Persistence amid Change: The Perceptions of Non-Chinese Indonesians of Chinese Indonesians and Their Economic Position

This article examines the position of ethnic Chinese Indonesians from the pre-colonial period to the post-Suharto era, and factors that were at play. Chinese Indonesians experienced various discrimination and attacks ever since the Dutch colonisation period and, most severely, during the Suharto’s presidency (1966-1998). Under Suharto, the state perceived them as the potential ‘fifth column’ for China; thus, imposing upon them forced assimilation, restriction from politics, public service, military and entrance to public universities, and to finally coerce them to abandon their ethnic and cultural identity. Furthermore, attacks against the Chinese reached its climax in May 1998 amid the Asian financial crisis when riots against the Chinese broke out in many parts of the country. However, the condition of the Chinese improved significantly after the end of the Suharto regime on 21 May 1998 and following the rise of open-minded Indonesian political leaders as well as the rise of China as an economic power. This article concludes that the position of ethnic Chinese Indonesians was shaped by not only the interests and agendas of the power-holders but also the anti-communist politics associated with the Cold War, the rise of open-minded Indonesian political leaders, Indonesia- China relations and the globalisation of the economic position of China.

There is a lively debate about the ‘China effect’ on economies in Southeast Asia that have embarked on industrialization in recent years.Will rapid growth and structural transformation of the Chinese economy undermine competitiveness in international markets of a low-wage country like Indonesia? This contribution focuses on the new challenges faced by industrialization policies in Indonesia with specific attention given to Chinese exports of similar types of products. Statistics on trade flows and revealed comparative advantage are discussed.This article also contains a historical background referring to two separate themes. The first concerns the economic position of Indonesians of Chinese descent, which goes far back in history. What does the ‘China effect’ mean to Indonesia, keeping in mind that a significant part of the Indonesian economy is dominated by Chinese Indonesians? Second, the necessity of an accelerated industrialization is considered in the context of the extreme dependence on world markets for an economy rich in natural resources like the Indonesian one. Does industrialization in competition with China imply exchanging one type of dependence for another?