Post-Reform Chinese Political Dynamics in North Sumatera

Palacheta Subies Subianto, R. Hamdani Harahap

, Nurman Achmad

and Warjio

Doctoral Program of Development Studies, Faculty of Social dan Political Studies, Universitas Sumatera Utara,

Jl. Prof. Dr. A. Sofyan No. 1 Kampus USU, Medan, Indonesia

Keywords: Political Dynamics, Ethnic Politics, Ethnicity

Abstract: One of the positive impacts of the 1998 Reformation was the opening of the tap of opportunity for all citizens

to be directly involved in electoral politics as political actors elected at the ballot box or as constituents who

have the right to vote. Courage then grows to uphold democracy for both minority and majority groups. There

are several important reasons that underlie the ethnic Chinese in North Sumatra who were previously less

interested in getting into politics, starting to enter the general election arena to participate in the contestation

as executive and legislative candidates. The purpose of this study is to explain how the political dynamics of

ethnic Chinese in North Sumatra after the Reformation. The research method is qualitative with descriptive

analysis. The results of this study describe the social dynamics of the ethnic Chinese before the reformation,

the reasons for the involvement of the ethnic Chinese in North Sumatra to be involved in politics and the

social and political impact of the involvement of the ethnic Chinese in contesting the general election in North

Sumatra after the Reformation.

1 INTRODUCTION

Research related to ethnic identity politics in the last

decade has attracted the attention of experts and

researchers in Indonesia. Especially if it is linked to

the democratic process in the general election after

the end of the New Order Regime for 32 years. Where

one of the positive impacts of the 1998 Reformation

was the opening of the tap of opportunity for all

citizens to be directly involved in electoral politics as

political actors elected at the ballot box or as

constituents who have the right to vote (Setijad,

2016).

Courage then grew to uphold democracy for both

minority and majority groups, including ethnic

Chinese who during President Soeharto's

administration were not too interested in politics but

after reformation began to open up to politics

(Pratama, 2016). There are several important reasons

that underlie the ethnic Chinese in North Sumatra

who were previously less interested in getting into

politics, starting to enter the general election arena to

participate in the contestation as executive and

legislative candidates.

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One of the reasons is that political openness after

the reformation era moved figures of Chinese ethnic

descent in North Sumatra to engage directly in

practical political activities as politicians. As it is

known that previously the Chinese were more

involved as entrepreneurs and traders in regional

development indirectly or the inherent image as

ethnic intermediaries tended to be politicized by

various political interests.

Ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs in North Sumatra

are increasingly aware that regional development

must be directly involved in the formal political

system in order to make changes quickly to keep up

with the current political changes. The business

network capital and financial strength certainly help

the ethnic Chinese elites to compete with other

politicians who are used to electoral battles.

However, the increasingly wide-open current of

political change from political parties to attract

figures, especially those with business networks and

financial strength, is a practical political fact for

ethnic Chinese businessmen to become politicians.

In general, not all ethnic Chinese who fought in

the election managed to sit as regional heads or

Subianto, P., Harahap, R., Achmad, N. and Warjio, .

Post-Reform Chinese Political Dynamics in North Sumatera.

DOI: 10.5220/0011530100003460

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Social and Political Development (ICOSOP 2022) - Human Security and Agile Government, pages 98-103

ISBN: 978-989-758-618-7; ISSN: 2975-8300

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

members of the legislature. However, not a few

politicians of ethnic Chinese descent can be elected

and even become elites in a political party in North

Sumatra. For example; A doctor and a philanthropist

social activist named Sofyan Tan, in the 2010

regional head election in Medan City, he ran in pairs

with a female education figure named Nelly

Armayanti.

At that time there were 10 pairs of candidates and

the pair Sofyan Tan-Nelly Armayanti entered the 2nd

round but lost to the pair Rahudman Harahap-Zdulmi

Eldin who was eventually elected Mayor and Deputy

Mayor for 2010-2015. However, after losing in the

Regional Head Election, in the 2014 legislative

election, politician of ethnic Chinese descent, Sofyan

Tan did not give up and was discouraged, he then ran

again and was successfully elected to parliament from

the PDI-P from the constituency of North Sumatra I

which covers the area, namely the City of Medan,

Deli Serdang Regency, Serdang Bedagai Regency

and Tebing Tinggi City.

Then another ethnic Chinese descendant, Hasyim

SE, who currently serves as the chairman of the

parliament in Medan City for the 2019-2024 period.

Then, there is the name Iskandar ST who succeeded

in occupying the chairman of the North Sumatra

Nasional Demokrat Party which was previously led

by H.T Erry Nuradi who is a senior politician and also

the Governor of North Sumatra. Not only that, the

PDI Perjuangan politician named Brilian Moktar is

also a descendant of ethnic Chinese who managed to

sit as a member of parliament in North Sumatra for

two terms.

