Spotlighting Chinese-Indonesian history

Benget Simbolon Tnb., Jakarta

Zheng He is lavishly celebrated in the Central Java capital of Semarang, where he arrived as the leader of a legendary Chinese expedition to promote friendship and trade with the regions that now comprise Indonesia 600 years ago.

Such royal celebration not only functions to honor the eunuch admiral -- also called Cheng Ho -- for his noble deeds, but also to remember the Ming dynasty's emperor Zhu Di. Unlike other Chinese emperors intent on conquer, Zhu Di took a more dovish approach by sending expeditions abroad to promote trade and friendship. It was said he regarded peoples of the world as one family despite their different ethnicities and religions.

Amid lingering fears that racial attacks, as happened in May 1998, against Chinese Indonesians might reoccur, the celebrations also serve as a window to view the history of migration of ethnic Chinese in a wider perspective, and to assess their present status in this country.

When Zheng He came to Semarang 600 years ago, there was already a Chinese community there. Some of them were the offspring of military deserters of Khublai Khan -- the grandson of Mongolian Zhengis Khan -- who had sent them there to punish the Singasari Kingdom for not paying tribute. Others were traders who migrated there from southern coastal areas of China.

In other places in the archipelago there were also communities of Chinese, mostly traders, farmers and fishermen.

Based on historical documents, Chinese migration to the Indonesian archipelago started more than 2,000 years ago. But the biggest migrations occurred during what historians term the "commercial era" between the 15th and 19th centuries.

It is not surprising, therefore, that a significant number of Indonesians are of Chinese origin. Many even look Chinese, especially those from South Sumatra, Lampung, Bangka-Belitung, North and South Sulawesi and several cities of Java, including Cirebon and Kuningan.

Bringing with them their more advanced culture, their presence had a civilizing effect on Indonesian society. They introduced new farming methods and architecture, metal coins, writing and calendars, clothing and new tools.

As a result, Indonesian culture has been strongly influenced by the Chinese, including the arts. The use of bedugs (mosque drum) in mosques was initiated by Zheng He, who brought them from China.

Many Indonesian words also originated from Chinese, such as tahu (fermented bead curd), topan (typhoon), sunan (from su-hu- nan, meaning "noble guru).

Historians agree that Chinese migrants had a big role in establishing the Demak Kingdom, the first Islamic kingdom on the island of Java. They also had a role in propagating Islam in Indonesia.

It is believed that most of the Wali Songo, the nine noble Islamic scholars who are attributed with propagated Islam in Java, were ethnic Chinese.

The Chinese also established a number of cities, including East Java's Gresik, which was developed into a trading city, and North Sumatra's Bagansiapi-api, which developed as a fishing town and later became the largest producer of salted fish in Southeast Asia.

But despite all this, the Chinese are still treated as aliens in Indonesia. They are still victims of racial discrimination that has resulted in dozens of bloody conflicts, such as the Tangerang riot of 1740, the Medan and Pematang Siantar riots in 1946, and the latest one in May 1998.

History has shown that this country has always put them in a difficult situation ever since the period of Dutch colonization. For example, with its divide et impera (divide and conquer) policy, the Dutch administration designed laws such that it created a caste-like system in which integration among communities was almost impossible. This enabled the Dutch to more easily control their colony.

Obstruction of ethnic integration also continued during the Sukarno and Soeharto eras. Under Sukarno there was, among others, Government Regulation (PP) No. 10, issued in 1959, which limited Chinese business activities to cities.

Under Soeharto's regime, their position worsened. They could not use their Chinese names, and all Chinese characters and cultural performances were banned in public. Also they were not allowed to become civil servants or military officers.

They were also discriminated against in the matter of identity cards. Every time they need to obtain an official documents, for example, they have to show a special certificate called the Certificate of Proof of Indonesian Citizenship (SBKRI).

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid was quoted by Kompas daily last year as saying that there were still 4,126 regulations that discriminated against Chinese Indonesians that were still in effect. This includes the requirement for them to show their SBKRI every time they need legal documents.

Last October, Vice President Jusuf Kalla raised fears of further discrimination when he made a statement saying that the government would design a special economic package to assist "native" businessmen. Many Chinese Indonesians saw this planned package as an act of discrimination, although this was denied by the vice president.

For Chinese Indonesians, the continuation of the existing legal system validated their fears that discrimination against them would continue under the new administration. Such discrimination cultivates mutual distrust, which could, sooner or later, end up into eruptions of violence such as happened in May 1998.

As Chinese Indonesians are said to control about 80 percent of the country's economy, maintaining discriminative laws will always be harmful to the government's measures in developing the national economy.

It will reinforce their feelings of being foreigners in their own land, who only see Indonesia as a place to do business for short time, and not as their homeland.

The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post.