TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Chinese-Indonesians cautious over hostile political climate

Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post)
Premium
Jakarta
Tue, October 31, 2017

Share This Article

Change Size

Chinese-Indonesians cautious over hostile political climate Officers from the Public Order Agency take down a potentially controversial banner. (wartakota.tribunnews.com/Rangga Baskoro)

A

s a member of the Chinese-Indonesian minority group in the country, Sylvie Tanaga, 30, vividly remembers the anti-Chinese sentiment that arose during the May 1998 riots, which frightened her family to the point they made plans to flee their hometown of Bandung, West Java.

Even though Bandung saw less intens violence, provocative pamphlets circulated at the time, spreading hatred against ethnic Chinese in the city, said Sylvie, who was 11 year old at the time.

The term pribumi (indigenous people) was used to ignite hatred against Chinese-Indonesians, who were considered non-pribumi at the time, she said.

“Some people wrote, “this house is owned by a pribumi” on their houses to prevent the mobs from destroying them,” Sylvie told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Since the riots, which claimed 1,217 lives and left many traumatized owing to the violence, including reported rapes of Chinese-Indonesian women, the use of the term pribumi by government official was banned in 1998.

Read also: ‘Pribumi’ campaign gains traction

The situation today may be less horrifying than in 1998 for Chinese-Indonesians, but many of them, like Sylvie, were taken aback when Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan used the term in his inauguration speech, when he said that pribumi had been suppressed and defeated in the past, but after independence, it was time for them to be masters in their own country.

to Read Full Story

  • Unlimited access to our web and app content
  • e-Post daily digital newspaper
  • No advertisements, no interruptions
  • Privileged access to our events and programs
  • Subscription to our newsletters
or

Purchase access to this article for

We accept

TJP - Visa
TJP - Mastercard
TJP - GoPay

Redirecting you to payment page

Pay per article

Chinese-Indonesians cautious over hostile political climate

Rp 29,000 / article

1
Create your free account
By proceeding, you consent to the revised Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.
Already have an account?

2
  • Palmerat Barat No. 142-143
  • Central Jakarta
  • DKI Jakarta
  • Indonesia
  • 10270
  • +6283816779933
2
Total Rp 29,000
{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.