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WHY LEARN MALAY, NOT INDONESIAN?

1. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE!
Indonesian is only a dialect derived from Malay.
Malay is the original language.

2. LOW-CLASS STIGMA
Indonesian is often perceived as a lower-class language, associated with migrant workers such as laborers and domestic helpers.

3. 90% FROM MALAY!
Indonesian heavily borrows from Malay, making it difficult to form sentences without using Malay vocabulary.

4. NOT ORIGINAL!
Difficult to understand classical Malay manuscripts using modern Indonesian.

5. Malay: A LINGUA FRANCA Since the Malacca Sultanate
Used widely in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and parts of the Philippines.

Credit: Bangsa Melayu Jawi

📜 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 🇮🇩 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

Many people today, especially younger generations don’t realize that for decades, 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬. This was not a rumor or voluntary assimilation—it was a state policy rooted in politics, fear, and racialized nationalism.

🔴 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝: 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-1965 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚

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.

📌 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬

Although there was no single law ordering name changes, several government directives made it effectively mandatory:

1️⃣ Presidential Instruction No. 14/1967

Restricted Chinese culture, language, names, and schools

Made Chinese identity “private only”

2️⃣ 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

➡️ Families had no real choice: change your name or face discrimination.

⚠️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

Chinese names caused:

Difficulty obtaining KTP
Barriers to school enrollment
Problems with banking & business permits
Common new names included:

Tan → Tanuwidjaja
Lim → Halim
Ong → Ongkoseno
Chen → Chandra

This was survival, not “voluntary assimilation.”

🧾 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭

Loss of ancestral identity
Disconnection from family history
Fear of speaking Chinese languages
Children growing up ashamed of their heritage

🔄 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐢 (𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-1998)

✅ Policies revoked under President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur)
✅ Chinese names, culture, religion, and festivals legalized
✅ Chinese New Year became a national holiday
✅ Citizens could reclaim their original names

Yet, many never did, leaving lasting effects on families and identity.

🧩 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

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.

Bangladesh 🇧🇩, Indonesia 🇮🇩, Pakistan 🇵🇰 & India 🇮🇳 representative in Miss Universe 2025 ❤️