Nonindigenous Indonesians

From Kompas

I am not an Indonesian of foreign descent but an ethnic Javanese-Indonesian. In the recent riots, many Chinese- Indonesians were hurt. They saw their houses and shops burned down. They experienced great fear and heavy stress, they were frightened that their houses would be invaded by looters and torched. Out of fear, many of them fled temporarily to Singapore, Hong Kong and Perth.

Many among them are actually Indonesian nationals bearing Indonesian names. As Indonesian citizens they certainly have the same rights and obligations as their fellow countrymen. Indonesia upholds the principle of Unity in Diversity. It should not differentiate between ethnic groups, religions or ancestry. Indonesia knows citizens of, among others, Chinese, Arab and Dutch descent.

There are ethnic Chinese who have contributed to the glory of the Republic of Indonesia, for example, in the field of sports, including badminton, swimming and tennis.

Let us hope there will be no more destruction, looting and burning against nonindigenous Indonesians because such actions have an immense impact here and abroad, to the detriment of the government.

F. PUDIYANTO

Jakarta