Searching for real racial unity<\/p>\n
By Sri Pamoedjo Rahardjo<\/p>\n
This is the first of two articles comparing ethnic Chinese in
\nMalaysia and Indonesia.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The social environment in Indonesia is currently
\ncharacterized by continued disharmony. Repressed anger was
\nmanifested in the May 13, 1998, racial riots, which claimed many
\nlives. The victims were ordinary citizens, particularly those of
\nChinese descent. Since then, ridicule, blaming and naming of
\nscapegoats along racial lines have been daily features in our
\nsociety.<\/p>\n
We should learn from Malaysia's Chinese-Malay ethnic
\nrelations. Malaysia also experienced a strong undercurrent of
\ntensions between the Malays and Malaysians of Chinese descent.
\nThese tensions reached a peak in the infamous Kuala Lumpur fatal
\nriots, also on May 13, in 1969.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sought an explanation of the
\nracial riots in his book The Malay Dilemma. The book basically
\nused a historical approach in understanding the friction. It
\nmentioned how the hatred toward non-Malays, particularly the
\nChinese community, accumulated over a long period of time. The
\nMalays were not treated as the legal hosts. Instead, they were
\ncompelled by the British rulers to accommodate the arrival of the
\nimmigrants. The immigrants were intended to serve the colonial
\npowers, as casual workers in mines and rubber plantations. In
\nterms of human relations, contacts with immigrants were kept to a
\nminimum to discourage conflicts.<\/p>\n
After Malaysia's independence, the Malays were again coerced
\nto accept other races in the name of social harmony. Despite
\ntolerance and accommodation, there was actually no real deep-
\nrooted harmony. The Malays did not see evidence of assimilation
\nof immigrants into the Malay culture. The immigrants maintained
\ntheir own cultural heritages. They continued to disregard the
\ndominant culture. Their continued refusals to integrate with the
\nMalay culture was manifested in the Communist rebellion and the
\nKuala Lumpur riots.<\/p>\n
Learning from past mistakes, the Malaysian government
\nintroduced policies to upgrade the status of Malays both socially
\nand politically, through improved educational opportunities,
\nstrengthened economic positions, and increased nationalism and
\npolitical awareness. Although these policies could be interpreted
\nas discriminatory, in essence, they provided security and
\nstrengthened the pride of Malays. Despite the improved harmony
\ntoday, non-Malays may be neighbors or even friends and business
\nassociates, but still live in their respective ethnic and
\ncultural pockets, which are extremely different and often
\nconflicting with the dominant culture.<\/p>\n
What can we learn about Indonesia's present conflict from the
\nMalaysian experience? First, social harmony in Indonesia was
\nforced. Similar to Malaysia, apparent harmony during colonial
\ntimes was ensured by suppressing the seeds of hatred. For years,
\nthe Dutch colonial administrators maintained superficial harmony
\nby segregating society into racial groupings reflecting the
\ndivision of labor.<\/p>\n
The Europeans were treated as highest in the social strata,
\nthe indigenous population, known as inlanders, as the lowest.
\nOther Asian races fell somewhere in between. The social hierarchy
\nwas further determined by religion, with Islam considered
\nsynonymous with backwardness. Dissatisfaction among the
\nindigenous people grew steadily, as they saw they were being
\ndiscriminated against in their own country. They were considered
\nmore of a threat than a partner. Only a few indigenous
\nIndonesians were given opportunities to enter schools, and only
\nwith the intention of supporting the colonial system.<\/p>\n
Second, the Chinese community was an extended arm of the
\ncolonial administrators. The majority of immigrants were
\nrecruited to support colonial activities, as they were proven
\neffective collaborators with the administrators. They were
\nemployed mainly to help suppress conflicts, collect taxes, work
\nas security officers, support mining activities or work in the
\nplantations. As a result, a feeling of oppression and
\ndiscrimination emerged among indigenous Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Added to this was a distinct lack of assimilation of the
\nChinese community with the host culture. The lengthy presence of
\nthe Chinese in the community had not resulted in significant
\nassimilation. Contrary to Malaysia, two distinct Chinese
\ncommunities had emerged in Indonesia. The peranakan, whose racial
\ncharacteristics had mixed, with male descendants maintaining
\nstrictly their Chinese cultural heritage, while female
\ndescendants have less responsibility to hold on to the culture.
\nThe babah have a singular racial characteristic and cultural
\ntraits, who have not assimilated with indigenous Indonesians at
\nall.<\/p>\n
It can thus be concluded that discrimination, collaboration,
\nand lack of assimilation created antipathy among the indigenous
\nIndonesians toward the Chinese community. The indigenous
\npopulation became increasingly angry at the apparent shifting
\nalliance of the Chinese with the powerful elite. In many cases,
\ntight collaborations among high profile members of the Chinese
\ncommunity with the rulers were witnessed. Many people likened
\nthis to the occupation by colonial, Japanese and allied forces,
\nwhen ethnic Chinese chose their sides for their own survival.<\/p>\n
The writer is a social and economic observer, and former
\nregional development bank officer in Manila.<\/p>",
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