The dynamics of success of the ethnic Chinese

political elite in North Sumatra brought a shift in the

voting behavior of the people of North Sumatra.

Where sociological factors, religion, ethnicity play an

important role in the rational choice of society. This

strengthens the argument that the journey of the

ethnic Chinese in politics in North Sumatra has been

accepted by the wider community. Of course, this is

very dynamic and does not run automatically,

considering that if it cannot be managed properly, the

situation for the entry of ethnic Chinese into politics

will continue.

The existence of ethnic Chinese in politics cannot

be separated from the social changes of the Chinese

ethnicity in improving their Chinese image, by

shifting the traditional Chinese image to a nationalist

Chinese (Yudono et al., 2018). This tendency

continues to develop among the younger generation,

where they They no longer master traditional Chinese

customs and instead participate in assimilate and

learn the culture of other ethnicities so that this new

packaging and image is more acceptable to local

community groups (Ho, 1985).

Ethnic Chinese citizens who used to only

routinely cast their votes, have slowly but surely

begun to participate in political contestations, both

legislative elections and regional head elections

(Jayusman, 2019). This means that through the direct

involvement of ethnic Chinese on the political stage

in North Sumatra, it will automatically build

interactions between ethnic Chinese politicians and

other communities. This is certainly good for non-

Chinese people in North Sumatra because there is a

cultural understanding that can have a direct impact

on regional development.

The Chinese trade ethos and mentality that puts

forward mutual trust and efficiency certainly builds

representation, not falsehood between the people and

their representatives in parliament. The fact that

ethnic Chinese descendants have started to exist in

North Sumatra politics has a positive impact on the

beliefs and motivations of ethnic Chinese in the

public policy process. The purpose of this study is to

explain how the political dynamics of the ethnic

Chinese in North Sumatra after the Reformation.

2 RESEARCH METHODS

The writing of this article uses a descriptive analytical

research method with a qualitative approach. The use

of this method is intended, referring to (Creswell,

2016) Researchers can focus on phenomena that

occur on problems or phenomena that are actual at the

time the research is carried out, then describe the facts

about the problem being investigated as they are

accompanied by rational and accurate interpretations.

This method will help researchers to understand the

realities that occur regarding the political dynamics of

the ethnic Chinese in North Sumatra after the

Reformation. Then the primary data of this research

was obtained by the author from journals, books and

documents or reports related to the research focus.

The author then analyzes the phenomenon of the case

inductively regarding the social dynamics of the

Chinese before the reform, the reasons for the

involvement of the Chinese in North Sumatra to be

involved in politics and the social and political impact

of the involvement of the ethnic Chinese in contesting

the general election in North Sumatra after the

Reformation.

Post-Reform Chinese Political Dynamics in North Sumatera

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Chinese Ethnic Social Dynamics

Before Reform

The existence of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia,

including in North Sumatra Province, has existed for

hundreds of years, even before the Proclamation of

Indonesian Independence was read on August 17,

1945. Several residents of ethnic Chinese descent

even participated in seizing and defending Indonesian

independence. Such as: Tjia Giok Thwam who was a

fighter with the military rank of Second Lieutenant of

Chinese descent who was involved in the battle in

Surabaya in 1945. Then there was a name, Lie Eng

Hok, a journalist who had spearheaded the Banten

rebellion movement against the Dutch East Indies

government. Then there is the name Ferry Sie King

Lien who fought in the Solo battle in 1949. Then

Liem Koen Hian is a journalist and politician who

succeeded in founding the Chinese Indonesian Party

(PTI from Banjarmasin and ethnic Chinese descent

named John Lie, a naval military officer who

defended independence Indonesia in Cilacap (Chen,

2022).

In its development, during the New Order era, the

existence of ethnic Chinese was a crucial problem

that had a very complex level of complexity. The

problem is so complex, not only regarding its national

identity, but also the political, economic and cultural

issues that are developing in Indonesia (Lubis, 1995).

The negative image of the Chinese Ethnic in the New

Order government, which was seen in its policies,

resulted in many ethnic Chinese being discriminated

against. One of the policies carried out by the New

Order Regime was the issuance of Presidential

Instruction Number 14 of 1967 which contained a ban

on Chinese religious activities, beliefs, and customs

in Indonesia. Through this policy, the government of

President Soeharto gave discriminatory treatment and

restricted the Chinese ethnic group in social and

political matters.

Of course, the policy of the New Order Regime

continued the policy of Dutch colonialism so that the

Chinese did not merge with the community. This also

happened in several areas in North Sumatra. For

example, regarding the discrimination experienced by

ethnic Chinese in Medan City, there were not many

Chinese people who entered and were in government

(Tan, 1994).

