1997 Vol12-No1 SOJOURN Silence In

Downloaded from <arielheryanto.wordpress.com> SOJOURN Vol. 12, No.1 (1997), pp. 26-45 Silence In Indonesian Literary Discourse: The Case of the IndoneSian Chinese 27 under the leadership of (Retired General) Soeharto in 1966, Chinese Silence in Indonesian Literary Discourse: language and culture have been officially proscribed throughout Indo nesia. The only comparable case that I know of is the expression of The Case of the Indonesian Chinese Catalan under the Spanish Fascism of Francisco Franco. l For nearly thirty years now, printed matter in Chinese characters has Ariel HERYANTO fallen under the same category as pornography, arms, and narcotics in the short list of items visitors are prohibited from bringing into this, the world's fourth largest, country. In the late 1960s, there were reports of ethnic Chinese being slapped on the spot when found speaking, even This paper raises questions about the curious absence of ethnic ten privately, in Chinese in a public place. Such reports were insignificant sion Involving the Chinese minority as a theme within the Indonesian literary canon during the seventy-five or more years of its history. The at a time when citizens of Chinese descent (around 5 million or about silence is intriguing given the salience of the topic in everyday conver 2.5 per cent of the nation's population) were systematically pressed to sations, national poliCies, as well as non-fictional writings and fictional change their names as one of the ways of purging their Chineseness. All works outside the officially sanctioned sphere. newspapers and publications in Chinese were banned, along with Chi nese schools and mass organizations. The national literature of Indonesia has been curiously silent about an In turn, those bans followed the 1965/66 massacres of at least half important aspect in the life of its immediate audience: the ethnic ten a million people, apart from the exile and imprisonment of hundreds sion between the Chinese minority and the so-called "indigenous" peo of thousands without trial. These political upheavals did not primarily ple. Why this is so has intrigued me in recent years without leading me target the ethnic Chinese, but a substantial portion of the victims were to any satisfying answers. I wish to explore this question and discuss why of that ethnic minority. The tragedy, "one of the bloodiest in modern I find it intriguing and important. history", as it is often designated, remains deeply embedded in the foun This paper will proceed with a brief introduction to the ethnic ten dation of everyday life for contemporary Indonesians.2 sion in question. My main purpose is to suggest how important the The rise of the New Order regime was a result of a long series of po matter is in the everyday life of Indonesians. In the next section, I will litical antagonisms between the army and the Indonesian Communist specify the locus and nature of the literary silence that surrounds this Party (PKI), the largest communist party outside the Soviet Union and tension. By way of comparison, I will present examples ofliterary works China. Soon after winning the upper hand, the army propagated its own outside the official canon of Indonesia's national literature that depict version of the history of its political ascendancy. The military alleged ethnic tension as a central theme. Finally, I wish to suggest the signifi that the PKI had masterminded an "abortive coup d'etat' when six gen cance of this literary silence to understanding Indonesian literature in erals were killed on the eve of October 1965, and that the People's Re a broader perspective. public of China had supported the coup. This marks the beginning of the extensive and gross form of racism practised against the Chinese, as Cultural ism and Racism in Contemporary Indonesia part of the wider campaign against communist, leftist, or populist poli Contemporary Indonesia offers a rare example of the official banning tics. Since then, Indonesia has seen no ethnic Chinese among its cabi 3 of a major world language. Since the rise of the New Order regime net ministers or military elite. Downloaded from <arielheryanto.wordpress.com> 28 Ariel HERYANTO Sllerlce in IndoneSian Uterary Discourse The Case of the Indorlesian Chinese 29 Despite this apparently gross racism, no one denies that Chinese status of "hyperreal", in the sense Jean Baudrillard speaks of simulacra business circles, along with the Whites, "honorary Whites" (that is, J apa (1988, pp. 166-84). nese - see Wallerstein 1991 b, p. 80), members of the first family, and The root of racism against the Chinese minority in contemporary In the military elite, dominate the national economy. Political economists donesia is politico-economic. This is precisely what the official discourse have no quarrels with the proposition that the New Order government does not see, or refuses to admit. Instead, government officials have is, to a large extent, responsible for the major share which the Chinese persuaded themselves and the population that the "Chinese problem" play in the country's