Indonesia has 267 million people, the fourth most populous country in the world. Chinese Indonesians in Indonesia number about 1.2% (3.2 million people). How does it feel to grow up as a minority in Indonesia?
I grew up in a small town in West-Borneo where the majority are Chinese descent (Hakka). My great-grandparents were from China. I am the fourth-generation immigrant.
I was born in early 90s under the New Order of Soeharto (our 2nd president). It was a very unfavorable time for Chinese Indonesians, many native Indonesians thought we were communist. My uncle was arrested and jailed on the suspicion of being a communist without any evidence.
What happened to our generation? We were banned to study Chinese and could not even have Chinese books. People burnt all their Chinese books because they would be arrested and accused as communists if they were found to have those books. Therefore, many millennial of Chinese descendants today could not speak Mandarin nor their mother tongue.
Many parents only gave Indonesian name to their kids. If you have Chinese Indonesian friends, you may recognize some of them only have single name. We were not allowed to use our Chinese surnames. We also were not allowed to celebrate our own Chinese culture, such as Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat festival, Mid-Autumn festival, etc.
There is a stereotype of Chinese Indonesian being rich for decades until now. In fact, the number of the poor Chinese Indonesian is higher than the rich. Work in government authorities or become politician is nearly impossible for us. We have no choice other than open a business or work with other richer Chinese Indonesians there.
In 1998 was a nightmare time for us. There were massive lootings and riots in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta. Chinese Indonesians were the targets of these riots because of the stereotype. A lot of people lost their businesses, houses, money and even family members.
I was lucky because ethnic Chinese is the majority ethnic groups in my town. My position wasn’t as bad as those in Jakarta. However, conflict between ethnics also happened in our town. Our own safety was the biggest concern to all of us.
The regime of Soeharto ended in the same year (1998). President B.J. Habiebie was taking over Soeharto position for a year. The next year, Aburrahman Wahid (Gusdur) won the presidential election. Tbh, I like President Aburrahman Wahid the most. Because he granted us freedom to study our ancestral languages and practice our Chinese culture.
I admit Indonesia is much better now than Indonesia was in the past. At least, I can see progress of our government efforts to improve our livelihood. I am totally against any kind of discrimination because I have experienced firsthand being discriminated as an ethnic minority. Nobody can choose what ethic group, what family and which country they are born as. I hope my writing can raise an awareness the important of justice and peace to all of us.
