Stop divisive political agenda<\/p>\n
By Frans H. Winarta<\/p>\n
This is the second of two articles on the New Order government's
\ndivisive agenda in the country.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The emergence of about 300 Chinese-Indonesian
\nconglomerates during the rule of the New Order government created
\nextremely high social envy among indigenous Indonesians, a
\nphenomenon which on reflection was a time bomb ticking away.<\/p>\n
A monopolistic and liberal capitalistic economic structure, in
\nthe most conservative form, trapped Indonesia in a catastrophic
\nsituation due to the wrong economic paradigm.<\/p>\n
The \"trickle-down effect\" theory never materialized. After
\ndominating the economy through monopolistic and oligopolistic
\npractices, the conglomerates, as well as the businesses of the
\nSoeharto family, have been reluctant to surrender their grip and
\nshare their wealth with the rest of the people of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
They even wished to gain more wealth by dominating all
\neconomic sectors, such as banking, financing, the manufacture of
\ncement, cooking oil, flour and automotive vehicles, air
\ntransportation, oil drilling, government projects and
\ninfrastructure.<\/p>\n
Chinese-Indonesians have been systematically shunned from
\npolitics; the only sector open to them is trade and other
\nbusinesses. During the New Order's rule, no ethnic Chinese had
\nthe chance to become a member of the House of Representatives or
\nCabinet. They were an apolitical entity.<\/p>\n
The prevalent assumption that the ethnic Chinese dominate 70
\npercent of the Indonesian economy is a myth. Granted, in the
\n1960s they were assumed to dominate 70 percent. Now, after 30
\nyears, it is impossible that they still control this amount,
\nowning to the fact that Soeharto's family and their cronies
\noverwhelmingly prevail in business. It is also unfair to brand
\nChinese-Indonesians as \"economic animals\" because the only sector
\nopen to them is business.<\/p>\n
Estimates put the ethnic Chinese at 5 percent of the country's
\ntotal population. For comparison, a census conducted by the
\nCentral Bureau of Statistics in 1995 showed that the Javanese
\n(aged five years and above) totaled 67,453,465, the Sundanese
\n25,222,111, Madurese 7,142,046, Batak 3,608,559, Minang
\n4,316,889, Balinese 2,709,969, Bugis 3,680,331, Banjar 3,130,627
\nand others 57,039,280.<\/p>\n
Chinese-Indonesians, at 5 percent of the population, would
\nreach 8,715,163, constituting the third largest ethnic group in
\nthe land.<\/p>\n
Thus, they must be eligible for representation in the House.
\nThe next electoral system should accommodate their representa
\ntion. By now, the draft electoral act is being formulated and
\nwill be passed on to the House for deliberations to become a law
\nto be used as the legal basis for the general election scheduled
\nfor next year. In the past, absence of representation in the
\nHouse for the ethnic Chinese -- as if 5 percent of the population
\nwas not somehow unworthy of representation in the House -- was a
\nresult of the New Order's regime of manipulation.<\/p>\n
If the current government is serious in conducting political
\nreform, there must be a political will and a drastic decision to
\nopen up political positions, public service and the Armed Forces
\nfor the ethnic Chinese.<\/p>\n
It is time for the government to determine whether or not it
\nwill accept the ethnic Chinese as an integral part of the nation.
\nIt is not an easy task to break the psychological barrier in
\nplace for the past three decades.<\/p>\n
The divisive political agenda leftover from the New Order
\ngovernment has to be stopped. Otherwise, the current Cabinet
\ncannot be called a Reform Order administration but will exist as
\nthe New Order regime minus Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Racist regulations in the form of presidential decrees,
\npresidential instructions, ministerial instructions, regional
\nregulations, circulation letters of the presidium of the Cabinet,
\nministerial decrees and so forth have to be revoked.<\/p>\n
The government is accountable for the bloodshed, looting and
\ngang-rapes during the May 13 to May 15 rioting. It should make a
\npublic apology, conduct thorough investigation, announce the
\nnames of perpetrators, compensate victims and bring the people
\nwho planned and executed the grievous acts to court in order to
\ngain respect and trust from both the domestic and international
\nsocieties.<\/p>\n
Last but not least, a serious and clear political agenda for
\nreform in all aspects of the country's life should be set
\ncarefully and thoroughly.<\/p>\n
The writer is a human rights lawyer based in Jakarta.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stop-divisive-political-agenda-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }