Empowering ethnic Chinese in Indonesia

By Ester I. Jusuf

This is the second of two articles on challenges facing the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia.

JAKARTA (JP): Party leaders must be rooted in the people. Unless party leaders have their base in the people, they can be easily regarded as not fighting for the interest of the people. How can a party earnestly fight for the aspirations and interests of the people if it never gets in touch, intensively and collectively with them?

The political program of a party needs to be examined in our fight for the establishment of democracy and the abolition of racism. First, Article 26 of the 1945 Constitution must be amended, because it is the source of racially discriminatory regulations. This article stipulates that what is referred to as an Indonesian citizen is an indigenous Indonesian and a person of alien origin that the law has legalized as a citizen.

What is referred to as a person of alien origin in this article is someone with Dutch, Chinese, Arabic, Indian or other origin who is domiciled in Indonesia, recognizes Indonesia as his or her fatherland and has his or her loyalty to the State of the Republic of Indonesia and can therefore be an Indonesian citizen.

This article is loaded with the racist political interest of the ruling power that seeks to abolish the historical fact of the founding of the state of Indonesia, particularly with respect to the presence of ethnic Chinese as one of the ethnic groups in the state of Indonesia.

Second, the promulgation of the antiracial and ethnic discrimination law must be examined. It is now time for Indonesia to have its antiracial and ethnic discrimination law. If a party says it fights for the abolition of racial and ethnic discrimination, but does not in concrete terms encourage the promulgation of positive laws on this matter, the honesty of its interest in the rights of ethnic Chinese must be questioned. In my opinion, any party that does not act against a racial crime and does not firmly try to oppose racism gives tacit agreement to the application of racist policies.

Third, the abolition of the dual role of the Indonesian military forces must be considered. Regarding this matter, it is to be hoped that we all have an open mind and the courage to think about and analyze the issue.

An interesting question was once posed in a discussion in Los Angeles with Dr. Daniel Lev: "What mistake have the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia committed?" He said that there was only one mistake, and that this mistake was that the ethnic Chinese were too naive to trust their fate to the military.

History has clearly shown how the military played a role in committing discriminatory practices. It began with the event related to Government Regulation No. 10/1959 in which ethnic Chinese were driven away from rural areas. This action was followed by the massacre of ethnic Chinese in Kalimantan as a result of their involvement in the North Kalimantan People's Party (Paraku). Later, security levies and shares were allotted to military personnel in Chinese-Indonesian companies.

Or, more obviously, we could draw attention to the May riot in 1998, in which the military allowed a racial riot to occur in which citizens were the victims.

Tragically, many still trust their fate to the military. This pattern of thought must be changed. A political party's rejection of the dual function of the military, therefore, is an important yardstick to discover its seriousness in fighting for democracy and abolishing racism.

A general election is one of the standard political mechanisms to build the legitimacy and legality of a government's power. Although the 1999 election is politically flawed -- as the product of the old forces, namely the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the DPR, formed as a result of the 1997 general election under the New Order regime -- it is important to the people, particularly ethnic Chinese, as a venue for the implementation of democracy and freedom of expression. These freedoms were both stifled in the 32 years under the New Order regime.

By joining the election process, ethnic Chinese may learn and participate in the fight for a change, including changing their own fate. A deliberate vote for a party that fights for democracy and antiracism will be a minimum concrete step toward change.

One question remains however: "Are the elections the only way to wage the struggle for democracy?" Certainly not. There is a struggle waged by the pro-democracy movement outside of the MPR/DPR, led by university students. Through their actions, which are deeply rooted in the interests of the people, they have urged the government to listen to and comply with popular wishes. Ethnic Chinese must be actively involved in such a movement and must not be alienated from other segments of the population.

We cannot stop at simply opting for a party. Ethnic Chinese must have a bargaining position when dealing with any political parties or forces. This is not easy, especially in the current situation when ethnic Chinese are haunted with two kinds of fear: the fear that another riot will break out and the fear that they will be labeled exclusive. This fear must be fought.

Ethnic Chinese must work hand in hand with all other popular segments to fight racism. It is now time for ethnic Chinese to learn to organize themselves to fight for rights which have been infringed upon.

The writer is chairperson of the standing committee of Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa (Motherland Solidarity).