By the way: Being Indonesian and proud of it

Sun, 03/29/2009 11:14 AM  |  Headlines

Another head scratching moment for me and for people who assist me — as an Indonesian passport holder I always face the same issue every time I need or plan to go to other countries outside ASEAN. Applying for entry visas, with stacks of documents and tedious preparations required. At the end I always feel overwhelmed filling in the forms and preparing necessary documents.

One has suggested to me to change nationality to make it easier for me whenever I need to travel overseas. You know, for citizens of some countries, they have visa waivers so they can just jump up and go overseas anytime they want.

As a spontaneous person I feel this visa issue burdening me a lot. When I am in the mood for travel I need to check entry requirement first, then have to start applying for visas. Depending on the country and my luck (and so far I have been lucky), I will get a visa approved in 1-2 weeks. But, hey, the anticipation may not be there anymore. But what can I do? Nothing. Just try to keep my name clear so every time I apply for a visa or when I enter any country the immigration officer’s computer will flash “Clear” or “Not in the dangerous list” or whatever.

Back to the suggestion of changing nationality, I suddenly remember one story of an Indonesian singer who already went international. She has been living outside Indonesia for many years and had established her reputation as a reputable international singer in Europe. She changed her Indonesian nationality to another nationality. She told the papers that as an international artist she had difficulties and often has a headache applying for and getting entry visas to perform or do overseas tours and the Indonesian embassy people did not help her much too. Exchanging nationality for ease of travel?

It is true that being Indonesian we often have to line up outside the embassy applying for visas that may or may not be approved, with stacks of documents and financial proofs that should be prepared, and we have to wait for at least 1 week or, it could be worst, 1 month to get it. In the process, our passports will be kept with them. Honestly I hate this waiting time. I am hopeless without my green passport.

Now come to think of it, why do people, in this case governments, always make things so complicated? Is it their nature not to trust anybody? So is it that we are guilty before proven innocent?

Maybe changing nationality is worth doing it. But, my blood is Indonesian. Although, like many Indonesians, I swear a lot about the country, but, it is my country, and I belong to it. I was, am and always will be Indonesian. No matter what.

I never knew that I loved my country until I realized it one day. I still remember vividly that day. I was about to move to Canada. It was late November. I was at Cengkareng airport in Jakarta, waiting for my flight. It was not a time when the national anthem was normally played publicly, but, suddenly I heard the Indonesian national anthem. I was dumb struck and started crying quietly. I missed Indonesia already. I promised myself that being Indonesian overseas meant that I had to represent Indonesia, make the country proud of me, and that I would be proud of the country and defend it.

Despite any troubling things that have been happening in Indonesia, I am never ashamed of being Indonesian. I am sometimes sad and disappointed with what’s happening in the country but am never ashamed of the country. If any bad news about Indonesia reaches the shores where I live, I will always take it as my responsibility to help the country to explain  — especially to non-Indonesian people or people who are not familiar with Indonesia — what exactly is happening.

I always believe it is our duty to learn the best things wherever we live overseas and bring them back to Indonesia someday, perhaps to help build a better Indonesia in the future.

Well, in the end, with my discovering my true love of my country, Indonesia, it is really worth going through the headaches and bother of applying for entry visas rather  than exchanging my identity. I am Indonesian. I will always be Indonesian. And I am proud of it.  

– Iene Muliati
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Mark Andrew Austin (not verified) — Wed, 04/01/2009 - 12:18pm

"Funny", here is Jakarta Post balance yet again. Allowing the flood of self-serving positive comments but not mine about why you should not be proud to be Indonesian! Truth hurt guys?

Arbiter (not verified) — Wed, 04/01/2009 - 11:29am

Being proud of a country you we're born in is like being proud of a piece of steak that someone cooked for you. You didn't raise the cow to adulthood, you didn't butcher it, and cooked it to perfection. Is being an Indonesian a skill? Its more like a genetic occurrence that someone is born where they are. Take pride in what you do and what you accomplish personally, not because of a random genetic event.As far as Indonesians who tries to change their citizenship, well they probably lost their belief in the concept of Indonesia a while ago. But if you think about it, a lot of Indonesians who still live in Indonesia also lost their own beliefs in the original concept of the Republic of Indonesia.
Is endemic public corruption an ideal of the Boedi Oetomo movement? I highly doubt it. Did Sukarno and Hatta had in mind radical religious movements that would undermine the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika concept of the country? Probably not. Yet these things and many other negative aspect of Indonesian society is prevalent and becoming more so. Some of the questions I brought up need to be asked seriously by a lot of Indonesians, but I'm afraid complacency and the need to not rock the boat of this society will prevent any kind of soul searching.
And for God sake, when will Indonesia have investigative journalism instead of 4 times a day celebrity gossip news on television?

Ketti (not verified) — Wed, 04/01/2009 - 11:15am

It is a very good article! That is true miss Muliati, people could not easily hide their characteristics as their own national identities . Whatever they change their skin and hair colours and whenever places they will stay or live, their original identities will always follow their life. In this circumstance, people should be honest to their selves that they could not be easy to forget their ancestors at all. So, I think she is not a clever person if she wants to change her nationality to another country because of the weakness of being Indonesian. Not only Indonesia, but all countries have each the weakness by its own different nature. Be proud of ourselves and enjoy of our Indonesian identities are a best solution.

Diana Schwitzki (not verified) — Wed, 04/01/2009 - 2:21am

I agree with Lene being proud to be an Indonesian. I am married to a German and living in Germany for more than 40 years, but I still have my Indonesian passport. My children and grandchildren are proud of their Indonesian ancestors and heritage.I always try to explain my German friends about the true situation in our country which is not always easy, because of frequent news about corruption and poverty through the media.
Nevertheless I am proud of my nationality, hoping that at last the Indonesian government will begin to change our country into a reliable and trustworthy part of this world. God bless our country and its people.

Ndari (not verified) — Wed, 04/01/2009 - 1:42am

I give big kudos for people who are proud to be Indonesian, and i certainly don't mean that in a sarcastic way. To be proud of a nation who is constantly whinging about everything and everyone but yet not do anything about it, takes real patient and love. And I admire those people who have enough patient and enough love to be proud and to not be ashamed of being Indonesian, because God knows I don't have enough of either one. Indonesians have no consideration of other people whatsoever, and to say that Indonesia is renown for its warmth is a load of crap. Immigration at the airport or anywhere in the country is a complete joke, and I feel like a second citizen in my own country because, as Jojox brilliantly puts it, we're too busy kissing up white man arses. Indonesians are too busy bitching about each other and are constantly envious of other people's success, it's ridiculous. It's a shame really since Indonesia is a beautiful country with heaps of delicious traditional food and the diversity of cultures that we have is absolutely exquisite, but people's "bizarre" behaviour is overshadowing all of those beautiful things and, argh, don't let me get started all over again...
So after all that do I still think Ms. Muliati should reconsider about changing nationalities? hell yeah. Nontheless, I salute you Ms Muliati, for being Indonesian and proud of it.

Roy Wahab (not verified) — Tue, 03/31/2009 - 10:46pm

Excellent article!!! It's an honor to read your article. I couldn't agree more with you that the visa application process is most of the time very tiring and time consuming. Nevertheless, I do believe that we are not alone feeling such way. Other nationals from other countries feel the same way that we feel. They feel that visa application process is too complicated.

I live abroad and had this one experience when a foreigner was complaining about our visa application process. He was very demanding and tend to be bossy by telling our government officials behind the consular counters that his visa should be ready by the time he comes back (that is the next day). I, which overheard his complaints told that he should follow the rules and regulations of the visa application process issued by a country, in this case, Indonesia. Such arrogant foreigner argued that that he should be treated differently due to his origin. Is it because we are Asian and makes him much more better than us???

We often feel treated very unfair every time we want to apply a visa to travel abroad. We have to provide evidence of being able to financially self-sponsor ourselves during our trip to another country like the US or any other country in the western Europe. But what about them??? Do they have to do the same thing? No, they don't have to. Maybe it is time for us (Indonesians) to review the prevailing rules and regulations of visa application process and start to think about reciprocity.

