Chinese-Indonesians caught up in the storm of identity politics

http://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2017/01/27/chinese-indonesians-ca…

This article caught my interest as it touches on the politics of Chinese identity as mentioned in Suryadinata’s paper on “Ethnic Chinese in South East Asia”. Suryadinata mentions how Chinese minorities may be regarded as a “homogenous and unassimilable group” such that they are treated as a “threat” to the economic order. This stance seems to be shared by this news article.

This news article postulates how Chinese Indonesians live in a state of uncertainty and fear due to their marginalized status in Indonesia. For example, the article mentions how a Chinese person was recently “beaten up” on a bus simply because he is “Chinese-Indonesian”, and a noodle seller who advised the writer (who is Chinese-Indonesian) to stay home during the anniversary of the 1998 riots. What the article does not delve into, however, are the sentiments or feelings that Chinese-Indonesian have towards native Indonesians, or the kind of prejudices Chinese-Indonesian face in everyday life. Perhaps the topic of mild racism or discrimination is too sensitive for the Jakarta Post to discuss given that physical violence against Chinese-Indonesians happens routinely.

The article also raises the idea that hatred against Chinese-Indonesians was mobilized for political purposes, especially during elections. It explains that derogatory meaning of “cina” was instilled by the New Order regime to refer to Chinese-Indonesians and that “anti-China” sentiments are “being deliberately revived ahead of the Jakarta election”. It would be interesting to investigate how these sentiments are being weaponized and what anxieties they speak to.

The issue of rights is especially pertinent in this article. Chinese-Indonesian live in a constant state of tension as physical violence against them can break out any time, but the author also mentions how she grew up feeling like a “minority”, knowing that she can never become the president. While the issue of safety and security for Chinese-Indonesians is most pressing, I wonder how the symbolic violence committed against Chinese-Indonesians shapes their outlook on their identities and sense of belonging to Indonesia.