Sowing seeds of social harmony in Year of the Rooster

Sowing seeds of social harmony in Year of the Rooster

Pandaya, Jakarta

The newfound freedom for ethnic Chinese-Indonesians to openly
celebrate their Lunar New Year (Imlek) seems to have started a
new dazzling tradition over the past couple of years.

This year, as the economically powerful ethnic Chinese
minority anxiously wait for the rooster to crow on Wednesday, new
year fever has already swept the urban community.

Glitzy shopping malls vie with each other for the most
elaborate red and gold displays of Chinese cultural symbols.
Customers are spoiled with holiday discounts and free cultural
shows, from lion and dragon dances and burning-red lanterns to
acrobatics.

My eight-year-old son, a Javanese, has already made
appointments with his Chinese-Indonesian buddies for home visits,
hoping to get angpao, that small red envelope with some money in
it, and moon cakes from the host parents. For exchanging
pleasantries, he has learned two key words: Gong Xi Fa Chai and
xie xie.

Upscale hotels are also competing for more guests by offering
anything from discounted rates to special Chinese cuisine
prepared by the best Chinese chefs.

Chinese-Indonesians can thank former president Megawati
Soekarnoputri for making Imlek a public holiday in 2002.

The move was a milestone in the long struggle to end the
abhorrent discrimination against Chinese-Indonesians.

The move is one of the best remembered legacies, if not the
only legacy, of Megawati.

The infamous anti-Chinese rioting of May 13 to May 15, 1998,
that preluded the fall of president Soeharto highlighted the
plight of Chinese-Indonesians. There was an outpouring of
sympathy from around the globe, pushing subsequent
administrations to revoke some of discriminatory laws.

Looking further back, anti-Chinese sentiment was fanned by the
anti-Communist propaganda which swept Soeharto to power in 1966.
The Chinese were seen as communist sympathizers and thus public
enemy number one.

Although much still has to be done, Chinese-Indonesians now
enjoy greater freedom than they did seven years ago.

Amid the political euphoria of 1999, ethnic Chinese set up
their own political party. Lately, dreadfully expensive "national
plus schools" have begun using Mandarin as one of the official
languages of instruction along with English. Chinese characters
grace public places. Chinese-language radio stations fill the
airwaves. All this would have been unimaginable in the Soeharto
era.

But celebrations may be premature. Beneath the euphoria runs
a strong undercurrent of delicate issues.

Despite the formal scrapping of discriminatory laws,
complaints of extortion persist when ethnic Chinese face the
state bureaucracy. Prejudice and resentment remains among the
"indigenous" population. A reputation of being easy with the
wallet when dealing with bureaucratic procedures further
complicates matters.

They have become especially easy targets because of their
tendency to stick together in the same housing and business
complexes, while often maintaining little communication with
their pribumi neighbors beyond business needs.

This "money buys all" perception eclipses all the generosity
this small but wealthy segment of society often shows. Ethnic
Chinese account for six to 10 million of the country's
population. Nevertheless it is believed that they "control" some
two-thirds of the country's economy.

The perception of exclusivity is also harbored by pribumi
employees of companies controlled by Chinese-Indonesian
entrepreneurs. It is common knowledge that many key positions are
"reserved" for fellow Chinese-Indonesians.

No concrete study has been conducted to support these claims.
However, it would be unwise for an ethnic Chinese boss to
summarily dismiss these allegations

Discrimination, nepotism, corruption and collusion are the
enemy of all -- irrespective of ethnicity.

When the rooster starts to crow tomorrow, and you perhaps
proclaim your new year resolutions, put nurturing the seeds of
racial harmony on the list.

A happy and prosperous new year to all!

The author is a staff writer of The Jakarta Post.