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The discrimination of Chinese-Indonesians by government officials
Your comments on the discrimination of Chinese-Indonesians by government officials even though the existing law mandates equal rights to all Indonesian citizens
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our comments on the discrimination of Chinese-Indonesians by government officials even though the existing law mandates equal rights to all Indonesian citizens.
Each ethnic group makes some contribution to the country. For centuries, Chinese Indonesians have been acting as a catalyst, bridging trade between different ethnic groups, which are culturally widely divided. They have indirectly helped unify the country economically. This is certainly a very important contribution. Many may not be aware of this and just take it for granted. Let's tear down any cultural barriers and allow them to melt into the bigger Indonesian culture, which is still forming. Adi
Jakarta
Under Soeharto's administration, the expression of Chinese culture was banned following the 0ctober 1965 coup d'*tat supported by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Soeharto banned cultural expressions because he was accusing China's government of being involved in the incident.
But after Soeharto stepaped down, once the government was under Gus Dur and Megawati, Chinese descendants were allowed to celebrate their culture. Unfortunately, for 64 years, and in the present era of freedom, it seems that the attitude of the Chinese themselves has never changed.
They prefer to live exclusively in certain areas. They don't like to assimilate nor are they willing to transfer their business skills to outsiders. I rarely see ethnic Chinese signing up to be police, military or civil servants, they keep to the private sector. Abdul Rahim
Tangerang, Banten
To eliminate discrimination, members of the Chinese community should be given the opportunity to become police and military officers. It will change people's perception. At the same time, they will also feel more a part of the country. Jo Eddy Raspati
Jakarta
To use the word "discrimination" to describe what ethnic Chinese deal with is truly embarrassing to me if not to most of us. What we actually see in daily life is extortion activities by unscrupulous government officials taking advantage of the apparently socially weaker position of our Chinese brothers and sisters who are, in fact, the hub of our commerce. The establishment of the KPK, the anticorruption commission, will gradually eliminate this extortion. Many must have forgotten how Admiral John Lee sacrificed to promote the independence of our country. Brothers, wake up, remember what our Pancasila has taught us. Happy Imlek. Moeljono Adikoesoemo
Jakarta
