Jennie M. Xue

Pandora’s box: shariah law in Indonesia

by Jennie S. Bev

A declaration that existing local shariah laws can stay in place could generate more shariah laws.

In November 2007, Indonesia won the prestigious Democracy Award from the International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC) for its peaceful transition into democracy over the last nine years. It was the first time the award, whose previous recipients had been Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Ky, had ever been given to an entire nation.

The association’s award, however seems a bit hollow after Home Affairs Minister Mardiyanto declared recently that the government sees no need to nullify some 600 shariah-based and -inspired bylaws passed by individual regional governments across the thousands of islands that make up the archipelago.

The power and abuse of language in politics

by Jennie S. Bev

Language is a powerful tool in politics and politicians are its most superfluous users, both for good and bad purposes. As George Orwell once wrote in his short piece “Politics and the English Language,” within a masterpiece Why I Write, "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."

At the apex of such usage, the politics of amnesia, a term coined by Terry Eagleton, transpires. When it does occur, benevolent conscience is no longer apparent, nor mindful understanding of what truly has happened in front of our eyes. Because when such amnesia occurs, the language of politics has reached its most gruesome function: to kill and to win in totality without any recollection. The perfect crime.

The urgency of teaching political literacy

by Jennie S. Bev

Recently, we have been hearing about many things in Indonesian political arena. Most of them call themselves as participants in Indonesia’s reformation era. All consider themselves as noble participants. They want Indonesia to be a better place. A better place for those who believe in their causes.

Such occurrences are understandable, even when fundamentalism and radicalism movements find it an opportunity to use the momentum in making their marks. The fall of Suharto* in 1998, which was believed to be the best thing that ever happened to Indonesia at that time, has not been able to create a more trustworthy government today, despite the recent Democracy Award.

Today, it is very hard for citizens to trust their well-being in the hands of central and local government officials whose integrity is questionable. It is known that not all Indonesian officials are corrupt or untrustworthy, but a simple poll or survey could have been proven the assertion that many, if not most, of them are. It is an embarrassing fact that many officials, including those who are posted in foreign countries –thus are assumed to be of “international standard” in handling diplomatic issues with the host country and Indonesian community members residing there have yet to show their best qualities.

Lauding the late Tom Lantos

by Jennie S. Bev

On Monday, California’s 12th District congressman, Tom Lantos, died from esophageal cancer. He was 80. The San Mateo Democrat was diagnosed before the end of last year, but waited a month before revealing he was terminally ill. He was the only Holocaust survivor who served as a congressman.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the news about his death. Lantos was the first congressman who accepted my husband and me with open arms when we moved to the Bay Area. He was one of the strongest supporters of our human rights activism. This strong defender of human rights possessed the aura of a prophet who, until his last days, did not even blink to support whenever there were causes that he believed in.

Being Chinese is a personal decision and choice

by Jennie S. Bev

A recent statement by Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, a much respected, loved and admired leading ulema and a former president of Indonesia, who said he is a descendant of princess Champa, whose son Tan Eng Hwan was known by his given Indonesian aristocrat name Raden Fatah, is a breath of fresh air for all people of Chinese descent in Indonesia, and those who believe in a multicultural society.

For once, a strong and charismatic religious leader of the majority has unabashedly and courageously broken the silence by being openly pluralistic and multiculturalistic. Gus Dur has set an example that being ethnic Chinese is not something to be embarrassed about or to be feared; instead, it is to be acknowledged wholeheartedly.

The possibility of indicting Soeharto after his death

 by Jennie S. Bev

Soeharto has died after more than 20 days of being hospitalized. While his family members, close friends and cronies are expressing their grief, more than one million people who have lost loved ones are waiting anxiously for the news that he --even after his death-- will be held accountable for his alleged crimes against humanity: the genocide of at least 500,000 during the 1960s, 183,000 during the East Timor occupation, and 100,000 in West Papua.

This 86-year old former dictator of Indonesia, who had ruled for 32 years, was very impressive. Not one entity in the world has been successful in bringing him and his allies to justice for all the wrongdoings he allegedly committed against humanity. In Javanese tradition, a leader's charisma stays until, or even after, he has died. It is common knowledge that many Indonesian leaders, particularly politicians, who belong to this ethnicity practice kejawen, Javanese mysticism.

Mystical reasons aside, there were and are political and legal obstacles to bringing Soeharto to justice.

Raciality and being post-racial

by Jennie S. Bev

Recently, Detective Nate Cogburn of the Tracy Police Department arrested a 14-year-old boy who reportedly made a series of phone calls on a blocked number, claimed to be a Ku Klux Klan member, made death threats and said he would burn a cross. This happened to a black family in Tracy, our own backyard.

While it might sound like a teenage prank, the message is chilling and shows how fragile America is, including our small-town-with-a-big-heart Tracy, a California suburb.

Anything to do with race — and religion — is tricky and sensitive, including when it involves a kid. Sending a message of hatred is the ultimate no-no and will bear legal consequences to whomever shakes the interracial equilibrium.

Can we, as humans, be completely unbiased pertaining to race? Can we, America, as a society, be “post-racial”?

Raciality should be consciously distinguished from racism. The former refers to the distinctiveness of one’s race or ethnicity, while the latter is a belief that one’s characteristics and abilities are determined by race.