economy (see, for example, Budiman 1991; is essentially, if not exclusively, a cultural matter. In the dominant dis Robison 1986). course, the Chinese communities are blamed for the popular sentiments The government prefers the Chinese minority to the "indigenous" against them that break out in periodic riots. Their alleged guilt includes entrepreneurs in major industrial projects, partly because the Chinese being so "different" from the rest of the population, not only economi have at their disposal more capital, efficient networks and experience. cally and culturally, but also biologically. They are so "un-Indonesian". These assets are, in turn, the fruits of a long history of the division of The standard stereotypes of the Chinese Indonesians are compara labour by race in the Dutch colonial economy. But the New Order gov ble to those of the Jews in Europe or the "bourgeoisie" in the modern ernment's preference for the Chinese has a more important foundation. social sciences (see Wallerstein 1991 a). In positive terms, these include Unlike their indigenous counterparts, the Indonesian Chinese are people being industrious, rational, reliable, skilled, thrifty, and efficient. This of a politically pariah status. is the reverse of the stereotypical descriptions of the "indigenous": lazy, Having virtually no effective political representation to challenge the irrational, corrupt, unskilled, hedonistic. However, contemporary eth status quo and the regime responsible for it, the indigenous population nic Chinese are more frequently identified in negative terms: unpatri often target the Chinese people when expressing their frustration. The otic, selfish, materialistic, stingy, cunning, opportunistic, philistine, and, Soeharto government endorses such popular racism. This is to deflect worst of all, "communist". popular anger not so much, or not only, from the Western and Japa As stereotypical prejudices, there is nothing unusual about these nese bourgeoisie as Anderson mentions (1990, p. 116), but from the descriptions. What is unusual is the fact that such prejudices find un government itself. Intimidated by continuing racist hostility, this larg restrained expression in major official discourse. Since 1966, the ethnic est ethnic minority has little choice but to seek protection from the Chinese have not been a speaking subject in public space. Sympathetic government. Thus the vicious circle is perpetrated. defences of them occasionally emerge, but almost always from individual To keep the system self-reproducing, the government provides the outsiders who have a legitimate voice. This ethnic group is considered necessary security protection for the Chinese minority, in exchange for to be essentially a "problem" for the nation, and it is in need of "cor the revenue accruing to the state from this minority. Paradoxically, rection". government officials must occasionally demonstrate to the public some Because the "Chinese problem" is seen primarily as a cultural prob racist-sounding measures against the Chinese communities in general lem, which spreads through kinship ties, the formal and apparently logi and their economic dominance in particular. This is to sustain legiti cal solution is also primarily cultural and marital. In the late 1960s, the macy and credibility among the indigenous majority. One can argue militarist government launched a nation-wide "assimilation" pro that the New Order's racism is more formal and instrumental than an gramme (Pembauran). It met with what appeared to be spontaneous expression of genuine hatred of a particular race. However, it is no less support from the general population in the overall climate of political real and consequential than other forms of racism. It comes close to the acquiescence. The core of this official programme is the demand that Downloaded from <arielheryanto.wordpress.com> 30 Ariel HERYANTO Silence in Indonesian Literary Discourse The Case of the Indonesian Chinese 31 the ethnic Chinese give up their ethnicity. The standard recommenda considered as "Chinese" in the government's population registration. tion is that they should "assimilate" with the locals in cultural and, ide Following the patriarchal system, one takes on the ethnicity of one's fa ally, in marital terms. This is the rationale for the changing of personal ther. Sexism, as much as culturalism, is deeply implicated with racism. names and the names of shops and companies; the closing down of the Chinese press and schools; the eradication of Chinese languages, both The National Literary Silence spoken and printed form; the public celebration of the Chinese Lunar Given the significance of racial discrimination in the lives of the gen New Year; and, in Central Java, the series of restrictions on popular eral population, and the ideological campaign promoting Pembauran, Chinese physical exercise, Mandarin songs in karaoke entertainment it is understandable that the racial issue occupies a central position in centres, and the sale of Chinese cakes traditionally consumed for the the minds of the general population.

Load more