Looking back at the attempts to promote Chinese assimilation
Looking back at the attempts to promote Chinese assimilation
By Emmy Fitri Hastuti
BANDUNGAN, Central Java (JP): Ill feeling toward ethnic
Chinese is nothing new. In fact, the tension was obvious decades
ago. And if you think the government has never done anything to
overcome the problem, you would be wrong.
The government did make an effort to handle the problem, as
reflected in the signing of the 1961 Assimilation Charter here in
Bandungan, Ambarawa, seven kilometers from Semarang, the
provincial capital of Central Java. Whether its efforts paid off
is another matter. But one thing is sure, and this is a fact only
a few are aware of: the historic charter was signed by 27 youths
of Chinese descent and three Javanese youths on Jan. 15, 1961.
The document, known as the Bandungan Charter, was the
brainchild of the Ministry of Education and Culture's director
general of culture, who believed that culture was important in
the assimilation process.
It was designed to advocate the assimilation of ethnic Chinese
to be part of Indonesia and its people.
"We read the declaration out loud at 2 p.m., after drafting
the concept and discussing it many times," Junus Jahja, one of
the figures who signed the charter, said proudly.
Only five of the signatories of the declaration are still
alive: Lauwchuantho, who is now known as Haj Junus Jahja; Tjoa
Tjie Liang alias Anang Satyawadana; noted historian Onghokham;
Dora Lie Bo Tan; and D. Sutjiadi (now in Hong Kong). All are more
than 60 years old.
Junus and Anang recently showed up at the house where the
declaration was signed to deliver speeches at a three-day
discussion about assimilation. The event was organized by the
Ministry of Education and Culture's Directorate General of
Culture.
Both Anang and Junus acknowledged that the historic Bandungan
declaration did not work as expected because of the country's
political situation at the time.
"After we signed the declaration and set up the Tunas Bangsa
foundation to design further measures, the political situation
didn't allow us to move ahead," Junus said.
Only four years after the declaration was signed, an attempted
coup blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party shattered hopes for
unity when the country witnessed people killing each other for
their ideological believes.
Many link the involvement of ethnic Chinese in the now-banned
party.
"Everything that had anything to do with Chinese was then
condemned," Anang recalled.
Indonesia then cut off diplomatic ties with China, and it was
not until 1990 that relations were restored.
After the attempted coup, the process of assimilation
continued.
"The process is still going on," Junus said optimistically.
He believes that the "dream of unity", will be realized if
both Chinese and indigenous are willing to open their minds and
hearts wide.
He observes that the Chinese younger generation has progressed
further in the process than the older generation. Many young
people speak Indonesian instead of Chinese in their interactions
with other ethnic Chinese, he said.
In the process of assimilation, Chinese were asked to change
their names. Which is why Lauw Chuan Tho is now called Junus
Jahja and Tjoa Tjie Liang is called Anang Satyawadana, while Ong
Hok Ham made his name one word, Onghokham.
Junus, a member of the Supreme Advisory Council, defended the
policy, saying that in Thailand, all ethnic Chinese had to change
their names to Thai names, while Chinese-Indonesians could choose
their names.
In order to make Chinese-Indonesians become Indonesian, the
government tried hard to cut cultural ties between the Chinese
here and their ancestors. Chinese schools were closed down,
Chinese writing was banned and Chinese arts and activities were
made taboo.
"If the younger generation of Chinese descent wish to learn
and preserve typical culture, to celebrate imlek (Chinese New
Year) or to learn Chinese calligraphy, they can do it on their
own," Director General of Culture Edi Sedyawati said.
But all these superficial efforts to boost assimilation have
not been successful.
There are often conflicts between the Chinese and the
indigenous, which reached a climax in last year's riots. In such
incidents, the Chinese become vulnerable targets, apparently
because many people perceive the Chinese as economic animals who
dominate the country's economy.
Many participants of the recent discussion said they had
difficulty mixing with ethnic Chinese. They said the Chinese only
made friends with people they found beneficial to them. Some
acknowledged that there were Chinese-Indonesians who could mingle
easily with people in their neighborhoods, but most of these were
poor.
They all agreed that the root of the problem was the policies
made by the Dutch colonialism government and the New Order
government.
The Dutch colonial government put people in Indonesia into
three categories: Europeans as first-class citizens; vreemde
oosterlingen (eastern foreigners like Chinese, Arabs and Indians)
as second-class citizens; and the lowest was the inlander
(indigenous).
The categorization is believed to have influenced many Chinese
who apparently did not mingle with the indigenous. In response,
the indigenous responded by erecting a high wall around them,
according to the participants.
After Indonesia gained independence, ethnic Chinese, who were
removed from the political arena, played an important role in the
economic sector. Some of them were reportedly given facilities
and privileges and cooperated with corrupt government officials
in a quest for wealth.
However, Edi Sedyawati said there was no need to blame past
policies or history.
"Let's not bring up what was mistakenly applied in previous
years, but let's find the positive points which can be useful for
the country's survival," she said.
"It would be better if we could project for the future by
learning from the past," she said.