However, the spirit of economic development in

North Sumatra Province became important as a

turning point for the social dynamics of the Chinese

ethnic. Moreover, settlements based on plural

ethnicity began to occur in the province of North

Sumatra, where the separation of regions based on

ethnicity was part of the policy of Dutch colonialism

by separating one ethnic group from another. Until

the Javanese village area, Mandailing village, Indian

village (rivet) and Chinese settlements were formed

in Medan City, North Sumatra Province (Pelly,

1994).

Another reason why ethnic Chinese were

discriminated against (Coppel, 1994) during the New

Order Regime was that many ethnic Chinese were

accused of being involved in the left, so that many

ethnic Chinese figures were arrested. It is clear that

the Chinese have experienced political trauma as a

result of the massacre of ethnic Chinese carried out in

the early days of Suharto's rule. The massacre of

ethnic Chinese was indicated as a follow-up to the

government which took the pretext of suppressing the

events of September 30, 1965.

This is also the reason, regarding the National

Identity Card and birth certificate, ethnic Chinese

must include Proof of Citizenship of the Republic of

Indonesia. Where most of the adherents of the

Confucian Religion in North Sumatra end up

registering other religions on their Identity Cards, if

they do not choose one of the existing religions, it is

the same as not getting their rights as citizens and

even being accused of being part of the Indonesian

Communist Party which creates no space for citizens

of ethnic Chinese descent in Indonesian politics.

It was only during the Reformation period, when

President Abdulrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) became

President of the Republic of Indonesia, that the

situation changed. The fourth president of the

Republic of Indonesia on January 17, 2000, President

Gus Dur made a historic and monumental decision.

Gus Dur issued Presidential Instruction No. 6 of 2000

which revoked Presidential Instruction No. 14 of

1967 which contained a ban on Chinese religious

activities, beliefs, and customs in Indonesia. Gusdur's

policy gave birth to the freedom of ethnic Chinese in

carrying out religious rituals, customs, and allowed

the expression of their culture in Indonesia (Lubis,

2015).

So it is very relevant behind Gus Dur's idea when

it comes to abolishing all racist and discriminatory

regulations in Indonesia. The idea was born so that

the values contained in the spirit of anti-racism reflect

into the souls and lives of all elements of the nation.

The value of sincerity, the spirit of anti-racism

struggle, and respect for fellow citizens of the nation.

This is very important for the future of the nation in

the future. This is the starting point for the opening of

ICOSOP 2022 - International Conference on Social and Political Development 4

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the Ethnic Chinese accessibility in politics in

Indonesia, including in North Sumatra Province.

3.2 Reasons for Involvement Ethnic

Chinese in North Sumatra Are

Involved in Politics

President Gus Dur's policy of issuing Presidential

Instruction (Inpres) No. 6 of 2000 which contained

the repeal of Presidential Instruction No. 14 of 1967

which contained a ban on Chinese religious activities,

beliefs, and customs in Indonesia, was a momentum

for Ethnic Chinese Descendants to enter politics in

Sumatra. North. Ethnic Chinese have a long history

in many areas of North Sumatra Province. They are

citizens of Indonesian descent who feel they have a

debt of gratitude to advance the Province of North

Sumatra through the policy and development process.

Of course, the motivation is that being elected as

a public official, either as a member of the legislature

or as an executive member of the policy process by

citizens of Chinese descent can improve many aspects

(La Ode, 2012). As; economy, infrastructure,

defence, education and technology, institutions, and

culture. Development in North Sumatra Province has

become a transformation of change for the better

through planned efforts. In the context of North

Sumatra Province, expectations for the

Transformation influenced by the Chinese Ethnic

directly touch the economic structure with the

increase and rapid production growth in the industrial

and service sectors. So that the contribution of the

ethnic Chinese to the income of the community is

getting bigger along with the opening of many jobs

and the decline in the unemployment rate.

Post-reform, especially in the period from 2005 to

2021, the contribution of the Chinese ethnic in

development in North Sumatra Province looks great.

The main thing is regarding the open involvement of

the Chinese in politics, which continues to develop

and gets the attention of the public. Politician Sofyan

Tan, for example, when he was elected as a member

of the Indonesian House of Representatives in the

2019 General Election which then won the most votes

in North Sumatra with 109,374 votes, defeating other

political figures who are much more famous such as

Yasonna Laoly (Minister of Law and Human Rights),

H.T Erry Nuradi Former) Governor of North

Sumatra, Tifatul Sembiring from Partai Keadilan

Sejahtera, and Father Muhammad Syafii from the

Partai Gerindra (Antara News.com, 2019).

