Chinese-Indonesians victims of hypocrisy

Chinese-Indonesians victims of hypocrisy

I believe that everything that happens, does so for a reason.
And every action we do will be counteracted by another's
reaction. Therefore, I think that parts of the reasoning implied
in the article Ethnic Chinese at fault for riots of July 30, are
simply prejudicial and hypocritical.

The writer (Masli Arman) should have at least tried to admit
that the fault is not only with the Chinese-Indonesian society.
He wrote that Chinese-Indonesians frequently refer to indigenous
Indonesians as inferior fanqui, but he failed to write that
indigenous Indonesians refer to Chinese-Indonesians as Cina or
Cina kafir (Chinese unbelievers), in an insulting tone. And what
is wrong with speaking hua yu (Mandarin) to another Chinese
-Indonesian? Hasn't the writer ever seen Javanese people speaking
together in Javanese, or Sundanese people speaking together in
Sundanese? Even some of our government officials speak their
ethnic language in public. Can the writer blame them too?

Furthermore, why should Chinese-Indonesians change their
Chinese names, while Arab-Indonesians and Indian-Indonesians
retain their ethnic names? Hasn't the writer ever met Arab-
Indonesians named Ali or Indian-Indonesians named Singh? What is
in the name? Does the writer think that if Tan Joe Hok or Kwik
Kian Gie changed their names, they would be perceived as more
indigenous or patriotic?

The most horrible implication of the article is that the
writer seemed to be trying to justify the riots targeted at
Chinese-Indonesians. He suggested that because some Chinese-
Indonesians have made mistakes in the past, it is justifiable for
indigenous Indonesians to carry out a vendetta against Chinese-
Indonesians in general. Does Indonesia as a nation apply jungle
law now? I think the writer should ask himself harder whether it
is true that he is not a narrow-minded or chauvinistic person.

RUDY GUNAWAN

Jakarta