Everyone concerned about nation is `indigenous': Habibie
Everyone concerned about nation is `indigenous': Habibie
JAKARTA (JP): Every citizen concerned about and committed to
improving the fate of the nation is indigenous, regardless of
their ethnic group, President B.J. Habibie said here Saturday.
Habibie told a group of mass media leaders at the Wisma Negara
state guesthouse that even a person of Bugis ethnicity from South
Sulawesi was considered a nonindigenous "if he thinks only of
himself and doesn't care about the nation's problems".
His comment was in response to a question on the widely
perceived public and state discrimination against ethnic Chinese
in the country, a minority most branded "nonindigenous" and which
was the major target of assaults during days of unrest last
month.
"There is no discrimination against the ethnic Chinese. I
don't see any reason to close the door against any Indonesian
citizen from becoming a civil servant or anything else," he said,
responding to the question.
"One major general in the Army is from the ethnic Chinese
community. There is no limitation for citizens who are ethnic
Chinese," he said.
Habibie's answer was supported by Minister of Information
Muhammad Yunus, an active Army lieutenant general formerly known
as Yunus Yosfiah, who said: "The major general was in the same
class as me (in the military academy)."
"So gentlemen, let's not make an issue out of this problem
anymore, because the real Pancasila (state ideology) will not
tolerate SARA of any form," he said, referring to animosity
rooted from the issues of tribal affiliations, religion, race and
societal groups.
Ethnic Chinese are traditionally the usual target for mob
violence during times of hardship in Indonesia due to their
perceived wealth and because they control much of the trade and
commerce throughout the vast archipelago, although they only
constitute about 4 percent of the 202 million population.
Shops and homes of ethnic Chinese were burned and looted
during riots in Jakarta and elsewhere last month that helped
topple former president Soeharto, who handed the reins over to
Habibie on May 21.
Many women of ethnic Chinese were allegedly sexually abused by
rioters in the days of violence, in which 1,200 people from
various ethnic groups were killed.
There is still deep concern in the Chinese community over the
future.
A group of Chinese-Indonesians declared on Friday their
intention of setting up a political party to remove
misconceptions between their community and native Indonesians.
The party will be called the Chinese-Indonesians for Reform
Party, the group said. (prb/aan)