RI shuttlers<\/p>\n
Indonesia won its first gold medal, in badminton, at the
\ncurrent Asian Games. Millions of TV viewers saw the dedication of
\nthe players who again showed their prowess in an international
\narena. The same hope and pride was shown and felt by all ethnic
\ngroups: Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, Sulawesi people, Minang,
\nIrianese, Flores people, Timorese, etc. They were all willing the
\nIndonesian shuttlers to win. Also, Chinese-Indonesians in Bangkok
\nand at home concentrated their hope on the national shuttlers. We
\nsaw how our players defended every inch of their territory to
\nbeat their opponents. They were also encouraged by the small
\npresence of fellow countrymen in the stadium. This small crowd
\nof Indonesians repeatedly shouted Merdeka and loudly sang songs
\nlike Halo Halo Bandung.<\/p>\n
Fellow countrymen, do you realize who they are, the players
\nand the spectators at the stadium? A closer observation shows
\nthat most of them were ethnic Chinese, the same part of our
\npopulation who have always been the targets of riots and the
\nscapegoats of many problems in this land. For the umpteenth time,
\nby defeating their ancestral land, China, in badminton, Chinese-
\nIndonesians defended the name of our great nation without
\nlaunching any protests, while at the same time some of their
\nrelatives at home were being attacked and their shops being
\nburned. On the same day of the badminton event, riots had just
\nbroken out in Blora, where again the possessions of the ethnic
\nChinese were the target of the masses' anger. The athletes did
\nnot heed this riot, just like all the earlier riots, including
\nthe mid-May riots in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
May we all agree that the recent victory, like past victories
\nby Susi Susanti and Alan Budikusuma in the Olympics, and other
\nvictories by the likes of Tan Joe Hok, Rudy Hartono, Liem Swie
\nKing, Christian Hadinata, Tjun Tjun, Johan Wahyudi, Imelda Wiguna
\nand many others, including Ivana Lie, who, after playing
\nbadminton for her country, is still experiencing difficulties in
\nobtaining her Indonesian citizenship, is the result of hard work
\nand dedication based on the spirit of the ethnic Chinese to fight
\nfor Indonesia. It means that they form an inseparable part of
\npluralistic Indonesia.<\/p>\n
THEODORUS WIDODO<\/p>\n
Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-shuttlers-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }