Post by Isaac Ho on May 14, 2013 13:10:45 GMT -5
RACISM IS STILL ALIVE IN INDONESIA TODAY...!
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by Isaac Ho, the Admin.
What a headline being emblazoned in today's mail.
However, the fact of the matter is that racism is still alive and is still rearing its ugly hydra head in Indonesia, particularly against the visible minorities and their cultural practices - the Indonesian Chinese.
Significantly, once Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Asia's most brilliant statesman said in his two-volume memoirs that Singapore, the island state with a majority of Chinese, is "beseiged" in a sea of Malay acute nationalism!
And what Lee said is still being actively persued by racist Indonesians and racist Malays are their counterparts too, if one looks at the political scene in Malaysia just now!!!
In comparison, in Malaysia today, racism against the minority Chinese and Indians are still being practiced actively by none other than the UMNO (United Malays National Organization) with the support of its official organ - Utusan Melayu daily newspaper: Immediately after the general election recently, Najib Razak the so-called "Prime Minister" screamed that the election suffered a "Chinese giant tidal wave", meaning for being once again deprived of the dominate Malays' two-third majority and also lost the popular vote with Pakatan Rakyat, the strong Opposition Party which has garnished more than 50% of total votes cast! Then Utusan Melayu shouted in the newspaper: Apa Cina Mahu? "What does the Chinese want?"
THE CHINESE IN BOTH MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA WANT TO BE TREATED LIKE EQUALS. BE NOT SUBJECT TO TAUNTS AND INSULTS AS "PENDATANGS" OR IMMIGRANTS. RECOGNIZE THEIR POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATIONAL ECONOMY. SHOULD NOT BE DISCRIMINATED BY WAY OF LESS SCHOLARSHIPS, LESS RECRUITMENT IN THE CIVIL SERVICE, THE POLICE AND THE MILITARY. MANY CHINESE ARE JUST AS POOR AS THE NATIVES THEMSELVES AND SHOULD GET THE HELP FROM THEIR GOVERNMENTS. THEY SHOULD NOT BE UNFARILY PROSECUTED AND BE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE THEIR CUSTOMS AND RELIGIONS.
THEY SHOULD NOT BE MADE AS SCAPE-GOATS WHEN THINGS GO WRONG IN BOTH COUNTRIES WHICH ARE NOT THEIR FAULTS AS CHINESE CITIZENS. RESPECT THEM AS USEFUL CITIZENS. THESE ARE BASICALLY WHAT THE CHINESE IN INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA WANT.
In Indonesia, I thought that after the massive race riot in 1998 in which Suharto's Silawangi Army ran amok and ransacked the Chinatown in Jakarata - and in the savage process - looting, plundering and even sccumbed to raping Chinese women after humiliating and torturing them!
After that Indonesia underwent a landslide political change in which the native Indonesians "woke up" to realize the importance of the Chinese minority in their midst and their positive contributions to Indonesia as a whole.
Realizing the political changes: the new Indonesia government allowed the Chinese to use their Chinese names, to practice their unique culture again including the celebrating of the Chinese New Year, and above, allowing the traditional lion dance and even permitting the Chinese newspaper to be published and circulated.
I thought that "racism" against the Chinese in Indonesia is a horrible practice of the past, but the following newspaper article (please click on the url below) certainly shows that discrimination with violence is still active and real in that nation today just as yesterday.
www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/10/racism-and-sexual-violence-in-Indonesia/
=============================================
by Isaac Ho, the Admin.
What a headline being emblazoned in today's mail.
However, the fact of the matter is that racism is still alive and is still rearing its ugly hydra head in Indonesia, particularly against the visible minorities and their cultural practices - the Indonesian Chinese.
Significantly, once Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Asia's most brilliant statesman said in his two-volume memoirs that Singapore, the island state with a majority of Chinese, is "beseiged" in a sea of Malay acute nationalism!
And what Lee said is still being actively persued by racist Indonesians and racist Malays are their counterparts too, if one looks at the political scene in Malaysia just now!!!
In comparison, in Malaysia today, racism against the minority Chinese and Indians are still being practiced actively by none other than the UMNO (United Malays National Organization) with the support of its official organ - Utusan Melayu daily newspaper: Immediately after the general election recently, Najib Razak the so-called "Prime Minister" screamed that the election suffered a "Chinese giant tidal wave", meaning for being once again deprived of the dominate Malays' two-third majority and also lost the popular vote with Pakatan Rakyat, the strong Opposition Party which has garnished more than 50% of total votes cast! Then Utusan Melayu shouted in the newspaper: Apa Cina Mahu? "What does the Chinese want?"
THE CHINESE IN BOTH MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA WANT TO BE TREATED LIKE EQUALS. BE NOT SUBJECT TO TAUNTS AND INSULTS AS "PENDATANGS" OR IMMIGRANTS. RECOGNIZE THEIR POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATIONAL ECONOMY. SHOULD NOT BE DISCRIMINATED BY WAY OF LESS SCHOLARSHIPS, LESS RECRUITMENT IN THE CIVIL SERVICE, THE POLICE AND THE MILITARY. MANY CHINESE ARE JUST AS POOR AS THE NATIVES THEMSELVES AND SHOULD GET THE HELP FROM THEIR GOVERNMENTS. THEY SHOULD NOT BE UNFARILY PROSECUTED AND BE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE THEIR CUSTOMS AND RELIGIONS.
THEY SHOULD NOT BE MADE AS SCAPE-GOATS WHEN THINGS GO WRONG IN BOTH COUNTRIES WHICH ARE NOT THEIR FAULTS AS CHINESE CITIZENS. RESPECT THEM AS USEFUL CITIZENS. THESE ARE BASICALLY WHAT THE CHINESE IN INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA WANT.
In Indonesia, I thought that after the massive race riot in 1998 in which Suharto's Silawangi Army ran amok and ransacked the Chinatown in Jakarata - and in the savage process - looting, plundering and even sccumbed to raping Chinese women after humiliating and torturing them!
After that Indonesia underwent a landslide political change in which the native Indonesians "woke up" to realize the importance of the Chinese minority in their midst and their positive contributions to Indonesia as a whole.
Realizing the political changes: the new Indonesia government allowed the Chinese to use their Chinese names, to practice their unique culture again including the celebrating of the Chinese New Year, and above, allowing the traditional lion dance and even permitting the Chinese newspaper to be published and circulated.
I thought that "racism" against the Chinese in Indonesia is a horrible practice of the past, but the following newspaper article (please click on the url below) certainly shows that discrimination with violence is still active and real in that nation today just as yesterday.
www.counterpunch.org/2013/05/10/racism-and-sexual-violence-in-Indonesia/