Evi Mariani, Jakarta – The Jakarta Post
Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo become a trending topic on various social media sites last week after his racial slur against a Chinese-Indonesian minister, and yet he has refused to apologize.
In a discussion that compared the Soeharto regime and the reform era, Bambang criticized the policy President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono used to choose members of his Cabinet. Yudhoyono had chosen his ministers not based on their quality or expertise, but their party affiliations, ethnicity and race, he said.
It was no surprise that the government had bought pricey Chinese-made MA-60 aircraft for Merpati since Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, as a Chinese-Indonesian, had prioritized the interests of her racial roots, Bambang said.
Within hours, criticisms of the remark had exploded on social media sites. Several politicians, including fellow Golkar Party member Indra Piliang and Bara Hasibuan from the National Mandate Party (PAN), had also urged him to apologize.
Later, Bambang denied that the remark was racist, but continued to label Mari as pro-China.
“For the sake of this nation, I only asked [Mari Pangestu] to be more nationalistic so that her policies and actions as a government official prioritize the national interests and protect industry at home rather than those of foreign countries, including China,” Bambang said Friday.
Personally, I’m baffled. It is like hearing the news about conservative Pia Kjaersgaard, the leader of the Danish People’s Party, who said a radio guest had “misquoted” her in saying “foreigners multiply like rats”. In fact, Pia corrected, she had “only” said they “multiply like rabbits”.
First Bambang implied that Yudhoyono chose Mari because of her race (Chinese-Indonesian) rather than her competence. Then he said Mari was pro-China, particularly in relation to the decision to purchase the aircraft (despite the fact that it had been a collective decision).
In my opinion, Bambang’s last statement made matters worse. He accused Mari of not being nationalistic based on unfounded sentiment. I’m not defending Mari’s decision in the MA-60 purchase.
If she and other officials made a mistake they should be subject to legal processes. My point is that while Mari is Chinese-Indonesian we cannot accuse her of being biased toward China because the purchase was not entirely her decision.
And what about other officials involved in the decision? Did they escape Bambang’s criticism because they are not Chinese-Indonesian?
Bambang’s allegation imply that Chinese-Indonesians are not nationalistic, something that has become a sore point for decades in Indonesia, despite displays of nationalism by many Chinese-Indonesians.
Bambang is not a novice politician. He stole the show last year in the Bank Century bailout saga. He was also among the top politicians at the House of Representatives; he is definitely not among the 100 lawmakers who House deputy speaker Pramono Anung said had not uttered a single word during sessions. Bambang talks a lot.
Among the 560 lawmakers, I would say Bambang is perhaps among those who deserve lawmakers’ monthly salary of Rp 50 million.
I am sure as an above-average lawmaker he knows the distinction between the public and private spheres.
I know people make jokes with racial tones among friends. I sometimes take part in them and we laugh and nothing malicious ensues, but it does not occur in public.
When you are a legislator, criticizing a government official is a very serious matter. The fact that Bambang made such a racist statement in a public discussion and felt it was OK not to apologize, and then questioned the nationalism of a Chinese- Indonesian minister only based on one policy that was in fact a collective decision, implies that he definitely needs lessons in democracy and pluralism.
Golkar politician Indra Bambang Utoyo said the party’s chairman, Aburizal “Ical” Bakrie, had reprimanded Bambang for his untoward remark. I welcome Ical’s action; I’m sure he does not want to lose Golkar’s Chinese-Indonesian voters.
However, I don’t think it’s enough. Golkar has reduced the issue to an informal matter by only giving Bambang a friendly nudge, lending him enough confidence to brag to everyone that he did not commit a mistake and therefore making the impression he has no reason to apologize.
Even Golkar secretary-general Idrus Marham seems to have ignored the matter, saying he was sure Bambang was only joking. Dear Idrus, Bambang himself said he was not joking. He said he was criticizing Mari in his capacity as a legislator.
A group of Chinese-Indonesian youths, Jaringan Muda Tionghoa or Tionghoa Youth Network planned to report Bambang to the House disciplinary council. These young people take the remark seriously and I think everyone who believes in democracy should follow suit.
Let us see if the council take the remark seriously or sweep it under the rug like alleged violations by other politicians. If they think Bambang’s action is no big deal, I would suggest that rest of the House also needs some lessons in democracy.
The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.
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