Indonesians of Chinese descent

From Media Indonesia

I am very concerned over the report published in Media Indonesia Nov. 2, 1994 about the 12 thousand Indonesian citizens of Chinese descent whose citizenship still has to be clarified. This reminds me of the 1992 case when a great number of Indonesians of Chinese origin, through the service of Yayasan Bhakti Suci (a social foundation) in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, asked for "evidence" certifying that they were Indonesian citizens by separating their citizenship from that of their parents. They did not apply for Indonesian citizenship. But, their application has not been processed properly. There is no need to find a "scapegoat" on this. In this context I would like to suggest the following.

* We should abide by, and fully implement, the decision of the Ministry of Justice which states that the citizenship evidence is already stated on the birth certificate or the Resident Identification Card (KTP). So, why must we spend our money for obtaining the evidence certificate? It will be better to spend the money to help the poor in West Kalimantan.

* The parents of the applicants have already obtained Indonesian citizenship. The government just wants to distinguish Indonesian citizens of Chinese descent from foreign citizens.

* It would be wiser for the authorities not to process the application for citizenship evidence. Instead, the applicants should be asked to submit their birth certificates and resident identification cards only. In this way, the problem can be solved.

RESTU Pontianak West Kalimantan