Chinese-Indonesian man stands up to be counted

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): If you are an Indonesian of Chinese descent, you know from experience to keep a low profile.

Being recognized for your ancestry is the last thing you want. Chinese-Indonesians have long been discriminated against and borne the brunt of resentment as scapegoats.

Recent riots that hit various parts of the country and in which ethnic Chinese were a target have made many Chinese- Indonesians feel it is even more important to play down their identities.

But this is not true for Ponijan, a founder of the Chinese Indonesian Reform Party (PARTI).

"I don't want to be hypocrite. I want to firmly show who I am... I want to make myself clear: I am a Chinese-Indonesian, and I will struggle (for my beliefs)."

There are many Indonesians of Chinese descent who fight for the country's interests, he said, but they never identify themselves as Chinese-Indonesian and people never question their ethnicity. But when it comes to those involved in corruption, collusion or other unsavory practices, people often cynically refer to the perpetrators' Chinese descent.

Ponijan, an activist of the Indonesian Buddhist Youth Organization, was born in Medan in 1968, with the Chinese name Liaw Chun Phing. After graduating from a Catholic primary school, he went to Muhammadiyah junior high school, run by the influential Moslem organization of the same name.

"You see, I was Amien Rais' student," he joked, referring to the leader of Muhammadiyah. "My parents sent me there because it was a good school."

Between 10 percent and 20 percent of the students in the junior high school were ethnic Chinese but he said "there was no problem at all" with their peers.

He continued on to a state high school and later entered the Teachers' Training Institute (IKIP).

"Everybody was surprised. My friends, both the indigenous and nonindigenous ones, asked if I really wanted to become a teacher." The vocation goes against the prevailing stereotype that Chinese-Indonesians are business minded.

Last year, he moved to Jakarta and opened a language school in a shop-house in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta.

Ponijan said he was long disturbed by the situation of Chinese-Indonesians. The idea to set up a political party to defend the rights of ethnic Chinese came when he was still in high school. But it was not until the new government announced the plan to review the law on political parties that he had the chance to realize his goal.

PARTI was established on June 5. The other PARTI founders include Lieus Sungkharisma, chairman of the Buddhist youth organization and executive of the National Youth Committee, businessmen Julianus Juta and Cecep Adhisaputra, and student F. Alexander Ferry.

Ponijan said within five days they had received about 500 calls from Jakarta, Pontianak, Medan and other areas throughout the country, supporting the establishment of the party.

He claimed the party also gained support from opposition figures Amien and Megawati Soekarnoputri and an expert in rural economics from Gadjah Mada University, Loekman Soetrisno.

But it also received much criticism from different groups, including Chinese-Indonesians, who argued the ethnic-based party would only aggravate the simmering animosity.

PARTI is not the only party formed by Chinese-Indonesians. The Indonesian Assimilation Party (Parpindo) was established from an idea by Chinese Moslem Jusuf Hamka. They are two of more than 30 new parties set up by a people basking in the euphoria of freedom following the resignation of Soeharto on May 21.

During his 32-year rule, Soeharto had virtually banned ethnic Chinese from political activities. This belies the fact that Chinese-Indonesians were involved in the nation's politics even before Indonesia gained its independence in 1945. Four Chinese- Indonesians were among 62 members of the committee to prepare independence. Under Sukarno's government, there were several ministers of Chinese descent.

In Soeharto's regime, Chinese-Indonesians were excluded from all of the first six development Cabinets. In the seventh, short- lived final Cabinet, there was one: Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, a timber tycoon who is Soeharto's longtime crony.

"We have been treated unfairly since the New Order (Soeharto) government," Ponijan said.

Often cited as evidence are the complicated procedures for Chinese-Indonesians to apply for identity cards, discreet quotas in state universities and the difficulty in enlisting in the Army, joining the civil service and involvement in other state organizations.

But these were rarely discussed because they were deemed taboo and too sensitive to broach. The government banned discussion of the ethnic Chinese by classifying the subject under the package of off-limit social topics known as SARA, which also spans tribal affiliations, religion and societal groups.

Ponijan said this was one of the reasons behind the establishment of PARTI because "we now want to play an active role in the legislative forum".

Ethnic Chinese make up an estimated 4 percent of the 202 million population; the government has not disclosed precise figures on the Chinese-Indonesian population since the 1970s.

Ponijan lamented the lack of legal protection for Chinese- Indonesians and the injustice they experienced, which climaxed in the May 14 riots. Chinese-Indonesians, often the whipping boy in hard economic times, were once again singled out.

"The existing (political) parties, including Golkar, were tight-lipped about the incident," Ponijan said.

The main goal of his party, he said, was to establish harmonious relations among community members of the nation, based on harmony, justice and love.

Ponijan said the disharmony between Chinese-Indonesians and the indigenous people may have originated from the Dutch colonial government's policy of divide et impera, dividing and conquering the nation through dividing them into a descending hierarchy of Europeans, East Asians and indigenous people.

After Indonesia won its independence in 1945, the government treated the ethnic Chinese relatively well even though seeds of racial discontent occasionally surface.

Like other Chinese migrant populations across the world, Chinese-Indonesians excel in business. Some collude with government officials to get ahead, and there are Chinese- Indonesians who have become tycoons through special facilities from the government.

These may be the minority, but they feed a persistent stereotype which undermines the achievements of honest Chinese- Indonesians.

"There is also the feeling of suspicion of one another," Ponijan said.

Indigenous people may have a feeling of inferiority, and some Chinese-Indonesians retain discriminatory stereotypes.

"Both of us have to work things out in order to achieve a harmonious life. We, the Chinese-Indonesians, have to reform ourselves, too," he said.

He acknowledged that ethnic Chinese businesspeople often place "too much appreciation" in money.

"They often think that everything can be settled by money. This often becomes a source of the disharmony."

Intermarriage between Chinese-Indonesians and indigenous people, even if both have the same religion, is uncommon.

Ponijan, who is single, said his close friend was also a Chinese-Indonesian.

"I have no objection against mixed marriage. But the society might frown upon us. If I married an indigenous woman, even my parents might not accept her. This is the kind of thing we need to reform."