Will Chinese New Year become national holiday?

Annastashya Emmanuelle and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesians of Chinese descent are demanding equal treatment from the government, and are asking it to declare Imlek, or the Lunar New Year, an official national holiday.

"The government's declaration (of Imlek as a national holiday) is necessary to show that there is no discrimination against Indonesians of Chinese descent in the country," Chairman of the Tionghoa Reform Party Lieus Sungkharisma told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

"Celebrating the Lunar New Year is part of Tionghoa culture. Those who embrace Confucianism perceive the Lunar New Year as a religious event, while others celebrate it as part of tradition," said Lieus, adding that it was high time for the government to discard its "Tionghoa phobia" and to boost solidarity among citizens.

Indonesia declares national holidays for the new year's celebrations belonging to officially recognized religions, and according to Presidential Decision No.1/1965, there are six officially recognized religions in the country and those are Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

While the Islamic, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist new years have been declared and celebrated as national holidays, the celebration of the Lunar New Year was banned under the Presidential Decree No. 14/1967, by then president Soeharto.

The decree banned Indonesians of Chinese descent from performing activities related to Chinese religion, beliefs and tradition, including celebration of the Lunar New Year.

The ban was issued following the alleged coup d'etat attempt by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) on Sept. 30, 1965, in which Soeharto placed part of the blame on China.

Although the ban was revoked by the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 6/2000 dated Jan. 17, 2000 by former president Abdurrahman Wahid, the Lunar New Year has not been declared a national holiday.

Alvin Lie, a legislature from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said the government decision to declare the Lunar New Year an "optional holiday" only displayed its "indecisiveness" and discrimination as there is no other traditional religious day that was declared optional.

"What harm will it do to the government to acknowledge that there is quite a large part of the Indonesian citizenry with Chinese ethnicity?," Alvin asked while speaking with The Jakarta Post.

By acknowledging the Chinese culture and tradition as part of Chinese-Indonesians' way of life, the government recognizes the political rights of this ethnic group and its equality with the rest of the ethnic groups in the country, Alvin said.

"With that, there will be no doubt in the minds of Chinese- Indonesians that they are accepted the same as any other ethnic group in the country," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Pramono Anung pledged on Tuesday that his faction would pursue the government's promise, saying that it was necessary for Indonesians of Chinese descent to celebrate their new year.

"I will try to suggest that it be pursued through the PDI Perjuangan faction in the House of Representatives, so that the government could declare Imlek a national holiday," Pramono told the Post.

Another legislator from the National Awakening Party (PKB) Effendie Choiri also promised that his party would continue former President Wahid's campaign of striving for equality and respect for all people.

"Our faction will take the initiative to propose it to the House, so we can ask the government to finally declare Imlek a national holiday," he said.