Unhappy New Year -- the dark side of discounts

T. Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta
tabita@cbn.net.id

Most stores worldwide offers special prices for goods and services to celebrate holidays like Idul Fitri, Christmas, New Year or Lunar New Year. Shoppers often get discounts from stores that are celebrating their own anniversaries.

But this country full of bargains, there is a darker side to discounts. In Indonesia your ethnicity can get you a cheaper price.

Anton, not his real name, said that when he was looking for a plot of land in Bekasi, the owner said he would give him a good price because he was not Chinese.

He also paid less money for the fees related to public services offered by non-Chinese Indonesians, such as the burial service and the issuance of documents like identity cards, passports and birth certificates.

"I got the discounts several times, they said: 'Because you are not a Chinese Indonesian, so.. ' And then I asked them: 'If I am Chinese, does that mean that I won't get the discount?' There were several different answers, but basically they confirmed that."

Many native Indonesians assume ethnic Chinese Indonesians are on the whole wealthy, which partly explains why they are sometimes expected to pay more.

Such an idea, of course, is groundless, as statistics show there are many Chinese Indonesians who live under the poverty line.

Often Chinese Indonesians are labeled as greedy and cunning people who abuse power to get what they want.

The ethnic Chinese are estimated to make up about 3 percent of the country's 215 million population but they are believed to dominate many areas of the economy.

It is undeniable that there are many Chinese Indonesians -- along with a flock of native Indonesians -- who build their business empires with the help of unscrupulous government officials. On the other hand, there are also others who work honestly and contribute much to the country.

There is a long list of Chinese Indonesians who have done their best for this country -- and are never questioned about their ethnicity or nationality. Tennis player Angie Wijaya, shuttlers Rudy Hartono and Tan Joe Hok, the late film director Teguh Karya, jazz musician Bubby Chen, historian Ong Hok Ham and businessman-turned-politician Kwik Kian Gie are just a few of many illustrious Chinese Indonesians.

However, the prejudice lingers and many Chinese Indonesians feel they are still discriminated against.

The practice of discrimination against the Chinese was nurtured during the New Order government through the passing of rules and regulations that were against the equal treatment of all citizens.

Chinese Indonesians could not even celebrate the Lunar New Year openly because President Soeharto in 1967 issued a decree to ban any public activities related to Chinese culture and Confucianism.

The decree was endorsed following the political turbulence that saw generals assassinated by members of Indonesian Communist Party in 1965, and the downfall of first President Sukarno the following year.

It was revoked in 2000 by President Abdurrahman Wahid, who allowed Chinese Indonesians to practice their traditions and religion freely. The Lunar New Year, or Imlek, then became an optional holiday.

Last year, President Megawati Soekarnoputri went even further and declared Imlek, a public holiday.

Now, the Chinese Indonesians can openly celebrate the Lunar New Year. They can read a number of Chinese newspapers that are published here, listen to Chinese songs on Chinese-language radio station Radio Cakrawala and watch the news in Chinese on Metro TV.

In the past few years, several television channels have begun presenting short documentaries on TV about Chinese Indonesians in conjunction with the Lunar New Year. They also have begun airing many Chinese TV serials and films, which have become the favorites of many viewers, young and old -- native Indonesians included.

However, political and cultural gestures are not sufficient enough to win the hearts of the Chinese Indonesians, many of whom still do not feel accepted here. While government policy has been laid down to uphold equality, it has come up against with the narrow states of mind of some bureaucrats.

Several Chinese Indonesians told The Jakarta Post they felt that they had not received an equal treatment at the hands of the public sector. They said they faced the discrimination when they arranged documents at government offices.

"It happened last week when I applied for an ID card. I had to pay Rp 400,000 (US$48) while my friend who is a Batak and another one who is a Javanese paid Rp 100,000," said I. Lystiani alias Lie In Gwee, who works in a private company in Central Jakarta.

Officially, the application of the ID cards is free.

Others complained about being required to produce a Surat Bukti Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia (SBKRI) document as proof of their Indonesian citizenship when dealing with the bureaucracy, especially in passport applications.

An official at the West Jakarta Immigration Office confirmed that Chinese Indonesians who wanted to apply for the passport must show their SBKRI document. But he said that the office would accept their parents' SBKRI if the applicants did not have theirs.

The SBKRI policy was stipulated in a decree dated 1968, obliging all Chinese Indonesians to obtain the document as a proof of their citizenship.

Applying for the document, however, was not easy. It took many years and a lot of money to obtain the papers.

In 1996 Soeharto issued a decree waiving the requirement for the wife and children of naturalized citizens to obtain the SBKRI. But the policy was not properly implemented.

After his downfall following the 1998 anti-Chinese riots and mass demonstrations, President BJ Habibie issued two decrees in 1998 and 1999 to ban any discrimination based on ethnicity and ordered government officials to treat all Indonesians equally.

"Formally, there might be no discrimination against the Chinese ethnic groups, but informally, it still happens," said a Jakarta resident who is not a Chinese Indonesian.

A number of Indonesians of different ethnicities agreed that while the government officials should treat all citizens equally, people of all races should also aim to eliminate discrimination by overcoming their own prejudices.

True, there are many Chinese Indonesians who prefer to live exclusively and have their own prejudices against native Indonesians, regarding them as lazy and untrustworthy. On the other hand, many non-Chinese Indonesians are not interested in mingling with the Chinese, who are considered greedy and stingy.

"We should understand each other. Let's not find the 'differences' but see what we have in common," said Fia, 27, a resident of Tangerang.

While there are undoubtedly differences among ethnic groups, the very principals of this country are founded on tolerance and unity as the country's motto: Bhinneka Tunggal Ika -- or Unity in Diversity -- illustrates.

It's all about respect, something to think about, whatever your tribe, race, religion or ethnicity.