'We face discrimination from govt officials'

'We face discrimination from govt officials'

Chinese-Indonesians will celebrate Imlek or the Chinese New Year
from late Wednesday to early Thursday. Public celebrations were
permitted with the issuance of a presidential decree by former
president Abdurrahman Wahid in 2000 that revoked Presidential
Instruction No. 14/1967 on Chinese religion, tradition and
beliefs. Last year, the government declared Imlek a national
holiday. The Jakarta Post talked to some people about the issue.

Widyawati Djuana, 27, is an employee at a financial firm in
the Artha Graha building in South Jakarta. She lives with her
husband and baby daughter in Setiabudi, South Jakarta:

Imlek festivities are merrier compared to five years ago. Many
people take part in the celebration, regardless of their
ethnicity or religion. I have seen some non-Chinese people buying
Chinese New Year paraphernalia at malls and shopping centers.

Unfortunately, there is still discriminatory treatment from
government officers, especially when we apply for documents. In
many cases, those officers still require us to show the SBKRI
(citizenship certificate for nonindigenous people) before they
will accept our application.

Rosdiana, 23, is a Chinese-Indonesian housewife who lives with
her husband in Ciputat, Tangerang:

"The Imlek festival is very different because the Chinese
Lunar Year was officially declared a national holiday last year.

Once, we had to take leave for the celebration but now we all
enjoy the holiday. The celebration is also held openly in public
and aired on television. It's good.

Public acceptance is also evident. Seeing people talking in
Chinese in public places is a common sight now, even on board
public buses.

I remember five years ago my father always warned me not to
speak in Chinese while I was in public places.

However, I must admit that discrimination remains in our
government. Nothing has changed particularly when we try to
obtain documents.

-- The Jakarta Post