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Chinese Identity in Post-Suharto Indonesia
Culture, Media, Religion and Language

Chang-Yau Hoon
Chang-Yau Hoon is Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Singapore Management University. He previously lectured at the University of Western Australia.

“It takes a linguistically gifted and culturally cosmopolitan, diasporic Chinese—born in Malaysia, raised in Brunei, educated in Western Australia—with finely-tuned insider-outsider sensibilities, to lift the veil on the long suppressed Chinese community of Jakarta, Indonesia. It is a revelation to follow C.Y. Hoon as he skillfully navigates the treacherous waters of post-Suharto (1998) ethnic politics in Jakarta. After decades of being rendered near voiceless and faceless, Chinese-Indonesians are reclaiming their cultural and citizenship rights, and reconceptualizing their identity in the face of persistent stereotypes and essentialist constructions.

Well trained in scientific participant-observer ethnographic methods, Hoon demonstrates convincingly that identity is mutually constituted in constantly changing and unfolding relationships between migrant and host. This engrossing study heralds a new generation of Chinese diaspora scholarship.” Evelyn Hu-Dehart, Director of Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America; Professor of History and Ethnic Studies, Brown University

“This theoretically sophisticated, informative and highly readable book is the best thing I have read on what it means to be ‘Chinese’ in Indonesia since the fall of President Suharto in 1998.” Charles A. Coppel, author of Indonesian Chinese in Crisis (1983), and Studying Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia (2002)

“This is an important and thoughtful book on the identity of the Chinese in Indonesia since the fall of Suharto. It makes an important contribution not only to Indonesian studies but also to studies of the ‘overseas Chinese’ elsewhere and of ethnic minorities generally. It is theoretically sophisticated: it problematizes Chinese identity and uses theories of identity, multiculturalism and hybridity to make sense of Chinese identities in Indonesia. At the same time, it takes into account the history and particular situation of the Chinese in Indonesia. The representation of Chinese and
‘ pribumi’ subjectivities and the analysis of the ways stereotypes function in real life in the constitution of identities are particularly engaging. Best of all, the book presents sophisticated concepts and complex processes in a clear and readable way.” Lyn Parker, author of From Subjects to Citizens: Balinese Villagers in the Indonesian Nation-State (2003), and editor of The Agency of Women in Asia (2005) and Women and Work in Indonesia (2007)

During Suharto’s New Order (1966–1998), the ethnic Chinese expanded the nation’s economy (and their own wealth), but, paradoxically, were marginalised and discriminated against in all social spheres: culture, language, politics, entrance to state-owned universities, and public service and public employment. Following the fall of Suharto, and the anti-Chinese riots in May 1998, Indonesia underwent a process of “Reformasi”and democratisation, whereby for the first time in several decades Chinese culture became more visible. Many ethnic Chinese took advantage of the new democratic space to establish political parties, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and action groups to fight for the abolition of discriminatory laws, defend their rights and promote solidarity between ethnic groups in Indonesia. They utilised the Reformasi atmosphere to promote pluralism and multiculturalism, and to liberate their long-suppressed identity and cultural heritage.

This book sets out to unpack the complex meanings of “Chineseness” in post-1998 Indonesia, including the ways in which the policy of multiculturalism enabled such a “resurgence”, the forces that shaped it and the possibilities for “resinicisation”. The author examines how ethnic Chinese self-identify, and investigates how the pribumi “Other” has contributed to identifying the ethnic boundary in terms of “race”and class. A unique aspect of the study is its discussion of the complexities of cultural crossing, borrowing and mixing experience of Chinese-Indonesians through localisation and globalisation.

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