Medan riots expose wide social disparity

By R. Mulia Nasution

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): The Medan riots that occurred this month cannot be explained simply in terms of workers running amuck because their demands had not been met.

But that is the general consensus among political and social observers, and even some government and military officials, in analyzing the Medan riots.

As the city sobers up from the week-long riots, the authorities heighten their investigations and the government and businesses calculate their financial losses, many analysts warn that because some basic social problems remain unsolved, the Medan incident could easily be repeated in the future.

Most private and government analysts agree that the riots have exposed the wide social disparity between the various layers of society.

The gap is further pronounced because the wealth disparity is also divided along racial lines, with the wealthy ethnic Chinese identified as the industrialists on one side, and the poor indigenous workers, including a large share of Javanese, on the other.

Adding to the tension is the issue of collusion between the industrialists and bureaucrats, and allegations of a thriving protection racket run by youth gangs and the local security apparatus.

What initially began as a simple industrial dispute with workers pressing for salary increases in February, snowballed over the course of two months into massive labor movements and then turned into violent riots with strong racial overtones.

The number of fatalities was surprisingly low -- one businessman dead, four injured, including two security officers. At least these were the only ones reported.

The credit goes to the military for limiting its response to using only smoke grenades. Although fully armed, they did not fire a single bullet to quell the riots.

But destruction was rampant as rioters ransacked and looted shops and factories, overturned cars and started fires. Most of the shops and factories destroyed were owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent.

Maj. Gen. A. Pranowo, the chief of the Bukit Barisan Command, which oversees the northern part of Sumatra, lends a sympathetic ear to the workers' cause, despite his tough talk about clamping down on the rioters.

"The workers have been repressed and exploited for far too long while entrepreneurs live extravagantly. This has naturally created great social envy," Pranowo said.

But Amir Purba, a staff lecturer at North Sumatra University (USU), blames collusion between industrialists, bureaucrats and the security apparatus in Medan for the unimpeded exploitation of the workers.

"Industrialists have been able to get away with paying meager wages because they are in collusion with bureaucrats," Amir said. "They also need to keep wages low because they must pay hefty fees for the protection they enjoy."

Z. Pangaduan Lubis, a social critic and staff lecturer at the School of Letters of USU, considers the hedonistic lifestyle led by the wealthier members of society in Medan, and the discrimination by Chinese employers against indigenous workers as sources of the problem.

"This sows social envy," Pangaduan said.

The ethnic mix in Medan is also a major factor behind the riots because quite a large proportion of the workers come from regions where the people are known to be openly critical.

"Don't forget that the workers here are not just Javanese, but also Bataks and Minangkabau, who tend to be more critical and better educated. They cannot be cheated or oppressed all the time. It was simply a question of time before they lost their patience and turned violent."

Maiyasyak Johan, a labor activist and head of the Institute for Advocates of Indonesian Children, said the ethnic Chinese in Medan, unlike their counterparts in other parts of Indonesia, do not face strong pressure to assimilate with the local people because they feel safe behind the web of protection they enjoy from bureaucrats and the local security system.

"There has not been an intense effort by the authorities to instill a greater sense of nationalism among the Chinese people," Maiyasyak said. "What does nationalism mean to these Chinese descendants? What is their ideology?"

Given their wealth, the Chinese should ideally lead the current government campaign to eradicate poverty, he said.

Ridwan Rangkuti, another lecturer at the School of Social and Politics at USU, said the disparity between the rich and poor in Medan has increased in recent years.

The workers are also in a helpless situation given that the government-backed All-Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI) has been ineffective in fighting for the workers' interests, Ridwan said.

"Something must change. The government must overhaul its policies to accommodate the aspirations of these people," he said. "If not, this incident could occur again."