Toward a true unitary nation

Toward a true unitary nation

By Harkiman Racheman

MEDAN (JP): Cultural rights guarantee every human being to
live any chosen lifestyle, and to satisfy his or her cultural
identity, without experiencing discrimination from others,
especially the state.

With the unexpected shift in national leadership from the now-
defunct New Order to the current slightly reformed government in
the background, a few well-educated Indonesians of Chinese
descent have asked: What is going to happen to the basic rights
of ethnic Chinese? Are their cultural rights going to be equally
acknowledged and protected in the way of indigenous Indonesians?

To answer this, it is best to bear in mind that while the
Javanese culture is instrumental to the social wellbeing of
Javanese people and likewise the Batak culture is to Batak
people, so is the Chinese culture important to the 10-million-or-
so Indonesians of Chinese descent (now one of the five largest
ethnic groups in the country).

A conceptual comprehension and absolute willingness from the
entire populace in admitting that there is, in principle, such a
symmetrical cultural need between the indigenous people and the
Chinese, and that no one necessarily deserves more appreciation
than the other, is indeed conducive to generating better quality
multi-ethnic unity in Indonesia.

However, as a continuing result of the widespread political
brainwashing by the New Order regime affecting the way of
thinking and living of the indigenous masses, respect for human
cultural equality has not developed. The majority of indigenous
people in Indonesia do not have the faintest idea or, worse
still, the least intention to fully grasp what the political
analyst Christianto Wibisono has shrewdly called the virtual
"inner suffering" of Chinese Indonesians.

In his article Searching for Real Racial Unity in The Jakarta
Post (June 12, 1999), for example, a typical indigenous writer in
the person of Sri Pamoedjo Rahardjo has failed to acknowledge the
essence of the ethnic Chinese social and political sufferings. In
fact, he typically joined with his indigenous peers in suggesting
that ethnic Chinese should be de-powered with deliberate
affirmative action "disincentives" because they advanced far too
quickly in all spheres of life compared with the indigenous
Indonesians.

"The national government," Rahardjo argued, "must have the
courage to pass affirmative action programs to help improve the
status of indigenous Indonesians. These policies should help
expand the potential of indigenous Indonesians vis-a-vis Chinese
Indonesians."

Even though the New Order's anti-Chinese cultural injustice,
oppression and exploitation (among the reasons causing it to fall
from grace) have now been formally abolished, the average
indigenous Indonesian has not seemed to learn enough of the fact
that the Chinese Indonesian's numerous sufferings under the
corrupt regime did indeed far exceed their own.

During the New Order's administration, only the cultural
expectations of indigenous groups were officially admitted and
fulfilled. Those of Chinese Indonesians were blatantly
disregarded, rejected or, worse still, systematically terminated.
The indigenous majority seems to have denied that ethnic Chinese
are also Indonesian citizens through and through, who have every
reason to deserve equal political justice, guaranteed social
security and indiscriminate cultural recognition.

It is even more saddening whenever the desire of the ethnic
Chinese to plead for an equal cultural right was construed
unfairly as an "anti-nationalism act" (read: a cliched pretext).
This could be seen from the obvious objection by the New Order
government officials (and, later on, by indigenous groups too) to
public celebrations of Chinese New Year and other cultural
festivals.

Thus, when these important celebrations were officially banned
by small-minded authoritarian power holders, the Chinese could
not help thinking that this was, in fact, a genuine case of
cultural barbarism. It can be perhaps compared to having non-
Muslims disallow the Idul Fitri observance or having non-
Christians prohibit the observation of Christmas and other New
Year's rituals.

That is why minority activist Junus Yahya's proposition to ban
all Chinese culture in Indonesia would make very little sense at
all. His total abandonment of his own Chinese religious and
cultural background, something which will not gain immediate
admiration from the Chinese community, cannot be taken as a
precedent to deprive all other Chinese Indonesians of their
cultural attachments. Representing absolutely nobody but himself,
Junus Yahya has no right to suggest that the government de-power
the ethnic community culturally by disallowing their open
cultural observances.

