Ethnic Chinese
<p>Ethnic Chinese</p><p> The feature article titled Poor Chinese, natives live in
harmony in Jembatan Lima (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 3, 1999) is both
interesting and touching. In small towns and rural areas across
the country, the relationship between Chinese-Indonesians and
indigenous Indonesians is, in fact, quite harmonious.</p><p>Mixed marriages like that between Nenny and Wie no longer pose
any problems. The majority of Chinese-Indonesians are
professionals, small-scale merchants and employees of private
companies. They all work hard and honestly to earn a living and
collect their assets bit by bit. But these people can go nowhere
for shelter every time there is a riot, in which they are always
targeted (no matter what caused the riot), their houses burned,
their shops looted and they themselves tortured.</p><p>Many of these Chinese-Indonesians no longer deem it relevant
to tell their children they are really of "Chinese descent".
However, after all sorts of racist riots, these children have
"new awareness". They have to face the fact they belong to a
different social group, a group in the community invariably set
as a target for looting, violence, harassment and hatred, not
owing to their personal mistakes. It is obviously beyond one's
wish to be born Arabic, Chinese, Indian, Javanese, etc. Such is
God's gift. What distinguishes all of us before Him is our deeds.</p><p>Unfortunately, it is the government that has sharpened the
differences in life views between nonindigenous and the
indigenous Indonesians. Such an attitude has been adopted by the
government because it is the easiest way to divert attention from
various problems created by the government itself.</p><p>An example of the government's inconsistency is Presidential
Decree No. 56/1996 on "Evidence of Citizenship of the Republic of
Indonesia", in which one of the stipulations is that children
whose parents are Indonesian citizens need no longer possess a
certificate of evidence of citizenship (SBKRI) and that a birth
certificate will suffice to prove someone's Indonesian
citizenship. Unfortunately, the immigration office still sets the
SBKRI as one of the requirements for a passport application.</p><p>On this occasion, allow me to call on the justice minister,
the minister of education and culture (in connection with
requirements to enter a university) and other relevant ministers
to firmly instruct their ranks to consistently execute
Presidential Decree No. 56/1996 to prevent differences between
nonindigenous and indigenous citizens from becoming wider.</p><p> ANDREAS RAHMANTO</p><p>Jakarta</p>
harmony in Jembatan Lima (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 3, 1999) is both
interesting and touching. In small towns and rural areas across
the country, the relationship between Chinese-Indonesians and
indigenous Indonesians is, in fact, quite harmonious.</p><p>Mixed marriages like that between Nenny and Wie no longer pose
any problems. The majority of Chinese-Indonesians are
professionals, small-scale merchants and employees of private
companies. They all work hard and honestly to earn a living and
collect their assets bit by bit. But these people can go nowhere
for shelter every time there is a riot, in which they are always
targeted (no matter what caused the riot), their houses burned,
their shops looted and they themselves tortured.</p><p>Many of these Chinese-Indonesians no longer deem it relevant
to tell their children they are really of "Chinese descent".
However, after all sorts of racist riots, these children have
"new awareness". They have to face the fact they belong to a
different social group, a group in the community invariably set
as a target for looting, violence, harassment and hatred, not
owing to their personal mistakes. It is obviously beyond one's
wish to be born Arabic, Chinese, Indian, Javanese, etc. Such is
God's gift. What distinguishes all of us before Him is our deeds.</p><p>Unfortunately, it is the government that has sharpened the
differences in life views between nonindigenous and the
indigenous Indonesians. Such an attitude has been adopted by the
government because it is the easiest way to divert attention from
various problems created by the government itself.</p><p>An example of the government's inconsistency is Presidential
Decree No. 56/1996 on "Evidence of Citizenship of the Republic of
Indonesia", in which one of the stipulations is that children
whose parents are Indonesian citizens need no longer possess a
certificate of evidence of citizenship (SBKRI) and that a birth
certificate will suffice to prove someone's Indonesian
citizenship. Unfortunately, the immigration office still sets the
SBKRI as one of the requirements for a passport application.</p><p>On this occasion, allow me to call on the justice minister,
the minister of education and culture (in connection with
requirements to enter a university) and other relevant ministers
to firmly instruct their ranks to consistently execute
Presidential Decree No. 56/1996 to prevent differences between
nonindigenous and indigenous citizens from becoming wider.</p><p> ANDREAS RAHMANTO</p><p>Jakarta</p>