Historical background
Tjong A Fie,
major of the Chinese in Medan,1900-1921
As early as the fourth century AD Chinese traders were
settling in Sumatra, and during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries they
were engaging in considerable maritime activity, using the Indonesian archipelago
as a way station for their trade with India and the Middle East.
In the 16th century substantial Chinese settlements existed in many local port cities on the islands Java, Sumatra, and Melacca. Later on in the 19th century, many Chinese migrated to Penang and Singapore. For many Chinese, migration to South East Asia, was not at first intended to be permanent. However, in most cases settlement did become permanent and there was frequent intermarriage with the local women.
In the 16th century substantial Chinese settlements existed in many local port cities on the islands Java, Sumatra, and Melacca. Later on in the 19th century, many Chinese migrated to Penang and Singapore. For many Chinese, migration to South East Asia, was not at first intended to be permanent. However, in most cases settlement did become permanent and there was frequent intermarriage with the local women.
Chinese altar at home.
The Chinese population in the Indies could be
distingguished in two groups. The Sinkehs (new comers) or Totoks, who retained
their Chinese customs and language, and the Peranakans who embraced the local
customs, while still retaining some degree of their ancestral culture. The
Peranakans speak dialect Malay and later generations even lost their ability to
speak Chinese. The men were addressed as Baba, and the married women were known as Nyonya.
Peranakan is a Malay word that has the word anak=child, so peranakan means: descendant. Later in the 20th century, the Dutch colonial government used the word simply to mean local-born, referring to the distinction between the Sinkeh, who were regarded as Chinese subjects, and the Peranakans who were local-born, and therefore Dutch subjects.
Peranakans themselves later on migrated between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, which resulted in a high degree of cultural similarity between Peranakans in those countries.
Discrimination against ethnic Chinese
Both in Indonesia and Malaysia, the government have favoured the Bumiputras (indigenous population) in Malaysia, and the Pribumis in Indonesia, while discriminating the ethnic Chinese. This happened through legislations and laws that were implemented in the sixties and seventies.
Indonesian policy towards ethnic Chinese
During the Suharto regime (1967-1998), expressions of Chinese culture and publications, and the use of the Chinese language were banned, Chinese socio-political organizations were dissolved, Chinese schools were closed, and ethnic Chinese were encouraged to adopt Indonesian names in Indonesia.
The policiy in Indonesia towards the ethnic Chinese is contradictory and inconsistent. On one hand ethnic Chinese had to assimilate in Indonesian society, yet on the other hand they are constantly being categorized as different from the the natives, orang Asli. So they were non Asli in the fifties, the Peranakan Chinese were categorized as WNI (Warganegara Indonesia = Indonesian citizenship) after the indepence of Indonesia, while the Totoks were WNA (Warganegara Asing). New definitions were used in the eighties; non Pribumi, indicating they are not Pribumi's= natives.
And nowadays ethnic Chinse still have to fill in the box marked WNI keturunan= (descendant of Indonesian Nationality) in a form, when they apply for a passport or when taking an examination. This implies that one has been given the Indonesian nationality, but one is not a native, nor shall one ever be, not even the descendants. Arab descendants however, are not categorized as WNI keturunan, though they are also from foreign descent. So WNI keturunan is a categorization that only applies for ethnic Chinese.
Due to the political anti Chinese climate, and being made collective scapegoats throughout history, many Peranakan Chinese have left Indonesia in the sixties and seventies. Some went to China, while others have migrated to Australia, Hong Kong, the USA, Canada, Brasil, Singapore, W-Germany and the Netherlands.
More recently, when the ethnic Chinese population was again the target of violence during the riots of may 1998, an estimate of 70.000 ethnic Chinese fled the country.
Peranakan is a Malay word that has the word anak=child, so peranakan means: descendant. Later in the 20th century, the Dutch colonial government used the word simply to mean local-born, referring to the distinction between the Sinkeh, who were regarded as Chinese subjects, and the Peranakans who were local-born, and therefore Dutch subjects.
Peranakans themselves later on migrated between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, which resulted in a high degree of cultural similarity between Peranakans in those countries.
Discrimination against ethnic Chinese
Both in Indonesia and Malaysia, the government have favoured the Bumiputras (indigenous population) in Malaysia, and the Pribumis in Indonesia, while discriminating the ethnic Chinese. This happened through legislations and laws that were implemented in the sixties and seventies.
Indonesian policy towards ethnic Chinese
During the Suharto regime (1967-1998), expressions of Chinese culture and publications, and the use of the Chinese language were banned, Chinese socio-political organizations were dissolved, Chinese schools were closed, and ethnic Chinese were encouraged to adopt Indonesian names in Indonesia.
The policiy in Indonesia towards the ethnic Chinese is contradictory and inconsistent. On one hand ethnic Chinese had to assimilate in Indonesian society, yet on the other hand they are constantly being categorized as different from the the natives, orang Asli. So they were non Asli in the fifties, the Peranakan Chinese were categorized as WNI (Warganegara Indonesia = Indonesian citizenship) after the indepence of Indonesia, while the Totoks were WNA (Warganegara Asing). New definitions were used in the eighties; non Pribumi, indicating they are not Pribumi's= natives.
And nowadays ethnic Chinse still have to fill in the box marked WNI keturunan= (descendant of Indonesian Nationality) in a form, when they apply for a passport or when taking an examination. This implies that one has been given the Indonesian nationality, but one is not a native, nor shall one ever be, not even the descendants. Arab descendants however, are not categorized as WNI keturunan, though they are also from foreign descent. So WNI keturunan is a categorization that only applies for ethnic Chinese.
Due to the political anti Chinese climate, and being made collective scapegoats throughout history, many Peranakan Chinese have left Indonesia in the sixties and seventies. Some went to China, while others have migrated to Australia, Hong Kong, the USA, Canada, Brasil, Singapore, W-Germany and the Netherlands.
More recently, when the ethnic Chinese population was again the target of violence during the riots of may 1998, an estimate of 70.000 ethnic Chinese fled the country.
resource from: The encyclopedia of Chinese overseas, part V communities, Indonesia by Mary Somers Heidhues
