Batam Mayor endorses SBKRI revocation
Fadli, Batam
In order to end discrimination against the Chinese-Indonesian community, Batam mayor Nyat Kadir has issued a decree to endorse the revocation of the use of the citizenship certificate known as SBKRI.
With the new decree, issued on July 30, Chinese-Indonesians in Batam are no longer required to produce the SBKRI when applying for an identity card, birth certificate or other personal documents.
The chairman of the Chinese-Indonesian Association in Batam (PSMTI), Soehendro Gautama, hailed the decree on Tuesday, saying that the decree has long been awaited by some 150,000 Chinese- Indonesians out of a total population of 560,000 in the city.
With the decree, it will be easier for the Chinese-Indonesian community in Batam to apply for or extend birth certificates, passports, identity cards and other documents.
"For almost 33 years, we have had to attach the SBKRI whenever we apply for those documents. Thank God that, with the decree, the discrimination against us has ended," said Soehendro.
The SBKRI has burdened Chinese-Indonesians for years, as they have to pay government officials between Rp 3 million (US$ 315.8) and Rp 7 million to obtain the certificate, mostly in illegal fees.
The newly issued decree followed pressure from the Chinese- Indonesian community, which demanded that the Mayor end the requirement of attaching the SBKRI in applications for personal documents.
The central government itself revoked the law on the use of SBKRI in 1996, and the home minister issued executory regulations to implement it, but in practice Chinese-Indonesians are still required to produce it in many places in the country.
Lack of promotion of the central government decree has been blamed on the negligence of government officials in the regions.
In this light, the decree issued by the Batam mayor provides strong support for Chinese-Indonesians in the city.
"We realized that it would take time, but we requested the Batam mayor to put an end to this practice in May this year, and the mayor finally approved our proposal recently," said Soehendro.
According to Soehendro, the SBKRI is extremely unfair.
"We have been here for years and have mingled with other races, including Indians, Arabs and the indigenous people. Why should we be treated any differently?" said Soehendro.
Separately, the head of the Batam Registrar's Office, Buralimar, said that information about the mayor's decree had been communicated to all neighborhoods and subdistricts in Batam.
The SBKRI dates back to 1965, when following an abortive coup, which the government blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the government introduced regulations aimed at curbing the movement of Chinese-Indonesians in the country. The PKI was closely affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party. The discriminatory laws included the requirement that all Chinese- Indonesians possess a citizen's certificate.
Indonesians of Chinese descent account for approximately 3 percent, or around six million, of the country's 215 million people. However, they control over 60 percent of the country's economy.