Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2018. ix, 244 pp. (Tables.) US$60.00, cloth. ISBN 978-988-8455-99-7.
Most Chinese Indonesians still have vivid memories of the Defending Islam Action rallies (Aksi Bela Islam) in 2016–2017 and the subsequent electoral defeat of former Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (popularly known as “Ahok”) in a bitter campaign marked by very divisive ethno-religious sentiment directed against him by his Islamist opponents. For the approximately five million ethnic Chinese Indonesians, these are painful reminders that long-held prejudice against them remains strong more than two decades after the fall of Indonesia’s long-term dictator Suharto and the country’s transition to democracy in 1998–1999. Anti-Chinese discourses are something that can readily be deployed as a weapon by Indonesian politicians and religious leaders to advance their own political agenda.
The role of ethnic Chinese Indonesians and the frequent acts of prejudice and discrimination against them have been the focus of several major studies (most recently Jemma Purdey, Anti-Chinese Violence in Indonesia, 1996–99, Singapore: National University of Singapore Press, 2006). These studies largely focused on the socio-political condition of Chinese Indonesians during the Suharto era—a period during which they received significant economic privileges from the regime, but also experienced severely curtailed socio-political rights. The Reformasi period has allowed for new opportunities for marginalized groups—including Chinese Indonesians—to express themselves in the public sphere. However, there has been no significant new scholarship studying Chinese Indonesians’ sociological and political outlook during the Reformasi era. Hence, Wu-Ling Chong’s book is a welcome addition that affords new insights on Chinese Indonesians’ political outlook during this era.
The central question posed by Chong is why have very few ethnic Chinese Indonesians been successful in running for public office during the Reformasi era, despite the existence of an open multiparty electoral system. She argues that the answer can be found in Indonesia’s flawed democratic system, where “there is a lack of good governance, promoting the rule of law, accountability, and transparency” (3). Under this system, Chinese Indonesians remain economically privileged, yet are still widely considered to be political outsiders by most native Indonesians (pribumi). This makes them the targets of economic extortion by politicians, security officials, and street thugs. Due to their “outsider” status, most Chinese Indonesians prefer to use “opportunistic tactics to gain business and personal interests, and to make use of intra-ethnic linkages to safeguard their ethnic identity and culture” (3) rather than be politically engaged.
Within a framework inspired by the theoretical insights of Anthony Giddens and Pierre Bordieu, Chong utilizes comparative case methodology resembling Mill’s methods of difference. She conducts her research in two provincial Indonesian cities: Medan and Surabaya. The Chinese living in Medan have tended to keep their language and cultural identities intact and are more likely to experience ethnicity-based antagonism from the Indonesian population. In contrast, Surabayan Chinese tend to be more assimilated with the indigenous culture and generally enjoy a more conducive relationship with the native population. Nevertheless, Chong finds a similar outcome when it comes to their economic and political status. Chinese Indonesian businesspeople in both cities rely on a clientelistic relationship with pribumi politicians and security officials, in order to protect themselves against extortion and to secure lucrative government contracts for their businesses. Only a small number of ethnic Chinese living in both cities are willing to challenge the status quo by organizing and lodging grievances with the authorities regarding the abusive treatments they have encountered from thugs and corrupt officials. Even fewer are willing to run for public office or support fellow Chinese Indonesian political candidates.
Chong finds that most Chinese Indonesian politicians tend to present themselves as having a nationalistic and inclusive outlook in order to appeal to a broader segment of prospective voters who are primarily Indonesians instead of ethnic Chinese. Most have developed friendship networks and political ties with other Indonesians instead of with wealthy businesspeople from their own community. They also tend to be less involved with business and cultural associations, which tend to have a lot of political influence within the Chinese Indonesian community. Politicians such as Sofyan Tan—a former candidate for mayor of Medan who is now a member of the Indonesian parliament—prefer to work with national associations, whose membership draws on diverse ethno-religious backgrounds. As a result, they receive less support from Chinese Indonesian businesspeople, who consider such politicians to have less cultural and economic commonalities with them. However, despite their attempts to broaden their appeal to the entire Indonesian nationality, their outsider status often puts these politicians at a disadvantage against those with a native Indonesian background. As illustrated by Sofyan Tan’s failed mayoral campaign, Chinese Indonesian politicians are vulnerable to negative campaign tactics. Their ethnic background can be used as a campaign issue by their political opponents, contributing to their lack of success in winning elected office at all levels throughout Indonesia.
Chong’s argument and empirical evidence are strengthened by her use of Indonesian and Chinese language sources as well as her interviews with dozens of Chinese Indonesian businesspeople, politicians, civil society members, and community activists from Medan and Surabaya. One issue I wish she would have explored further in the book is whether generational change has any effects on Chinese Indonesians’ willingness to be more involved in politics and public service. Anecdotal accounts I found during my travels across Indonesia indicate that younger Chinese Indonesians are more politically engaged than their older counterparts. They are also more willing to consider a possible political career compared to the older generation, whose members were traumatized by their experiences during the Suharto era. The political outlook of the older generation continues to be shaped by that trauma to this day.
Nevertheless, I find Chong’s book to be an excellent study on the political outlook of ethnic Chinese Indonesians during the Reformasi era. It is an empirically rich and informative work, and should be added to the growing number of studies regarding this important yet often under-researched Indonesian community.
Alexander R. Arifianto
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore