Chinese in Indonesia need more than Chinese dragon dance

T. Sima Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, sima@thejakartapost.com

A Chinese dragon dance highlighted the beginning of the celebrations for the 476th anniversary of Jakarta last weekend (May 31). The crowd cheered and clapped their hands for the fabulous show, which featured a 226-meter-long liong (dragon).

It was not so long ago that Indonesians could not see the internationally famous dragon dance and lion dance (barongsai). During former president Soeharto's reign, Chinese arts and culture were banned, and even speaking Chinese in public was taboo.

After the downfall of Soeharto five years ago following anti- Chinese riots and massive student demonstrations, the door opened for Chinese arts and culture. Chinese-Indonesians were no longer afraid to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They could listen to Chinese music on the radio, watch the news in Chinese on television and read an independent Chinese-language newspaper.

Chinese-Indonesians also had the opportunity to play an active role in politics. They were able to establish a political party, become members of the House of Representatives or the Cabinet. Even the possibility of becoming president is not closed, though it is admittedly unlikely.

Does all this mean the ethnic Chinese are finally being treated as the equals of other Indonesians?

Unfortunately, no.

Discrimination against ethnic Chinese still prevails. A Javanese friend who is married to an ethnic Chinese woman said he had to pay higher administration fees when he registered the birth of his baby at the population office in East Jakarta last month.

He was told that if both the husband and wife were native Indonesians, the fee was Rp 125,000. If one of the parents was ethnic Chinese the fee was Rp 150,000, and if both were Chinese- Indonesians it would cost another Rp 50,000 to register their baby.

And the discrimination did not stop there. The official asked for the wife's name-change document and citizenship certificate, or Surat Bukti Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia (SBKRI).

"But she doesn't have those papers, so I had to bring the documents of her parents. It was ridiculous, but what could I do? Otherwise, things would have been more complicated.

"In fact, we also faced arduous bureaucracy when we registered our marriage two years ago," he said.

During his administration, Soeharto implemented a policy of assimilation for the Chinese. Instead of recognizing the differences of the ethnic Chinese, they were forced to assimilate. The government tried hard to "cut" the relationship between the Chinese-Indonesians and their ancestors, in order to make them forget about their being Chinese. That is why Chinese schools were closed down and Chinese arts and culture banned. The Chinese were even told to change their names.

The regulation on the SBKRI was issued by Soeharto in 1968, following the severing of diplomatic ties between Jakarta and Beijing in the wake of the Indonesian Communist Party's attempted coup. Indonesia restored the ties in 1990.

Six years after the ties were restored, Soeharto issued a decree waiving the requirement for the wife and children of naturalized citizens to obtain an SBKRI. His successor, B.J. Habibie, strengthened the decree. In 1998 and 1999 he issued two decrees which required government officials to treat all Indonesians equally and banned discrimination based on ethnicity.

Habibie's successor, Abdurrahman Wahid, repealed Soeharto's 1967 decree banning all activities related to Chinese culture and Confucianism. Abdurrahman, who claimed to have Chinese blood, allowed ethnic Chinese to practice their religion and perform traditional Chinese ceremonies openly.

Beginning this year, Chinese-Indonesians have been able to celebrate the Chinese New Year, or Imlek, thanks to President Megawati Soekarnoputri who last year declared it a national holiday.

However, there are still dozens of laws and regulations that discriminate against the Chinese, including Presidential Decree No. 240/1966, which obliges all those of Chinese descent to adopt Indonesian names, and Ministry of Home Affairs Decree No. 455.2/1998 on the management of temples.

Many parties have called on the government to revise or abolish all anti-Chinese laws and rulings.

But the case of my friend trying to register his child shows that even if a regulation has been revoked, it is no guarantee that the discrimination will not continue as usual. Chinese- Indonesians are still required to show the SBKRI when applying for an ID card, a passport or a bank loan -- even from a private bank.

Something is wrong here. It is estimated that the ethnic Chinese make up about 3 percent of Indonesia's 215 million population, but they are believed to dominate many areas of the country's economy. This has bred hostility among some of the less affluent non-Chinese.

There is also a stereotype of the Chinese as thrifty and well- off. On the other hand, some ethnic Chinese, who consider themselves hardworkers, see the non-Chinese as lazy and offensive.

Corrupt officials have made use of these perceptions to make the Chinese their milch cow, while some Chinese have colluded with the officials to strengthen their businesses.

Many ethnic Chinese are still afraid to go out alone, especially using public transportation. Feeling unsafe among native Indonesians, they tend to mingle among themselves, giving the impression of an exclusive group.

Anti-Chinese laws and rulings must be abolished, but the government must be consistent. Abolishing these laws should be followed up by creating a conducive climate and other policies to alleviate the prejudice against the Chinese, and vise versa.

Since early childhood, Indonesian children learn from their parents and their teachers that Indonesia's motto is "bhineka tunggal ika", or "unity in diversity". This is used to explain that despite all of the different ethnic groups in the country, Indonesia is unified.

Children learn that Indonesia consists of many ethnic groups, like the Javanese, Bataks, Balinese or Manadonese. Minorities such as the Chinese will, however, remain excluded, unless Indonesia's new generations truly attempt to understand bhineka tunggal ika.