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Chinese
Fight Open Discrimination on Batam
A group of Chinese-Indonesians has opened on Batam a "complaint
post" in the city, where ethnic Chinese can lodge complaints
on the bureaucratic obstacles.
Anas, a member of the Batam branch of the Chinese-Indonesian
Social Association (PSMTI), said the complaint post was
opened on May 27, and was possibly the first such facility
in the country.
The organization has opened two complaint posts in the city:
one at PSMTI Batam headquarters in the Seruni shopping complex
and another at Batam International University (UIB).
Anas said the facilities were established in response to
frequent complaints from the Chinese-Indonesian community
on bureaucratic discrimination they had experienced, especially
when applying for passports and identity cards.
It is common knowledge that government officials and civil
servants often extort money from Indonesian-Chinese, and
that if a Chinese refused to hand over the money, their
applications would be delayed indefinitely or would not
be processed.
Prior to the 1998 reform movement, public complaints over
the practice were rarely heard, due to the bureaucratic
system under the Soeharto regime.
After his ouster, however, protests against the practice
have been on the rise, with indigenous Indonesians joining
the chorus, and have encouraged more Chinese to voice their
complaints and experiences.
Indonesians of Chinese descent only comprise about 4 to
6 percent of the national population, but contribute greatly
to the economy.
According to Anas, no individual has taken advantage of
the new service, but he hoped some would visit the facility
soon.
"In opening the post, we hope to see the end of bureaucratic
discrimination. We demand equality in public services, like
other citizens," he said.
After a predetermined number of complaints had been filed,
the group would arrange to meet with the relevant government
officials to seek a solution in each case.
Amat Santoso, a local Chinese-Indonesian, said he experienced
a difficulty when he recently applied for a passport extension,
because he did not have the "required" Indonesian
citizenship certificate (SBKRI) for Chinese-Indonesians.
The law on SBKRI requirement was abolished in 1996, but
has yet to be enforced.
"I had to bribe the immigration officials in order
to facilitate my application. It's ridiculous," he
said. M (F/JP/IM)
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