Who to blame?

I am not a Chinese nor a pribumi (indigenous Indonesian). But what I read in The Jakarta Post disturbs me and I think I have lived in Indonesia long enough to understand the sentiments of both sides. Correct me if I am wrong.

The pribumi blame the Chinese for their economic hardships. The Chinese could not care less because they believe, at least the Chinese working class do, that their money is hard earned.

The Chinese blame the pribumi for not accepting them as Indonesians. The pribumi, however, believe it is the Chinese's own doing by living in areas with a high concentration of Chinese, like in West Jakarta.

Everyone is familiar with words like 'dasar Cina' (lowly Chinese) from the pribumi while you will often hear Chinese people say "typically pribumi". Both are normally said with sarcasm.

In daily life in Indonesia, there is no way one lives a day without dealing with a Chinese. From the most expensive appliance to a bowl of meat balls, the person behind the counter is the yellow race. And it is in this face, in my analysis, that the root of the sentiments lie.

When a pribumi who is trying to bargain in Glodok is snubbed and arrogantly asked to bargain elsewhere, he will develop a bud of bad sentiment toward the Chinese. It is then compounded when he goes to another store and faces another Chinese who sticks to the same price. In his heart, he calls it Chinese Mafia with the power to dictate the price. While for the Chinese, it is a simple business strategy to prevent a price war. This kind of daily encounter builds a mountain of bad sentiments.

Decades pass, the bud blooms. A group of irresponsible people with their own political agenda pulls the trigger. The bomb exploded on that fateful day in May. The Chinese were burned out and raped. Who to blame? In my analysis, not the pribumi, not the Chinese, but the government.

The government is there to safeguard its people. Obviously it failed to protect the physical well-being of the Chinese and the economic existence of the pribumi. And it also failed to stop the people who pulled the trigger.

This failure caused priceless losses, and yet it seems nobody learned anything. Nobody is trying to cure the disease. Everybody is after the symptoms. The government is busy chasing the Chinese entrepreneurs who got out of the country while investigating the perpetrators of the burning and rape.

If only the government concentrated on curing the disease, it would not have to worry about the symptoms. And the cure is to merge these two peoples. Assimilating them into one community to create a combined culture which would guarantee a peaceful coexistence. To establish an atmosphere which accepts their basic differences, to freely discuss it, debate on it and at the end of the day sleep with it as one community.

To attain this objective, the government has to discourage the a concentration of Chinese in one area. May it be a housing complex, business centers. Eliminate all hindrances that block the intermarriage between them like the law on marriage and religion. Establish an acceptable ratio in the employ of private and government establishments, including the military. And since business is at present dominated by the Chinese, special government incentives must be provided for pribumi to enter and compete.

Political parties should be based on political agenda, not by race. To allow a Chinese-dominated political party is again a step to isolate the Chinese, not just to the benefit of politicians but at the expense of the Chinese working class. The history of Kwik Gian Gie is an ideal example of the role the Chinese must have. They must be identified not as a Chinese but instead for their political beliefs.

PONG C. POLICAR

Jakarta