Yahya's undemocratic proposition was unfortunately followed by
the New Order government, which mistook the silent objection of
the majority of Chinese Indonesians as voluntary approval. Like
most indigenous Indonesians, he has turned a blind eye to the
deeply felt cultural suffering of ethnic Chinese. In fact,
Yahya's advice, as it turned out, only triggered the legalized
practice of cultural genocide of Chinese Indonesians.

Fully encouraged and supported by Yahya's group and other so-
called assimilationists (who constitute a sheer minority within
the Chinese Indonesian community), the New Order bureaucrats
uncompromisingly prohibited the Chinese from following their
cultural rituals. On the Feb. 14, 1996, to mention but one
example, the governor of Jakarta issued a decree banning Chinese
New Year's celebrations throughout the capital.

It is not surprising, therefore, that in his sensational
Kompas article of June 12, 1999, titled Kapok Jadi Nonpri (I have
learned my lesson of being Chinese), the renowned social
anthropologist Ariel Heryanto likened this type of official ban
to that imposed on narcotic drugs, explosives and pornography in
Indonesia.

While open protests would be impossible, the frustrated
Chinese Indonesians would only blame racist regulations as the
main source of their miseries. However, it would be utterly naive
to assume that the Chinese could not identify such a structural
mistreatment.

One of the numerous racist regulations which openly
facilitated the open practice of cultural genocide against
Chinese Indonesians was Presidential Decree No. 14/1967. This
decree clearly prohibits any Chinese religious or customary
observances.

Ironically, the indigenous people who often boast of their
high level of cultural awareness seem to have shown no objection
to this insensible discrimination. On the contrary, they even
conditioned themselves to adopt an anti-Chinese stance and
consequently, showed frequent groundless enmity toward elements
of the Chinese Indonesian culture.

To mention one important example, until now indigenous
Indonesians have not been willing to accept Chinese Malay
literature (1870-1945), written in Bazaar Malay prior to the
emergence of modern Indonesian literature in the 20th century.
This huge body of literature has been only poorly acknowledged by
a handful of indigenous literary authorities in the country.

The pivotal contribution of this vast literature (supported by
806 Chinese Indonesian authors and translators producing no less
than 3304 pieces of literary work) toward the emergence and
formation of modern Indonesian literature and press in bahasa
Indonesia has been underestimated by indigenous historians. This
pre-independence literary period, if it is properly researched,
would indicate a very important starting point in what we later
knew as modern Indonesian culture.

Fortunately, with the fall of the New Order regime and the
rise of Habibie's transitional government such political
malpractice has been fully identified. Even though there are
still some objections (especially from those who have been taking
advantage of the three-decade-long anti-Chinese racism), at least
the Habibie government's recognition of essential
multiculturalism would constitute an ideal political compromise
for the Indonesians of Chinese descent.

Even though antiminority sentiments will continue to take hold
of the socio-cultural discourses in the country (as the
consequence of a slow and arbitrary transition), the formalized
abolition of racial discrimination regulations by Habibie's
administration would constitute an essential point of departure
in molding a more acceptable code of ethics toward Chinese
Indonesians.

One of the points expected to be on the agenda of the new
reformist government in the near future should, therefore, be its
permanent support for the idea that we are a unitary nation,
despite our diverse ethnic and customary differences. And, all
these different elements, rather than disintegrate, would unite
the whole country within its renewed cultural patchwork known as
the brand new Indonesian culture.

In the present reform era, in which many Chinese Indonesians
have played diverse roles in accordance with their respective
circumstances and capacities, though this may often be forgotten
easily, let it be known that this minority community would like
to see that their basic rights are finally acknowledged as well
as protected.

Therefore, many thanks to Amien Rais' National Mandate Party
and Gus Dur's National Awakening Party for taking the initial
steps to fully grasping the Chinese Indonesians' "inner
suffering" by promising publicly to protect their fundamental
rights.

And, if the next government wants to remain consistent with
the popular expectation for a modern democratic Indonesia, which
upholds the principles of human rights and the supremacy of law,
there will be no choice for them but to make ethnic Chinese a
legitimate part of the Indonesian community.

One way to do that is for them to empower Chinese Indonesians
culturally. But, if this right is to be overlooked, rest assured
that the next government will be as vulnerable as the previous
ones.

The writer is a graduate of Victoria University in Wellington,
New Zealand. Based in Medan, he is currently a freelance writer
and university lecturer.