Discriminatory laws and regulations against Chinese Indonesians by the Indonesia government
More than twenty discriminatory laws and regulations are still in force, some of them dating from the Dutch colonial administration, many of them from the early years of Suharto's New Order government. They include laws prohibiting the use of Chinese characters and banning Chinese-language publications to a regulation obliging all ethnic Chinese to take "Indonesian" names. Some of the others include the following:
"Policy for Resolving the Chinese Issue," Cabinet Presidium Instruction No.37/U/IN/6/1967, which states, among other things, that no further residency or work permits will be issued to new Chinese immigrants, their wives, or children; any capital raised by "foreigners" in Indonesia cannot be transferred abroad; no "foreign" schools will be permitted except for the use of the diplomatic corps and their families; in any national school, the number of Indonesian pupils must exceed that of "foreigners"; and that implementation of the "Chinese issue" will henceforth be the responsibility of the minister for political affairs.
"Presidential Instruction No.14/1967 on Chinese Religion, Beliefs, and Traditions," which states that manifestations of Chinese religion and belief can have an "undesirable psychological, mental and moral influence on Indonesian citizens as well as obstruct the process of assimilation." It bans celebration of Chinese religious festivals in public and states that religious practice and observation of Chinese traditions must be kept indoors or within the household. The minister of religion and the attorney general are charged with enforcing the act.
"Home Affairs Ministry No.455.2-360/1988 on Regulation of Temples" forbids any land from being acquired for the construction of Chinese temples, building any new temples, expanding or renovating existing temples, or using any other building as a temple.
"Circular of the Director General for Press and Graphics Guidance in the Ministry of Information No.02/SE/Ditjen-PPGK/1988 on Banning the Publication and Printing of Writings and Advertisements in Chinese Characters or the Chinese Language" restricts any use of Chinese to a single newspaper called Harian Indonesia on the ground that dissemination of materials in Chinese or Chinese characters will obstruct the goal of national unity and the process of assimilation of ethnic Chinese. As a result, any use of Chinese in books, calendars, almanacs, food labels, medicines, greeting cards, clothing, decorations, or other logos and signs is banned.
"Instruction of the Ministry of Home Affairs No. X01/1977 on Implementing Instructions for Population Registration" and the confidential instructions No.3.462/1.755.6 of the Jakarta government dated January 28, 1980 both authorize special codes to be put on identification cards indicating ethnic Chinese origin.
"Cabinet Presidium Circular SE-06/Pres-Kab/6/1967 on Changing the Term China and Chinese" obliges Indonesians to drop the use of the term "Tionghoa" (as ethnic Chinese refer to themselves) and replace it with the term "Cina" (then a derogatory term). One of the consequences of the May 1998 violence is that ethnic Chinese are demanding that they be referred to as "Tionghoa" akin to "Javanese" or any other ethnicity as opposed to the more common "Indonesian citizens of foreign descent" often just abbreviated "descent" (keturunan) or simply as "Cina."
Witness Account of Racist AttackMy name is Sally (22 years). I'm Indonesian Chinese, living in Jakarta. Actually I do not wish to tell this, but I realize the world must know what had happened in Indonesia. I worked part-time as financial consultant, and in spare times I joined a modeling club. My height was sufficient for it.
On May 13 1998, coincidentally my car broke down, so I decided to take the bus. I was going to a fellow model's home in Pluit District. When the bus arrived in Pluit, I saw many men on the street. Their faces dreadful, shouting,"Kill Chinese","Chinese are dogs","Pigs", and other swearing. I was so afraid I was trembling in fear.
Suddenly the crowd stopped my bus. Around 10 men boarded the bus. Their faces angry, as if possessed by demon. We don't know what we had done wrong. They started to make non-Chinese to leave the bus, while Chinese ones were told to stay. Then the male ones were gathered and told to leave the bus. I could only looked down and cried. I only heard men shouting and screams outside,"Die you!" I also heard voices screaming for mercy, and harrowing shrieks.
After a few minutes, I heard people laughing. Then some men returned into the bus, and began to strip us naked. I struggled with all might, but they were too many. My heart broke that time. They did that laughing as if we were some kind of entertainment.
Then we were told to leave the bus naked without a shred of cloth. Outside I saw horrifying view, many bodies of Indonesian Chinese men were lying on the street. My consciousness began to fade, I fell down the pavement. But I still can feel many hands groping my body. They squeezed my vital parts. Under fading consciousness, I saw some Chinese women forced to dance around naked on the street. Then I felt my lower body hurt very much and then I remembered nothing...
I didn't know how long I had passed out. All I know after regaining consciousness was that I feel my life is meaningless. I feel even less than a dog... Sorry, I couldn't continue this story. May God forgive them for they know not what they had done.
Conclusion
Irreparable damage has been done to the families of the Indonesian Chinese victimized by the riots and atrocities. This small case study has shown and proven that point. Racism is known for its destructive potential and measures should be taken to prevent such atrocities from occurring again anywhere in the world. So, instead of seething with impotent fury at the evil wrought by the mindless racists that ravage our peace like men possessed, we should get up and do something about it.