23/01/2026
๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐
๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ
Many people today, especially younger generations donโt realize that for decades, ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ. This was not a rumor or voluntary assimilationโit was a state policy rooted in politics, fear, and racialized nationalism.
๐ด ๐๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐: ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ-1965 ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ข๐
After the 1965 coup attempt (G30S), the New Order government under Suharto associated Chinese Indonesians with:
Communism
Disloyalty
Economic dominance stereotypes
This made Chinese identity itself a political threat.
๐ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐ฌ
Although there was no single law ordering name changes, several government directives made it effectively mandatory:
1๏ธโฃ Presidential Instruction No. 14/1967
Restricted Chinese culture, language, names, and schools
Made Chinese identity โprivate onlyโ
2๏ธโฃ Cabinet Presidium Circular SE-06/Pres.Kab/6/1967
Encouraged Chinese Indonesians to adopt Indonesian-sounding names
Required for:
Citizenship documents
Education
Business licenses
Access to government services
โก๏ธ Families had no real choice: change your name or face discrimination.
โ ๏ธ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ
Chinese names caused:
Difficulty obtaining KTP
Barriers to school enrollment
Problems with banking & business permits
Common new names included:
Tan โ Tanuwidjaja
Lim โ Halim
Ong โ Ongkoseno
Chen โ Chandra
This was survival, not โvoluntary assimilation.โ
๐งพ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ
Loss of ancestral identity
Disconnection from family history
Fear of speaking Chinese languages
Children growing up ashamed of their heritage
๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ข (๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ-1998)
โ
Policies revoked under President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur)
โ
Chinese names, culture, religion, and festivals legalized
โ
Chinese New Year became a national holiday
โ
Citizens could reclaim their original names
Yet, many never did, leaving lasting effects on families and identity.
๐งฉ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง
Indonesian Chinese were effectively forced to change their names.
Not by one blunt law, but by a system of state discrimination that made life impossible otherwise.
Understanding this history is crucial for:
Equal citizenship
Honest national memory
Preventing future race-based discrimination
History should be faced, not denied.
