nresident in Indonesia to apply for Chinese citizenship. Ties were
\nrestored in 1990.<\/p>\n
Informed Sources at the Tambora district office said the total
\nnumber of registered stateless Chinese in the area reached 5,500
\npeople, or two percent of the total population. It is estimated
\nthat another 2,000 stateless Chinese remain unregistered in the
\ndistrict.<\/p>\n
A number of the Chinese classified as stateless in the Tambora
\nand Tamansari districts interviewed by the Post said they had
\nlong wanted to naturalize and become Indonesian citizens but did
\nnot have enough money to afford it.<\/p>\n
\"Several years ago, it cost me millions of rupiah to get
\nIndonesian citizenship,\" said Alex, an Indonesian citizen of
\nChinese descent, who was seeking information for his still
\nstateless relatives at the Tamansari district office.<\/p>\n
T.M. Pardede, head of the assimilation agency at the
\nDirectorate General of Social and Politic Affairs of the Ministry
\nof Home Affairs, the registration will last up to October.<\/p>\n
\"We'll open this opportunity until October. But if until then,
\nthey still do not register, we will introduce another measure,\"
\nPardede told the Post while inspecting the registration in
\nTamansari and Tambora, the two largest areas in the capital where
\nmany Chinese reside.<\/p>\n
Rp 160 million<\/p>\n
After being registered, each person who qualifies can apply
\nfor Indonesian citizenship, while the rest will be given
\ndocuments to confirm their foreign citizenship.<\/p>\n
For naturalization, each person has to have more than a dozen
\ndocuments, including a birth certificate, a document certifying
\nloyalty to the nation and good conduct papers, which may cost
\neach individual a total of Rp 647,000 (US$302).<\/p>\n
Reliable sources at City Hall said the municipal
\nadministration has allocated some Rp 160 million to finance the
\nregistration. The funds are taken from this fiscal year budget
\nfor the capital.<\/p>\n
Records at the city population affairs office show that around
\n27,500 stateless Chinese live in the capital, while data at the
\nDirectorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Justice
\nlists the number stateless of Chinese in the city at only 4,200.<\/p>\n
Hario Subayu of the immigration office said he could
\nunderstand the big difference between the records at his office
\nand those of the city administration.<\/p>\n
\"The city administration has its own officials collecting data
\ndown to the neighborhood unit level, while we depend heavily on
\nvoluntary reregistration,\" Hario said. (jsk\/11)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/registration-for-jakartas-of-stateless-chinese-begins-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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