Indonesia is not perfect. But at least we have a country to be proud of. We should think about other countries or countries-to-be that is struggling for independence and sovereignty. Also, we should think about other nationals who often are treated more vicious than us. We are more fortunate than they are. It is our humble duty to make better of our country by any means. Bravo to Lene and those whom agrees with her.

Rod from sydney (not verified) — Tue, 03/31/2009 - 4:46pm

Hi There,

Great article. Just on a few of your topics though. The reason that first world countries require visas is that they have a problem with ''Overstayers'' and ''Illegal Imigrants'' coming to there countries. This causes a significant cost to that country in terms of non-taxation and also if the person has to be re-patrioted to there country of origin at cost to that country. Entry Visas and things like making sure the visitor/traveller/immigrant has money is to ensure that if they need to travel home, they don't get stuck in that country. Would Indonesian Taxpayers be happy if I came there and then asked for a free flight home as I had overstayed my Visa, or spent all my money, I do not think so.

You should be rpoud to be Inodnesian and never swap your passport for another..I would never give up my Australian Nationality no matter what.

Regards,
Rod From Sydney.

Ed Kristian (not verified) — Tue, 03/31/2009 - 1:08am

Actually it can be a blessing in disguise for some bonafide RI passport holders. Usually traveling to the US for pleasure visa holders get an automatic 6 months stay at the discretion of the border control. Visa waivers from Europe and some Asian countries get only 3 months stay and yet they are still srcutinized at the border. Now all visa waivers traveling to the US as of January 2009 must fill out on line an electronic travel agreement prior to traveling to the US and an approval will be told within 3 days. If a denial of entry is given, queue up at the American Embassy abroad for a visa. Going to the European or American embassy to get a visa is no hassle if you are able to show proof of who you are, be financially secured and still have ties to your own country. Any foreigners traveling to Indonesia may as well be scrutinized at the port entry and it is normal since Immigration in any part of the world enjoy displaying some sort of power trip. If you are a bonafide traveler why worry about entering a foreign country unless you have a guilty consience of some sort in your mind.
Changing nationality won't help a bit but it may relax your consience but then what's the point since all nationalities traveling anywhere in the world will get srutinized in some ways due to appearance or having a strange name. It is the truth...

Ben Vansulitt (not verified) — Tue, 03/31/2009 - 12:49am

Ben Vansulitt
March 30, 2009

Being Indonesia and proud of,yes absolutely, however, if the Indonesian people have or given a choice of opportunity to be a citizen (say), Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, USA or Holland, there are millions of Indonesian, I say it again Millions of Indonesian people wants to be a citizen of these countries.
The reason is simple, the Indonesian people are sick and tired, by poverty, joblessness and big Rupiah.. where the rich are getting richer, and the poor getting poorer.

By the way, I was born in Indonesia and US citizen, but my love to Indonesia no less than any body else, and I'm proud of my Indonesian heritage

Indra_muis — Mon, 03/30/2009 - 8:18pm

To Ms Muliati with love
Life is a matter of choice. Once we decide to do something there must be a consequence. Whatever it is, you have to live with it willingly. The consequence can be energy, time & money consuming. I am certain the consequence has been fully considered and understood.

The money you have spent to the Government due to your staying abroad is legalized by law. It is for building the nation. We need to wait for the accomplishment of the 2009 general election. Let's pray together with a hope this issue will be discussed and settled as we all wish.

The service is slow; we wait for ages to get what we want. Yes, that is 100% right. They do it on purpose, believe me. They want you to pay more than the official tariff. That is a strategy of corruption. The more we need, the longer we have, and the more money we spend to make it quick. So,it is about corruption mentality our people have. It is also about lack of supervisory roles of the state-men.

They know how much you love your nation. They do know. Love sometimes means sacrifice. In the name of love, sacrifice is the most enjoyable thing to summon. Good bless us.

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