'Time to let the commies come in from the cold'

Many people have welcomed the Constitution Court's decision to let former members and relatives of former members of the now banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) to run in legislative elections. The Jakarta Post spoke with some residents about the issue.

Toni Purnama, 29, works as a computer operator at a publishing company in Palmerah, West Jakarta. He lives with his wife in Jakasampurna, Bekasi:

These people have been discriminated against by the government and society for a long time now. I agree that it is time to end their status as second-class citizens.

It's not fair to revoke their political rights just because they were somehow linked to former PKI members or the party's organizations.

In school, we were taught that communism is evil and that those who believed in the ideology were enemies of the state. But now that we know more about communism and can read books about it without facing persecution, this long-nurtured fear of communism has become a joke.

Francesca, 30, is a shop attendant in Jatinegara, East Jakarta, where she also lives:

I know that there is a debate about whether it was the right decision to reinstate the political rights (of former PKI members). But I don't think that is the point. We should look at ourselves: Can we live as a nation while holding grudges against each other?

Although no one from my family was ever accused of being a member of the PKI, it hurt when someone pointed at you and said, "You are PKI!" This label isolated you from the rest of society and seemed to give people the right to abuse you.

--The Jakarta Post