JP/5/JOURNO
JP/5/JOURNO
Indonesian Chinese fight to position themselves in RI media
ID Nugroho
The Jakarta Post/Surabaya
As if enthralled, a crowd of people attending an event in a field
in Madura suddenly turn their heads toward a fair-skinned female
walking past them on the edge of the field.
Their eyes were glued to her wherever she went, followed by
laughter, wolf cries and whistles.
"Isn't that the Yellow Princess," said a spectator, followed
by howls of laughter from the crowd.
This is just a another day for Fabiola Ponto, a female Kompas
journalist posted in East Java. In every news assignment she
embarks on, this woman of Manadonese-Chinese descent always faces
problems relating to her skin color. "Perhaps I look too Chinese,
so people look at me strangely," Febi told The Jakarta Post.
Discrimination against ethnic Chinese journalists carrying out
their journalistic duties is one of the many problems highlighted
with the commemoration of World Free Press Day which fell on
Tuesday last week.
Although exact data is hard to come by, the Surabaya chapter
of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) estimates that
at least 2 percent of the 2,000 or so journalists working in the
269 media companies in East Java are ethnic Chinese. Among them,
Fabiola Ponto.
Febi said that it was sometimes difficult for citizens of
Chinese descent to carry out their jobs as journalists,
especially because they are not universally accepted by many
indigenous Indonesians.
"Very often, questions arise about whether I'm Chinese or not.
It shows that Indonesians still have reservations about the color
of skin and race," she said.
According to Feby, who has been a journalist for two years
now, the racial ridicule she encounters in fact comes from middle
class people.
"People from remote areas have no qualms about whether I'm
Chinese or not. The mockery usually comes from middle class
people," said Feby, who was once discouraged by her family to
become a journalist.
One female Indonesian-Chinese journalist who is inseparable
from the world of journalism in East Java is Nany Wijaya. The 45-
year-old woman is now a director at the Jawa Pos daily and the
Nyata tabloid.
Nany, who still is still active writing, told the Post that
her career in the world of journalism began when she was "forced"
to write an article. She was on her way to Malang when a traffic
accident occurred.
"I still remember how I was forced to write about the accident
by Jawa Pos deputy chief editor Subali. It was really hard then,"
she recollected.
But it was the start of her passion for the world of
journalism. "Since then, it was as if I couldn't stop writing,"
she said.
In her 25-year career, Nany acknowledged that she had never
encountered any significant obstacles, including discrimination.
"Communication savvy is the key," she said.
A media observer from Airlangga University Henry Subiyakto
said that the presence of journalists from the Indonesian-Chinese
community was not something new.
Henry mentioned the name of an Indonesian-Chinese journalist
from the Kompas daily who is acclaimed as a legend. "The name is
Threes Nio, a Kompas journalist posted in the USA, whose reports
have become Indonesia's political reference to the international
sphere," he said.
Indonesian-Chinese are disinclined to be involved in politics,
while a journalist's job cannot be separated from politics.
"People are still wary about Indonesians of Chinese descent.
They shouldn't be, because basically everyone has the same
opportunity in any field, including journalism," explained the
Media Consumers Agency (LKM) member.
Henry said that the public had started to realize this. The
presence of a journalist like Nany Wijaya for instance, is such
an example.
"How Nany became a director of a large media company in East
Java should be noted, that a journalist of Indonesian-Chinese
descent can also be accepted into the media world," he said.