EPILOGUE
THE UNCERTAINTY OF STRANGERS
Reconfiguring the Ethno-Political Landscape
On Nov , two elections were held in the province of West Kali- mantan. e first was the mayoral election in Singkawang, and the sec- ond, the gubernatorial election for the province of West Kalimantan. It was the first time that these regional leaders were to be elected directly by voters.1 In other words, it was the first time that candidates for these offices had to campaign publicly and appeal to the general electorate for support. Electoral strategies had to be changed, as demographics now played a key role in determining who could garner the major portion of the votes. In Singkawang, where Chinese made up of the population, Hasan Karman (Huang Shao Fan 黄少凡), with H. Edy R. Yacoub as his run- ning mate, won the election and became the first ethnic Chinese mayor of Singkawang.2 In the gubernatorial election, the Cornelis-Christiandy (Dayak-Chinese) pair won, and Sanjaya Christiandy (Huang Han Shan 黄汉山) became the first ethnic Chinese Deputy Governor of West Kali- mantan. e electoral strategy of concentrating both Dayak and Chinese votes had paid off.3 But on the other hand, the Malays had been denied representation in the highest offices of the province.
On the evening of Dec , , a dispute broke out between a Malay and a Chinese over a purported accident in a residential area in Pontianak. Syarif Usmulyono was informed of a scratch on his BMW i and had accosted his Chinese neighbor over the matter. e quarrel attracted
1 Previously, these leaders were elected by members of the respective regional assem- blies. 2 Hasan Karman won with , votes, while the incumbent, Awang Ischak (Malay) trailed behind with , votes. “Selamat Datang Walikota Baru,” Pontianak Post, November , . 3 e Cornelis-Christiandy pair, also known as C, won with . of the votes. e incumbent, Usman Ja"far (Malay), came in second with only . of the votes. “C Unggul, Tim Harmoni Tolak Rekapitulasi,” Equator, November , . another neighbor, Gouw Ek San, to the scene. In the event, Ek San punched Syarif Mustafa, a relative of Usmulyono, breaking his nose and bloodying his face. Syarif Mustafa was then brought to Santo Antonius Hospital, while Ek San was brought to the police station.4 Rumors then spread that a Malay family organizing an Islamic prayer session was attacked by a Chinese named “Ikhsan.”5 at night, a riot broke out in Gang Tujubelas, where the incident took place, and spread to Jalan Ketapang about meters away. Stones were thrown at houses and cars along the way.6 At around , some rioters entered the Nam Tau Temple at Jalan Ketapang and vandalized the place. Statues were overturned and broken, and the windows of the vehicle parked outside the temple were smashed. It seems that the rioters have lim- ited themselves to vandalism; no looting was evident.7 In the middle of the night, rioters besieged Ek San’s home. While the police were able to evacuate Ek San’s wife and children, they were unable to stop riot- ers from vandalizing his house and car.8 us, what started out as a dispute between neighbors took on the bearings of a low-level ethnic riot. e next day, on December , the police called for a meeting of leaders of the Malay and Chinese communities in an effort at brokering ethnic reconciliation. is was reminiscent of the peace ceremonies that state authorities used to arrange when clashes broke out between Madurese and Dayaks.9 In so doing, the police was framing the event as an ethnic clash, which resulted because the sentiments of the Malay community were injured. By bringing the “leaders” of both communities into dialog, it was hoped that these representatives of the respective communities can enforce an effective reconciliation. e outcome was that nine Chinese leaders issued a public apology that was published in the newspapers the following day, on December . e following is the text of the apology:
4 is account is drawn from the investigative report by Andreas Harsono, “Panasnya Pontianak, Panasnya Politik;” and also the report in Guoji Ribao, December , . 5 Harsono, “Panasnya Pontianak, Panasnya Politik,” . 6 Four cars and tens of houses were damaged as a result. “ Mobil Rusak, Puluhan Kaca Rumah Pecah,” Pontianak Post, December , . 7 e donation box and other items of value in the temple such as the television had remained untouched. Interview, Pontianak, December . 8 Harsono, “Panasnya Pontianak, Panasnya Politik,” –. 9 Davidson, From Rebellion to Riots, –.