Govt denies practicing policies discriminating Chinese descents
Govt denies practicing policies discriminating Chinese descents
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra
refuted the accusation that the government has imposed a
discriminatory policy on citizenship for Chinese-Indonesians,
saying the regulation requiring non-indigenous people to obtain a
citizenship certificate (SBKRI) has long since been annulled.
He, however, said his office could not turn down any
application for such certificates because numerous government
institutions have frequently required the citizenship certificate
in dealing with non-indigenous people.
The minister was referring to the inconsistent implementation
of the regulation's 1996 annulment. Many government institutions
still require Chinese-Indonesians and Indonesians of Arab descent
to show their citizenship certificate when they apply for
passports from the immigration office or for places at state-run
universities.
"By law, SBKRI is no longer necessary. But in practice, many
institutions face the dilemma of either being prudent or abusing
someone's rights," he said in an interview at his office on
Wednesday.
"The government has no intention of discriminating against
non-indigenous people," he added.
The issue of Indonesian citizenship recently rose to the fore
after Indonesia's top shuttler Hendrawan, who helped the country
retain the Thomas Cup, received his citizenship certificate only
days before heading to China for the tournament earlier this
month -- thanks to President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
intervention -- even though he had already applied for it at
Cibinong District Court on November 2001.
Based on several presidential decrees, the ministry had
repeatedly issued instructions to remind all government
institutions not to require SBKRI any longer from non-indigenous
people, but it has been unavoidable when it comes to the delicate
situation of whether someone's citizenship is in doubt.
Currently, the government is drafting a law on citizenship to
strengthen the decrees.
Citing an example, Yusril said many Chinese-Indonesian
businessmen requested the citizenship certificates because banks
refused to extend loans without the certificates to prove they
were Indonesian citizens.
The Ministry of Education has also required Chinese-
Indonesians to show their citizenship certificates when they
apply for a recommendation to study overseas.
"The immigration office will not issue a passport if they
doubt the citizenship of the applicant," Yusril added.
But are such difficulties only the privilege of Chinese-
Indonesians?
Yes, because Indonesians of either Arab or Indian descent are
not required to obtain a SBKRI because they don't have dual
citizenship imposed by their country of origin.
According to the 1946 law on citizenship, all people living in
Indonesia since the country's independence on Aug. 17, 1945, are
assumed to be Indonesian nationals.
Indonesia adopts the blood-linked citizenship principle (ius
sanguinis), where someone's citizenship is based on their
parents, while China -- since 1950 under Mao Tse Tung -- adopted
the birth-based (ius soli) principle, accepting the citizenship
of those of Chinese descent, including those in Indonesia, no
matter where they reside.