Stop divisive political agenda

By Frans H. Winarta

This is the second of two articles on the New Order government's divisive agenda in the country.

JAKARTA (JP): The emergence of about 300 Chinese-Indonesian conglomerates during the rule of the New Order government created extremely high social envy among indigenous Indonesians, a phenomenon which on reflection was a time bomb ticking away.

A monopolistic and liberal capitalistic economic structure, in the most conservative form, trapped Indonesia in a catastrophic situation due to the wrong economic paradigm.

The "trickle-down effect" theory never materialized. After dominating the economy through monopolistic and oligopolistic practices, the conglomerates, as well as the businesses of the Soeharto family, have been reluctant to surrender their grip and share their wealth with the rest of the people of Indonesia.

They even wished to gain more wealth by dominating all economic sectors, such as banking, financing, the manufacture of cement, cooking oil, flour and automotive vehicles, air transportation, oil drilling, government projects and infrastructure.

Chinese-Indonesians have been systematically shunned from politics; the only sector open to them is trade and other businesses. During the New Order's rule, no ethnic Chinese had the chance to become a member of the House of Representatives or Cabinet. They were an apolitical entity.

The prevalent assumption that the ethnic Chinese dominate 70 percent of the Indonesian economy is a myth. Granted, in the 1960s they were assumed to dominate 70 percent. Now, after 30 years, it is impossible that they still control this amount, owning to the fact that Soeharto's family and their cronies overwhelmingly prevail in business. It is also unfair to brand Chinese-Indonesians as "economic animals" because the only sector open to them is business.

Estimates put the ethnic Chinese at 5 percent of the country's total population. For comparison, a census conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 1995 showed that the Javanese (aged five years and above) totaled 67,453,465, the Sundanese 25,222,111, Madurese 7,142,046, Batak 3,608,559, Minang 4,316,889, Balinese 2,709,969, Bugis 3,680,331, Banjar 3,130,627 and others 57,039,280.

Chinese-Indonesians, at 5 percent of the population, would reach 8,715,163, constituting the third largest ethnic group in the land.

Thus, they must be eligible for representation in the House. The next electoral system should accommodate their representa tion. By now, the draft electoral act is being formulated and will be passed on to the House for deliberations to become a law to be used as the legal basis for the general election scheduled for next year. In the past, absence of representation in the House for the ethnic Chinese -- as if 5 percent of the population was not somehow unworthy of representation in the House -- was a result of the New Order's regime of manipulation.

If the current government is serious in conducting political reform, there must be a political will and a drastic decision to open up political positions, public service and the Armed Forces for the ethnic Chinese.

It is time for the government to determine whether or not it will accept the ethnic Chinese as an integral part of the nation. It is not an easy task to break the psychological barrier in place for the past three decades.

The divisive political agenda leftover from the New Order government has to be stopped. Otherwise, the current Cabinet cannot be called a Reform Order administration but will exist as the New Order regime minus Soeharto.

Racist regulations in the form of presidential decrees, presidential instructions, ministerial instructions, regional regulations, circulation letters of the presidium of the Cabinet, ministerial decrees and so forth have to be revoked.

The government is accountable for the bloodshed, looting and gang-rapes during the May 13 to May 15 rioting. It should make a public apology, conduct thorough investigation, announce the names of perpetrators, compensate victims and bring the people who planned and executed the grievous acts to court in order to gain respect and trust from both the domestic and international societies.

Last but not least, a serious and clear political agenda for reform in all aspects of the country's life should be set carefully and thoroughly.

The writer is a human rights lawyer based in Jakarta.