Activist donates all salary to the poor

Activist donates all salary to the poor

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

The winds of change in the reform era has led to the
establishment of branches in Bandarlampung of Chinese-Indonesian
social and political organizations headquartered in Jakarta.

One of these, the Chinese-Indonesian Social Association
(PSMTI), for example, has frequently organized cultural events
like lion dances or "Miss and Mister" (Abang and None)" contests
for local Chinese-Indonesians.

Many Chinese-Indonesians in Bandarlampung are actively
involved in an interfaith, multiethnic and intercultural
organization, the Social Forum for Close Relationships Between
Religious Communities in Bandarlampung (Faskaubal).

Local Chinese-Indonesians are active not only in social and
cultural affairs but also in the political arena. Yuliani Wijaya,
(born Wong Li Mei), for example, was a member of Bandarlampung
Legislative Council from 1999 to 2004.

Two local Chinese-Indonesians have made it to the municipal
council for the 2004 to 2009 period. They are Effendi Taslim
(Kwang Hui) and Mungliana, representing the Freedom Bull National
Party (PNBK) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) respectively.

Taslim, inaugurated as a legislator along with 44 others on
August 18, 2004, said that his involvement in politics was due to
his search for a balance in life. A successful businessman,
Taslim, affectionately called Kangkang, said he pursued politics
to give him a more balanced life.

He said at one point in life a person would feel he had gained
everything possible in a particular area and would need something
else to seek equilibrium.

"When we get to this saturation point, we do not know where
else to go. In my case, I need balance. I want to be more useful
to the community through politics," he said.

He added that he was not involved in politics to pursue a
particular position or accumulate wealth. Through politics, he
said, he would be able to learn more about social problems and
help solve them.

When he first decided to join a political party and then ran
for election as a legislator, he made up his mind not to earn a
living from his position as a legislator. He said his mission was
to improve the image of the legislative assembly.

The public, he said, generally had an unfavorable opinion
about the institution. In this respect, he vowed, when
campaigning, that he would donate his salary as a legislator to
the poor.

He has kept his word. He received his first salary as a
legislator in September this year. Taslim used his entire salary
-- Rp 4.5 million -- to purchase basic necessities and
anonymously distributed them to 350 families in Lingkungan III,
Durianpayung subdistrict, Central Tanjungkarang.

But when he distributed the basic goods, which he had bought
with his second month's salary on Oct. 13, to 400 families in Jl.
Jati and Sukajawa subdistrict, some reporters got wind of this
and immediately the news spread far and wide.

Though realizing what he had done was just like throwing salt
into the sea, he reiterated that he would always be true to his
promise to donate his salary to the poor, even if later his
salary were raised.

He added that Kencana Sukma, chairman of PSMTI's Bandarlampung
chapter, even asked him to help repair the public's unfavorable
opinion of the legislative council and maintain the integrity of
Chinese-Indonesians.

He expressed optimism that with the other members of the
legislative council, who are mostly in their thirties and
forties, he would be able to succeed in this mission.

Kangkang also said that he would never get involved in
government contracts. His business activities -- transportation,
freight forwarding, trading and property -- do not generally
have much to do with government projects.

As Kangkang has mixed with non-Chinese locals nearly all his
life, his election as a legislator from West Tanjungkarang
district, an area where there are only a few Chinese-Indonesians,
has not come as a surprise.

Born and bred in Kampung Tengsen, Sinar Banten village, Durian
Payung subdistrict, Kangkang chose to live there after his
marriage. "I come from the village and mixed with people from
other ethnic groups -- people from Lampung, Java, Banten, Batak
people, Sundanese, Minang and many others -- you name it," said
Kangkang, now a father of four.

As he is close to the village locals, he is proud to be called
Kangkang, a name that emerged because locals found it difficult
to pronounce his Chinese name, Kwang Hui.

Kangkang realizes it is not easy to push fellow Chinese-
Indonesians to integrate with non-Chinese locals. Many Chinese-
Indonesians consider him rather reckless, living in a depressed
area prone to conflict.

It takes time to convince Chinese-Indonesians that
assimilation is very important for them, he said. "We can't, for
example, ask Chinese-Indonesians to abandon their luxury homes.

"For over 32 years the Chinese in Indonesia were segregated.
We can persuade them only gradually to take part in social
activities or establish social foundations."

Kangkang pins his hopes on younger Chinese-Indonesians. If
they participate in a variety of activities in society, there
will be interethnic openness that will eventually lead to
changes.

"With regard to reform, many Chinese-Indonesians simply adopt
a wait-and-see attitude. Some even believe it is too early to
have a Chinese-Indonesian legislator."

As a Chinese-Indonesian, Kangkang, however, considers himself
the representative of the people of Bandarlampung.

"I will work in the interests of all Bandarlampung people,
although in some cases I will pursue matters related to the
interests of Chinese-Indonesians, for example the Indonesian
citizen certificate.

Although the government has revoked the law that requires
Chinese-Indonesians to possess this certificate, many officials
still abuse it to extort money from Chinese-Indonesians.

"This is one of the reasons why democracy has not proceeded
properly. Things like this need to be disseminated. I even had to
produce this certificate when I applied for a passport," he said.

In his opinion, the public perception of Chinese-Indonesians
is an important factor in the assimilation of Chinese-
Indonesians. If they were not discriminated against, Chinese-
Indonesians would not migrate aboard.

"Why should we move overseas? We were born and bred here. We
have a family and earn a living here. We respect the land where
we live," he said.

He believes that to ensure assimilation is successful, all
means -- political, economic, cultural, and others -- have to be
pursued.

Most importantly, he said, the process has to start from the
top and should not be orchestrated, as happened during the New
Order era.