On Chinese Indonesians

On Chinese Indonesians

Many Chinese Indonesians can tell stories of how their assets
were destroyed or in some cases their safety targeted by the mobs
in the recent riots that hit Jakarta and several other cities in
Indonesia.

So, I found Sumarsono Sastrowardoyo's letter criticizing
Chinese Indonesians that fled the country during the rioting to
be unfair. After all, nobody knew at the time that the transfer
of power was going to take place peacefully.

On the other hand, I would support the calls by others for
Chinese Indonesians to put more effort into assimilating with
indigenous people. I also call on the authorities to take more
concrete steps to address the issue. Furthermore it is important
to improve national security because if people do not feel safe
they will not return to do their business as usual.

There have been accounts of loss of lives, assets and jobs due
to the riots. However, few have mentioned the long-term impact of
the loss of confidence and higher risk perceived by people. This
will result in more capital and even skilled people leaving and
fewer coming to Indonesia at a time when the country badly needs
the expertise and capital.

Even when things stabilize further, investors in general will
be less inclined to put their money into businesses which are
long-term in nature. This will significantly handicap Indonesia
in its bid to be a competitive economy in the 21st century. The
stakes are just too big for the issue to be ignored.

SINDRA WIDJAJA

Jakarta