Stephanie’s OUT FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF EPISODES, finishing up her projects for her master’s program — SO FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, WE’LL HAVE SOME SPECIAL GUESTS ON THE SHOW TO TALK ABOUT FEMINISM, POLITICS, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN!
In this episode, Swedian talks with Stanley Widianto, a young Chinese-Indonesian freelance journalist who has written for publications such as The Guardian, South China Morning Post, Tirto, Tempo, among other publications. We chat about Stanley’s journey into becoming a journalist and the careful & reflective perspectives he has cultivated in his writing.
We discuss two of Stanley’s pieces in depth: the first is a Tirto piece called “Seorang Non-Pribumi Menulis Kolom Ini,” or “A Non-Indigenous Indonesian Wrote This Column,” which Stanley wrote in response to current governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan’s speech using the word ‘pribumi’ (which means indigenous Indonesian) that created a huge backlash especially within the Chinese Indonesian community who has historically been discriminated on the basis of being non-indigenous Indonesian; the second is a South China Morning Post piece called “The day my Chinese dad was declared a ‘bona fide’ Indonesian and given a new name,” which is about Stanley’s dad’s experience during the New Order regime, when he had to change his Chinese birth name to an Indonesian name. Listeners, we encourage to read these two pieces before listening to this episode, so that you have a sense of what Stanley’s talking about and wrote about.
Finally, we wrap up with Stanley’s carefully, skeptically optimistic thoughts about Chinese-Indonesians in this current political climate and how to reconcile & recognize the legacy of the past in contending the future.
Thanks for listening!
For those interested in learning more about the topic, we’ve provided links to resources as well as other recommended readings.
Seorang Non-Pribumi Menulis Kolom Ini — A Non-Indigenous Indonesian Wrote This Column; courtesy of Tirto
The day my Chinese dad was declared a ‘bona fide’ Indonesian and given a new name — courtesy of South China Morning Post
Pramoedya Ananta Toer: Why you should know him — profile of one of Indonesia’s greatest writers
Houakiau di Indonesia — Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s non-fiction book about the Chinese in Indonesia
Keluarga Gerilya — Guerilla Family; Stanley mentioned reading this fiction book by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, which is set during the Indonesian independence movement
Suharto Cronies Face Hard Future As They Try to Rebuild Businesses — looking into Suharto’s duplicitious relationship with the Chinese-Indonesians
Legislation on Chinese Indonesians — including Cabinet Presidium Decision 127 of 1966, the law that made Stanley’s dad change his name
Why Chinese-Indonesians Don’t Have to Hide Anymore — 2016 South China Morning Post article praising the embrace of Chinese Indonesians
The Plight of Chinese Indonesians: Distrusted in Jakarta, Forgotten in China — 2017 South China Morning Post article raising the spectre of Chinese Indonesian discrimination again
MUSIC CREDITS:
SOUL HIGH by RYAN LITTLE
MONTMARTRE by JAHZAAR
NIGHT OWL and THE GREAT by BROKE FOR FREE