Antiforeigner sentiment reaches fever pitch

By Todd Gregory

This is the first of two articles on Indonesians' attitude toward foreigners.

JAKARTA (JP): The din of antiforeigner sentiment has reached fever pitch in recent weeks, marked by an excess of emotion and resentful rhetoric.

Many Indonesians have written thoughtful letters to The Jakarta Post in recent months, some of which have expressed grave concerns over the presence of westerners and other foreigners who live, work and lay down roots in Indonesia.

While many of the letters are incisive and express legitimate concerns, they also promulgate common misconceptions and stereotypes about the expatriate community here.

It might surprise some Indonesian readers to learn the vast majority of the expatriate community strongly supports the Indonesian people in their quest for democracy and clean governance.

And yet during this historic but terrible time, a time of overwhelming need when Indonesia is becoming famous for all the wrong reasons, it is both fascinating and sad to note that material greed, political corruption -- being discussed openly at long last -- immorality and racial divisiveness, cultural attributes commonly ascribed by the East to the West, flourish in Indonesia in equal or even greater measure.

Foreigners in Indonesia are observed as follows. Whether a foreigner is a free-spending tourist or a law-abiding foreign national, he is viewed by many as a corrupting influence or a political subversive and is treated accordingly. If he is lucky enough to fall in love with and marry an Indonesian citizen, he may then find himself on the receiving end of threats, physical confrontations, social ignorance and even scornful in-laws.

His spouse may be shunned or disowned by colleagues and former "friends". Strangers may refer to his wife as a prostitute in his presence. Harassment at the hands of petty local officials, landlords, utility commissions and even banks is a common occurrence.

If he happens to be in a taxi after midnight, he may get pulled over by the police or a military sentry. If he is without his passport or residency permit, he will be searched, interrogated or threatened with imprisonment. He must then pay a bribe as standard procedure before moving on.

If he decides to go abroad, he (and Indonesians as well, to be fair) must pay a virtual king's ransom in airport fiscal taxes (Rp 5 million if he is a foreigner fleeing from unrest, as recently reported). He will then be subjected to the inevitable harassment at the hands of the immigration office. He will be threatened and often forced to pay money just to catch his plane on time.

Foreigners are easy, convenient targets for practices like extortion and price-gouging. To many Indonesians, foreigners are something less than human, just verminous objects from whom to extract money.

To many foreigners, these shadings of Indonesian culture are not to be celebrated. Criminal acts, lying and deceit are just that to foreigners, they are not the byproduct of some mystical abstract of Indonesian culture. Present day Indonesia is suffering from a disease of the spirit that is difficult to endure and especially painful to observe.

During the recent tense months, as the government lamely campaigned against "certain groups" in the misguided hope that the public would direct its wrath at these targeted groups, many foreigners chose or were forced to leave Indonesia.

Curiously, as foreign investment fled, the rupiah continued to fizzle and the economy got worse, not better. Xenophobia and scapegoating were counterproductive.

Now the government is attempting to foment anti-International Monetary Fund (IMF) discord, the rationale here being that foreign aid should be without limits or conditions.

Here is the conundrum: If the IMF fails to provide the promised loans in full, the government stands ready to accuse the international community of indifference or benign neglect. If the money is given in full, as it surely will be on the condition that a genuine effort at reform is finally undertaken, government officials may accuse the IMF and its international sponsors of neocolonialism.

Such an irresponsible charge was made by former president Soeharto's son Bambang Trihatmodjo several months ago. So whatever the final outcome, Indonesia can blame "wicked" foreigners for the crisis and the current government can rant on about "certain groups" who are conspiring to bring down Indonesia.

But foreign money does not grow on trees -- it is real capital plundered from a tax base comprised of real people. Indonesia's obstinate refusal to implement reform and defiant ingratitude have raised eyebrows the world over. Moreover, Indonesia is always ready to receive foreign capital, loans and investment, but it does not want the foreigners themselves. It's a fascinating paradox.

Many Indonesians mistakenly believe that the Soeharto government had the backing, tacit or otherwise, of the entire international community. Nothing could be further from the truth.

While it is true that Soeharto enjoyed for a time the support of the Bill Clinton-led White House, itself awash in monumental corruption, the rival American political party and Congress were steadfast in their opposition to the Soeharto regime.

Clinton's worm-eaten policies were a result of extremely generous campaign contributions provided by Soeharto's banking associates before the last American election cycle. It is common knowledge that the influence of the Clinton White House, itself becoming increasingly authoritarian, can be bought for the right price. But this does not reflect the entire world community's position on Indonesia, let alone America's.

The performance of some pampered, clueless publicity people are offending the feeling of common people, as they are regaling the media with mindless quips and living in ostentatious splendor. Also annoying are foreign industries that pillage Indonesia's resources and shamelessly pollute the environment, contributing mightily to the world's second highest cancer rate (after China) and despoiling a beautiful country in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

The writer is a teacher at the American English Language Training in East Jakarta.