Chinese-Indonesians: Is a Once Forbidden Identity
Fading?
Just as China is ascending the world stage as an economic
superpower, so too, is Chinese culture becoming increasingly
visible in Indonesia.
Chinese New Year, banned during the repressive New Order period, is
now a national holiday that sees almost every mall in the city
festooned in red and gold lanterns in hopes of boosting sales.
Students all over the country are learning Chinese language to get
a leg up in an international job market where Mandarin is fast
becoming as big an asset as English.
So why is it that, while this boom in Chinese
culture is going on, so many young Chinese-Indonesians are slowly
losing touch with their cultural
heritage?
Prisca Muljadi, 18, is Chinese by blood, but, when asked how much
she knows about her Chinese culture, she was taken aback. It was as
if she was being asked about something completely
foreign.
After a thoughtful silence, she said, “To be
honest, when I think about it, I don’t really know much about
Chinese culture.
“I’ve always wondered how Chinese people ended up living in
Indonesia, but I accepted it as a fact and don’t feel curious or
question it at all,” she continued.
She confessed that she had never really thought about Chinese
culture until the topic was brought up.
Muljadi neither speaks a Chinese language nor does she know which
generation Chinese she is. She
said that, if anything, she identifies more with Western culture.
“I went to an international school, speak English, and go to
college in the US,” she explained.
Natasha Silfanus, a 19-year-old Chinese-Indonesian, said, “I cannot
speak for anybody except for myself and my circle of friends. But I
believe we lack an understanding and, more importantly, an interest
in Chinese culture.”
Silfanus’s parents urged her to study the Chinese language, but she
said she was “just not interested.” She said she did not know her
family history and thought that, although her parents practiced
some Chinese traditions, they were not important to her
personally.
She put part of the blame on her lack of knowledge about Chinese
culture on her family. “My family isn’t that Chinese culturally —
we are very much adapted to the Indonesian way of life, with some
Western influences,” she said.
More bluntly, Jason Utomo, another 19-year-old student, said of
Chinese culture, “Yeah, I’m definitely ignorant.”
Although Utomo is fluent in Mandarin, he said it would be just “too
much effort” to preserve his family’s Chinese traditions when he
raises his own family.
The sentiments of these three Chinese-Indonesians are echoed again
and again by young members of the minority group, forming a trend
that experts say has clear historical causes.
Aimee Dawis, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia and the
author of “The Chinese of Indonesia and Their Search for Identity,”
said Chinese-Indonesians born after 1980 are prone to apathy when
it comes to their culture. She believes that this particular
generation is in a unique position because their parents grew up in
a period where any displays of Chineseness were systematically
erased by the state.
“Their ignorance may have to do with their parents,” Aimee said.
“But you can’t really blame those parents,
because they grew up in the Suharto era, when everything Chinese
was discouraged and banned.” She added that many people hid the
fact that they were Chinese due to the stigma once attached to
it.
Chinese culture was banned in the Suharto era due to the alleged
role of the Chinese in supporting the Communist Party of Indonesia
(PKI). For 33 years, any expression of Chinese culture was banned,
including celebrations, schools and Chinese
languages.
After a substantial period of cultural repression, the prohibition
of Chinese culture was lifted by former President Abdurrahman “Gus
Dur” Wahid in the early 2000s. In what Aimee calls a “renaissance
of Chinese culture,” Chinese language is now being taught in many
national-plus schools, Chinese New Year became a national holiday,
and there is no longer a significant sense of fear associated with
being Chinese.
The Chinese in Indonesia currently make up about 2 percent of
Indonesia’s 240 million people. Chinese culture is now legally
allowed to thrive in Indonesian society. The question is, with so
many Chinese-Indonesian families not being used to practicing their
culture openly, is it too late for it to be
revived?
Angeline Ang, a mother of three young children, said that she
considered Chinese culture important and was doing her best to keep
it alive in her family. She said she wanted to teach her children
to value and cherish Chinese ideals and traditions. Additionally,
she said that she wanted her children to learn a Chinese language
for cultural reasons.
“Even without the business and vocational advantages of speaking
Chinese, I’d still encourage my children to learn the language,”
Ang said.
She said, however, that she hoped her children would still identify
as Indonesian because they were born and raised
here.
