ANGIN SEGAR RFORMASI SUBURKAN FALSAFAH “BHINNEKA TUNGGAL IKKA”

Kolom IBRAHIM ISA

Sabtu, 01 Febuari 2014
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ANGIN SEGAR RFORMASI SUBURKAN FALSAFAH “BHINNEKA TUNGGAL IKKA”

Menyambut HARI RAYA IMLEK 2013, dilakukan berbagai orang dan kalangan dengan cara yang berbeda pula.

Kiranya cara yang sesuai situasi dan kondisi kehidupan berbangsa kita, adalah MENYAMBUTNYA DAN MERAYAKANNYA SEBAGAI HARI RAYA NASIONAL INDONESIA, Kebijakan tsb adalah politik nasional Pemerintah Republik Indonesia. Politik yang bijaksana ini, sesuai dengan falsafah negara Pancasila dan Prinsip Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. Politik ini juga tercatat dalam sejarah kita mengalami perubahan drastis ketika Indonesia merana dan menderita di bawah rezim Orde Baru Presiden Suharto.

Kenyataannya juga memang demikian. Rakyat kita merayakannya sebagai suatu hari peringatan dan perayaan nasional bersama. Media Indonesia di internet Liputan.com, seperti yang dikutip oleh sahabatku Nova Bambang di “FB”, memberitakan a.l sbb:

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“Barongsai dan Liong Meriahkan Perayaan Imlek di Taman Safari
“Rayakan Imlek, 1.000 Siswa Dapat Kue Keranjang Gratis

“ Era reformasi membawa angin segar untuk warga Tionghoa di Indonesia. Sebab, setelah runtuhnya Orde Baru, masyarakat Tionghoa bisa menggelar tradisi mereka di depan umum, termasuk merayakan Imlek atau tahun baru China yang jatuh pada Jumat (31/1/2014) ini.”:

Entah mengapa Liputan.Com amenggunakan istilah “China”, bukan “Cina”, atau “Tionghoa/Tiongkok”. Mungkin istilah “China” dianggap “netral”. Tidak “kekiri” atau “kekanan”. Istilah “Tiongkok atau Tionghoa” dianggap “Kiri”. Sedangkan istilah “Cina”, dianggap Kanan. Karena ia produk politik rasialis dan diskrimnatif rezim Orde Baru.

Di bawah judul “Sukarno, Gus Dur dan Imlek”. Nova Bambang menjelaskan a.l,
“Kebudayaan Tionghoa sempat dilarang pada masa orba melalui inpres namun inpres itu dicabut oleh Gus Dur”.

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Liputan.com menjelaskan selanjutnya:

“Pada tahun 1946, Presiden Soekarno mengeluarkan Penetapan Pemerintah tentang hari-hari raya umat beragama Nomor 2/OEM-1946. Pada Pasal 4 peraturan itu menyebut tahun baru Imlek, hari wafatnya Khonghucu (tanggal 18 bulan 2 Imlek), Ceng Beng (membersihkan makam leluhur), dan hari lahirnya Khonghucu (tanggal 27 bulan 2 Imlek), sebagai hari libur.

“Namun, kondisi berbalik setelah Orde Baru. Warga Tionghoa tak bisa mementaskan seluruh kebudayaannya di muka umum. Larangan ini tak lepas dari sengkarut politik di Tanah Air, setelah peristiwa G30S. Orde Baru khawatir keturunan Tionghoa akan menyebarkan paham komunis di Indonesia. Memang, pada masa Sukarno, Indonesia berkawan karib dengan China, sementara pada masa Orde Baru hubungan itu diputus.

“Pada tahun 1966, Ketua Badan Komunikasi Penghayatan Kesatuan Bangsa Kristoforus Sindhunata alias Ong Tjong Hay memilih istilah China daripada Tionghoa. Sindhunata juga mengusulkan pelarangan total terhadap perayaan kebudayaan Tionghoa.

“Hampir 33 tahun warga Tionghoa tak bisa merayakan kebudayaannya di depan umum. Angin segar kemudian datang setelah reformasi. Presiden Abdurrahman Wahid alias Gus Dur mencabut Inpres Nomor 14 Tahun 1967 yang melarang pementasan kebudayaan Tionghoa. Dengan Keputusan Presiden Republik Indonesia Nomor 6 Tahun 2000, Gus Dur mencabut Inpres Nomor 14 Tahun 1967 tentang Agama, Kepercayaan, dan Adat Istiadat China.

“Sejak itulah kebudayaan Tionghoa kembali menggeliat. Pada 19 Januari 2001, Menteri Agama mengeluarkan Keputusan Nomor 13 Tahun 2001 tentang Penetapan Hari Raya Imlek sebagai Hari Libur Nasional Fakultatif. Pada Februari 2002, Presiden Megawati Soekarnoputri mengumumkan mulai 2003, Imlek menjadi Hari Libur Nasional.

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Uraian Liputan.Com mengenai Hari Raya Imlek dan latar belakang sejarahnya, memberikan pencerahan, mencerminkan suasana bebas menyatakan pendapat yang sedang berkembang di masyarakat kita dewasa ini. Yang diuraikan diatas oleh artikel Liputan.com, adalah catatan sejarah yang bisa dicek otentisitas dan kebenarannya dalam dokumen-dokumen yang tersimpan di Arsip Nasional. Bahwa adalah rezim Orde Baru Presiden Suharto yang berprakarsa menjalankan politik anti-Tionghoa, yang diskriminatif dan rasialis.

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Seorang dosen pada UI , s.k, berbahasa Inggris The Jakart Post, Aimee Dawis. dalam rangka HARI IMLEK menulis dengan judul

Insight: Chinese New Year: From exclusion to celebration of diversity . Indonesianya, kira-kira – “Tahun Baru Tiongkok, Dari Penyisihan Ke Kebhinekaan”.

Mengenai politik rezim Orde Baru terhadap etnis Tionghoa di Indonesia, A.Dawis a.l menulis

“The Chinese were placed under an “assimilation” policy throughout the 33 years of the New Order era from 1966 to 1998. This policy banned the expression of Chinese language and culture in the public sphere. Chinese New Year was only allowed to be celebrated in the private domain and all Chinese-medium schools were closed.

Dalam bahasa Indoneisa, kira-kira:

“Orang-orang Tionghoa dikungkung di bawah politik “asimilasi”, di sepanjang 33 tahun era Orde Baru dari 1966 sampai 1998. Politik ini melarang digunakannya bahasa dan budaya Tionghoa dalam kehidupan bermasyarakat. Tahun BaruTionghoa hanya boleh dirayakan di kalangan tertutup pribadi dan semua sekolah Tionghoa ditutup.

Dalam situasi pelaksanaan politik Orba Suharto inilah dilaksanakan penggantian secara resmi istilah TIONGKOK dan TIONGHOA menjadi CINA. Jelaslah bahwa istilah “|Cina”: yang dipaksakan oleh Orba adalah dalam rangka pelaksnaan politik diskriminasi dan rasialis Anti-Tiongkok dan

A|nti-Tionghoa.

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Di bawah ini dikutip selengkapnya artikel Aimee Dawis, sbb:

Insight: Chinese New Year: From exclusion to celebration of diversity

Last week in Jakarta, on the evening of Jan. 20, the Paguyuban Sosial Marga Tionghoa, or Indonesian-Chinese Social Association (PSMTI), inducted its new president, directors and leaders for 2013-2017. Dignitaries at the event at the Sun City ballroom included H. Sidarto Danusubroto, People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker; Budi Susilo Soepandji, National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) governor; Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja “Ahok” Purnama.

Held 11 days before Chinese New Year, the mood was festive and many women wore qipao (traditional Chinese dresses), whereas the men were dressed either in suits or batik. Aside from the upcoming Chinese New Year, the organization has much to celebrate. It is now a widely respected mass organization with membership numbering in the tens of thousands, spread over 280 branches across the country’s 30 provinces. The organization has also come a long way since its inception during the aftermath of the May 1998 tragedy in Jakarta, when many Chinese-Indonesians experienced various miseries as they became the targets of angry masses.

 The Chinese were placed under an “assimilation” policy throughout the 33 years of the New Order era from 1966 to 1998. This policy banned the expression of Chinese language and culture in the public sphere. Chinese New Year was only allowed to be celebrated in the private domain and all Chinese-medium schools were closed.

While the restrictions may have been seen as a way to deflect unwanted attention from members of the Chinese community, many of those who became the victims of violence during the 1965 coup attempt blamed the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), so the policy also reflected widespread government suspicion regarding the Chinese community’s role in the uprising.

The Chinese dutifully closed their schools and organizations, except for funeral homes and religious associations. Most chose to stay out of the political spotlight and concentrated on the one area in which they were allowed to be involved — the economy.

Therefore, despite the restrictions, which caused a whole generation of Chinese-Indonesians to experience a loss of Chinese language and culture, many of them flourished in the economic realm. Nonetheless, they again became scapegoats during the Asian monetary crisis of 1997 and the downfall of the Soeharto regime in May 1998.

Noted sociologist Mely G. Tan observed that the 1998 riots jolted the Chinese out of their compliance and precipitated the founding of mass organizations such as PSMTI and the Indonesian Chinese Association (INTI), which aimed to combat all sorts of discrimination. When the discriminatory policies against Chinese language and culture were lifted, these organizations shifted their focus to help fellow Indonesians in times of need — especially those affected by natural disasters.

Other organizations based on common dialect groups, such as the Fu Qing and Hakka associations, have also contributed huge amounts of funding to the building of schools for non-Chinese children. The PSMTI and INTI, for example, have pooled resources to provide disaster aid to victims of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the recent flooding.

Contrary to the prevailing belief that Chinese-Indonesian organizations only attract the older generations, the youth wings of these organizations often initiate the efforts to distribute help and basic necessities to the needy. At the time of writing, PSMTI volunteers were channeling resources to help flood victims all over Indonesia, especially in locations with large numbers of disadvantaged people such as Tangerang, Banten.

These examples are necessary to debunk the stereotype that the Chinese are exclusive. At the installation of the new PSMTI leaders, Ahok reminded members to continue contributing to their country. Known as a straight-shooter who does not mince words, Ahok also stated that Chinese-Indonesians who hope to win a place as legislators in the upcoming elections must not count on winning based on the support of their ethnic community, nor on policies that benefit the Chinese.

They should, instead, focus on putting together a political agenda that will benefit all Indonesians. Coming from the first ethnic Chinese person to become a deputy governor of Jakarta, this is a wise piece of advice.

As the nation celebrates Chinese New Year on Jan. 31, we must be mindful of our country’s multicultural, multifaceted sociological make-up, framed by our understanding and appreciation of our historical past, as well as what our founding fathers have long recognized as Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

<The writer lectures on Cultural Studies and Communications at the University of Indonesia. She also writes on and researches various facets of the ethnic Chinese population in Indonesia. Her current research topic focuses on Chinese-Indonesians’ political activism.>

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