Non-Chinese vendors capitalize on `Imlek'

Evi Maryani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Dedi, a Sundanese from Tasikmalaya, West Java, has been a vendor in Glodok, Jakarta's Chinatown, for the past three years.

On regular days, he sells only toys. But as Imlek (Chinese New Year) approaches, he has left the toys in his house and instead sells Imlek-related items, such as ang pau (money envelopes that are supposed to bring good luck to their recipients), Chinese calendars and firecrackers.

Speaking in a strong Sundanese accent, he said that he had started selling Imlek goods seasonally since the Year of the Snake, which was in 2001.

"Alhamdullilah (thanks be to God), every Imlek I earn more profit than I normally do. These seasonal profits can amount to twice my regular profit," he said.

Since 2000, when then president Abdurrahman Wahid took serious steps to allow the revival of Chinese culture and religion in Indonesia, the Chinese New Year celebration, which had been banned by the old regime, once again emerged as a public festivity.

During the time that Chinese culture and the Confucian (Kong Hu Cu) religion were banned, Imlek celebrations, which usually involved performing the barongsai (lion dance), were held only within the enclosures of Kong Hu Cu temples. Imlek merchandise was sold mostly by Chinese people.

Now, however, barongsai shows are performed in public places and are watched and enjoyed by all segments of society, regardless of race or creed.

Consequently, activities related to the celebration are no longer exclusive to the Chinese community, but have also become a source of business and fortune for others, too.

Another vendor, Nining, a Javanese from Solo, Central Java, acknowledged that during Imlek her daily earnings could reach Rp 1 million (about US$112).

"My regular daily income through the sale of VCDs is about Rp 700,000. But it increases every Imlek season as I also sell Imlek bric-a-brac," she said.

While Nining was talking, a vendor with a Javanese appearance was bargaining, beside her table, with a buyer, an old Chinese man, over a string of decorative mini Chinese red lanterns.

In 1998, a tragic year for Chinese communities in Indonesia, such a sight could rarely be observed, as Imlek became an exclusive festivity.