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A historical, contemporary record of SBKRI

Tionghoa Dalam Cengkeraman SBKRI Wahyu Effendi & Prasetyadji 148 pp Visimedia 2008 If there is a decades-old issue which still casts a chilling effect on most Indonesians of Chinese descent (Indonesian-Chinese) it is SBKRI

Kurniawan Hari (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sun, October 19, 2008

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A historical, contemporary record of SBKRI

Tionghoa Dalam Cengkeraman SBKRI

Wahyu Effendi & Prasetyadji

148 pp

Visimedia

2008

If there is a decades-old issue which still casts a chilling effect on most Indonesians of Chinese descent (Indonesian-Chinese) it is SBKRI.

In Indonesian, SBKRI stands for Surat Bukti Kewarganegaraan Republik Indonesia which means a certificate of Indonesian citizenship. Every Indonesian born from a Chinese couple needs to produce this certificate when they are 18 years old.

As a document, SBKRI is not so special. It simply looks like a passport. But the problem surrounding the issue is not no simple -- it isn't just a matter of having a legal document as it is clear evidence of existing discrimination against Indonesian-Chinese in this country.

While other Indonesian citizens do not need to register to obtain this certificate, Indonesian-Chinese have to do so or they will face legal problems.

Tionghoa Dalam Cengkeraman SBKRI (Indonesian Chinese under SBKRI Claws), provides the historical background and contemporary information that will help readers to understand this issue.

The ideas and thoughts in this book give the historical, political and economic perspectives of this nation's journey to define nationhood. Are the state policies fair for all its citizens? Do all state institutions (immigration, police, prosecuting office and state court) understand the meaning of nationhood and citizenship?

Its importance can be seen from comments made by various political experts and observers. Columnist Mohammad Sobary, for example, says the SKBRI issue must be resolved in order to build a civilized nation.

Harry Tjan Silalahi, founder of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said that while the issue of SBKRI is not a new one, the public can still learn something from this book.

SBKRI is discussed in eight chapters. Chapter One focuses on unending discriminative practices. Despite the issuance of presidential decrees, ordering an end to these practices, the immigration office continues to maintain this policy.

Chapter Two discusses the format, the policy and the institutionalization of discrimination while Chapter Three underlines the issue of racialism behind the implementation of SBKRI policy.

Chapter Four emphasizes the need to launch bureaucratic reform. SBKRI highlights the contradictory policies among state institutions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to launch bureaucratic reform.

Chapter Five provides recognition of the institutions and regional administrations that have scrapped SBKRI policies. However, some offices still use the policy because there are no penalties or sanctions against those who do.

Meanwhile, Chapter Six discusses the comments by state officials regarding the issue in the media.

Chapter Seven focuses on the enactment of the 2006 Citizenship Law and its impact on the policy while Chapter Eight talks about Indonesia's never-ending discriminative practices.

In his prologue, political expert and Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said the public should welcome this book as a means to strengthen their will as Indonesian citizens to treat all their fellow citizens equally.

This book is enriched with cases of discriminative practices, articles on related laws and regulations and comments from state officials.

It is hoped that the book will draw decision makers into introspection and hence help them rediscover the spirit of nationalism. A peaceful resolution of the SBKRI policy is not just a means of solving discrimination problems, but will also lay the foundation for effective, transparent and accountable governance.

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