Ugly racism<\/p>\n
I read Arief Budiman's article on 'Indonesia and Malaysia face
\nracism allegations' (The Jakarta Post, April 19, 1996). I have no
\nreason to disagree with him. Racism is a very sensitive issue in
\nIndonesia and anywhere else in the world. Arief Budiman has
\nbrought up the issue in a decent way. His observations are true.
\nI believe, however, that all the government's policies are based
\non good intentions and the state's effort to avoid racial
\nproblems. When the people are more open minded, I am sure things
\nwill be improve. If there are unwritten policies and double
\nstandards based on racial prejudice, they must be eliminated
\nbecause this attitude cannot be tolerated. The state must protect
\nand respect the rights of every citizen equally.<\/p>\n
The government should encourage people to better understand
\nand think positively about different ethnic groups. Instead of
\ncriticizing and blaming, let us look at the brightest side of
\nChinese Indonesians -- as a national asset that can help the
\nnational economy grow. Disregarding who came first to this
\ncountry, for the historians and the anthropologists know more
\nabout this, we could also consider Chinese Indonesians as part of
\nthe great diversity of ethnic groups in the archipelago such as
\nthe Javanese, the Sundanese, Balinese, Betawi, Dayak, Menadonese,
\nTimorese and Batak.<\/p>\n
The world will go beyond race. There will no longer be a place
\nfor a racist to live. If everyone in the world has his mind clean
\nfrom hatred and fear of other races then ugly racism will die.<\/p>\n
JENNY LAURITZ KHOENG<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ugly-racism-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }