On racism

On racism

In response to Masli Arman's response (Racism revisited, The
Jakarta Post, April 23, 1996) to Arief Budiman's April 19 article
in the Post, I would like to stress -- as Masli Arman did -- the
right of self-determination, especially for Indonesia's
indigenous population.

Especially striking to me was his comparison between
indigenous American Indians and Indonesia natives.

If I understand Masli Arman right, he wants to warn of further
decimating, or better, outnumbering of indigenous natives in the
borders of the Republic of Indonesia by "relatively new guests".

Indeed, it doesn't call for a celebration to watch how local
traditions in the so-called "outer provinces" are sucked up and
wiped out by the leveling lifestyles of the incoming new
"guests".

Masli Arman continues with a very true sentence when he
states: "The indigenous and nonindigenous people of Indonesia are
not equal." The relevance of this statement can simply be seen by
the stream of resources between center and periphery, by
differing income levels between Javanese officials and people
from the "provinces". It can also be seen by the differing "side
costs" for indigenous people living in "nonindigenous"
surroundings.

By and large Masli Arman's letter shows the power of the
motto, which I, as a foreigner, came to love in Indonesia: Unity
in Diversity. The question remains: Who are the indigenous and
what happened to diversity?"

PETER KISTLER

Bandung, West Java