What made Sofyan Tan's voice so high in his

constituency was his clear policies related to the

construction of schools, hospitals and his attention to

small businesses in helping the community so that

Sofyan Tan gained such great trust from the

community. This is certainly a role model and

excellence for the ethnic Chinese of Chinese descent

in the economic field to contribute to development in

North Sumatra through the political process

(Erniwati, 2007.

Of course, the superiority of the Chinese in the

economic field cannot be separated from the kinship

ties that provide the internal social network among

the Chinese entrepreneurs with the social network as

an anchor. Where trust and commitment to political

promises inspire the formation of social networks,

which start from kinship ties and bonds of friendship

that exist within the ethnic Chinese community itself.

Another factor that motivates ethnic Chinese

descendants to enter politics is to provide hope and a

new picture that politics is a free space that can be

accessed by all groups. In addition, the presence of

ethnic Chinese in politics is proof to the public that

their difference in politics is a positive thing and

eliminates the stereotypes that were inherent during

the reign of President Soeharto. So that the

involvement of ethnic Chinese descendants in North

Sumatra in politics will automatically give a new

color to existing political life. Mainly about diversity

and tolerance in North Sumatra.

3.3 The Social Impact of Ethnic

Chinese Involvement in Politics

In general, the involvement of ethnic Chinese descent

into politics in North Sumatra has an impact on

increasing public confidence in diversity and

tolerance. In particular, of course, the social impact

on the confidence of the people of ethnic Chinese

descent in interpreting themselves as an inseparable

part of Indonesia which was discriminated against

during the administration of President Soeharto

during the New Order era.

Of course, the pioneers of ethnic Chinese descent

who first entered politics will encourage people to

participate in politics. So that the ethnic Chinese

community feels that participation in formal

discussions and news in the mass media with political

themes is important for them. It must be admitted that

it takes a very long time to break through the

limitations or at least increase the role of the ethnic

Chinese community in politics. The reason is the

attitude and behavior of ethnic Chinese descent who

prioritize the economic side rather than looking at

politics which is not considered a priority.

Despite their own political instincts, the ethnic

Chinese still have a tendency to gain public office

Post-Reform Chinese Political Dynamics in North Sumatera

101

through the election process. Of course, this is their

motivation for ethnic Chinese descent who are

included in the structure and intend to nominate

themselves as members of the local parliament in

North Sumatra, become members of the senate from

North Sumatra or nominate themselves as members

of the Indonesia parliament from the electoral

districts in North Sumatra.

For this reason, the political attitudes and behavior

of ethnic Chinese descendants in North Sumatra after

the Reformation are certainly determined by the

process of political socialization they experience.

Political socialization of ethnic Chinese descent is a

process in which individuals passively accept the

values, attitudes, and political roles that will be

implemented in their society, while actively

developing their pattern of independence through

public policies to place ethnic Chinese descent into a

role in Sumatran North society.

This of course does not stand alone, but there is

support from stakeholders including political parties

in North Sumatra in conducting cadre recruitment for

residents of ethnic Chinese descent. Through political

socialization, each party in North Sumatra actually

shows the process of forming political attitudes and

behavior patterns and is also a means for generations

to pass down the line of demarcation that political

beliefs must be carried out through virtue. Of course,

when more and more ethnic Chinese descendants in

North Sumatra are involved in politics, it will have an

impact on the next generation. That there is hope

through politics and public policy to erase and erode

the bad memories of the past that are obtained by

ethnic Chinese descendants in North Sumatra.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Ethnic descendants of Chinese descent have a long

history of social and political dynamics in North

Sumatra Province. Being an inseparable part in the

history of seizing independence and defending the

independence of the Republic of Indonesia, ethnic

Chinese descendants were discriminated against

during the New Order Regime. The policy of

President Abdulrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) which

issued Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 6 of 2000

which contained the repeal of Presidential Instruction

No. 14 of 1967 which contained a ban on Chinese

religious activities, beliefs, and customs in Indonesia.

into politics in North Sumatra.

Through electoral battles in the legislative and

regional head elections, politicians of Chinese ethnic

descent in North Sumatra have slowly received

attention and positive responses from the voting

community. Several Chinese figures were later

elected to become members of the local Parliament in

North Sumatra, became members of the Indonesia

parliament from electoral districts in North Sumatra

and some even became the Chair of the local

parliament in Medan City for the 2019-20224 period.

This is very important in removing Chinese

citizens from getting negative stereotypes. Through

the involvement of ethnic Chinese descent in politics,

a person's psychological bond with one particular

political party or organization is formed in the form

of sympathy for the organization or political party. So

that psychological bonds are formed as party

identification that does not discriminate against

ethnicity and ethnicity. Identification of ethnic

Chinese descendants in North Sumatra is equal to

other citizens so that negative perceptions are not

based on ethnicity or ethnicity in North Sumatra but

because of the behavior of politicians themselves.

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