“But we can’t forget our Chinese heritage as well,” she added. “I’m
proud to be Indonesian and I think Indonesian culture is valuable.
At the same time, I will never forget my heritage, no matter what
my citizenship is. You can’t throw away your
heritage.”
Likewise, Aimee believes Chinese-Indonesians should identify
themselves primarily as Indonesians, without completely losing
their connection to Chinese culture.
“Being a Chinese-Indonesian simply means being an Indonesian of
Chinese descent,” Aimee said. “I think it’s very important to
identify as an Indonesian first and foremost.”
As a Chinese-Indonesian mother herself, she wants her children to
feel truly Indonesian — which means sending her children to a
school where they have flag-raising ceremonies and giving her first
daughter a distinctly Indonesian name, Putri, a practice that was
enforced under the New Order.
Aimee agreed that many Chinese-Indonesian young people are
increasingly ignorant about Chinese culture, but also emphasized
that the Chinese community is extremely diverse.
“There is a big Chinese organization called the Chinese-Indonesian
Social Association (PSMTI) which has a very active youth division,”
she said. “They’re very aware of their identity and discuss issues
of identity openly. So we can’t generalize this trend at all.
Family backgrounds and history matter
significantly.”
The youth division of PSMTI, the Association of Chinese-Indonesian
Youth (IPTI), is led by Andrew Susanto. It was created in 2007 and
now spans the archipelago’s 33 provinces, with thousands of members
from ages 16 to 35.
According to Susanto, the main goal of the association is to
instill a strong sense of identity in young
Chinese-Indonesians.
“There are a lot of young Chinese-Indonesians that have grown
indifferent [to their heritage], and that’s why the association was
formed,” he said. “We want to give them lessons on Indonesian
nationality that are specifically tailored to
Chinese-Indonesians.”
He also believes that Chinese-Indonesians should see themselves as
fully Indonesian. “I don’t even think it’s necessary for
Chinese-Indonesians to speak a Chinese language fluently,” he said.
“If they can, that’s great. But there is no obligation for them to
learn a Chinese language when they need to see themselves as
Indonesian first and foremost.”
Susanto said a lack education had played a major role in creating a
generation that was unconcerned about their cultural heritage and
identity. He argued that because the history of Chinese-Indonesians
was rarely touched on in schools, Chinese-Indonesians did not see
themselves as vital parts of Indonesia.
“[IPTI] is trying to open up that history,” he said. “In every
pivotal moment of Indonesian history, there were Chinese figures
that fought for the good of this country. They played a role in the
building of Indonesia.
“We need to teach young Chinese-Indonesians that we are not simply
temporarily staying in Indonesia. If they can see themselves as
playing a role in Indonesian history, they will eventually realize
that this is our country and our home.”
For those like Muljadi, Silfanus or Utomo, who have not given much
thought to their Chinese heritage, Susanto said it was only a
matter of time before they started to question their
identity.
“Sure, they might not ponder their identities now. But there will
come a point, whether it’s when they settle down or have their own
children, where they will ask pertinent questions about identity to
ultimately decide what cultural legacy they will pass on for their
children,” Susanto said.
Until then, Susanto said the subject of Chinese identity in
Indonesia should be more openly discussed in schools, daily
conversations, and the media. He said he hoped his association
could offer support to young adults who were starting to think
about the deeper questions of their identity as
Chinese-Indonesians.
“I usually tell people I’m Indonesian because that’s what it says
on my passport,” Muljadi said. “But when I really think about it, I
don’t fully identify with Indonesian culture. Yet when I say I’m
Chinese, I don’t truly identify with Chinese culture
either.
“Then I think that, perhaps due to my upbringing and experience
studying in the United States, I may be more of a Westerner. But
Western culture is not something I completely belong to either. So
I guess, I really don’t know.”
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lifeandtimes/chinese-indonesians-is-a-once-forbidden-identity-fading/448717
Aimee Dawis, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia and the
author of “The Chinese of Indonesia and Their Search for Identity,”
said Chinese-Indonesians *born after 1980* are prone to apathy when
it comes to their culture. She believes that this particular
generation is in a unique position because their parents grew up in
a period where any displays of Chineseness were systematically
erased by the state.