RI shuttlers
Indonesia won its first gold medal, in badminton, at the current Asian Games. Millions of TV viewers saw the dedication of the players who again showed their prowess in an international arena. The same hope and pride was shown and felt by all ethnic groups: Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, Sulawesi people, Minang, Irianese, Flores people, Timorese, etc. They were all willing the Indonesian shuttlers to win. Also, Chinese-Indonesians in Bangkok and at home concentrated their hope on the national shuttlers. We saw how our players defended every inch of their territory to beat their opponents. They were also encouraged by the small presence of fellow countrymen in the stadium. This small crowd of Indonesians repeatedly shouted Merdeka and loudly sang songs like Halo Halo Bandung.
Fellow countrymen, do you realize who they are, the players and the spectators at the stadium? A closer observation shows that most of them were ethnic Chinese, the same part of our population who have always been the targets of riots and the scapegoats of many problems in this land. For the umpteenth time, by defeating their ancestral land, China, in badminton, Chinese- Indonesians defended the name of our great nation without launching any protests, while at the same time some of their relatives at home were being attacked and their shops being burned. On the same day of the badminton event, riots had just broken out in Blora, where again the possessions of the ethnic Chinese were the target of the masses' anger. The athletes did not heed this riot, just like all the earlier riots, including the mid-May riots in Jakarta.
May we all agree that the recent victory, like past victories by Susi Susanti and Alan Budikusuma in the Olympics, and other victories by the likes of Tan Joe Hok, Rudy Hartono, Liem Swie King, Christian Hadinata, Tjun Tjun, Johan Wahyudi, Imelda Wiguna and many others, including Ivana Lie, who, after playing badminton for her country, is still experiencing difficulties in obtaining her Indonesian citizenship, is the result of hard work and dedication based on the spirit of the ethnic Chinese to fight for Indonesia. It means that they form an inseparable part of pluralistic Indonesia.
THEODORUS WIDODO
Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara