Being Part of the Majority Group
Based on Statista data, 87% of Indonesian are a Muslim. As well as that, according to Indonesia’s BPS data almost 60% of its population live in the island of Java. Based on BPS data too, 15% of Indonesia are from Sunda — second biggest ethnic group. So if you are part of those group congratulation you are a privilege majority in Indonesia.
Those certain group hold bigger power and influence in societal structures. For example, a lot of norms that applied in Indonesia are based of the culture of Muslim, Java, and Sunda. We often have limited exposure to other group too, that make us feel threatened by a new social change. These things leads us to racism.
I have a little melancholy story to tell you
When I was still in school, I went to private national religion based school for 9 years and then I went to a national public school for 3 years. In those schools I was always be a part of Majority group. I’m Muslim, live in the island of Java, and I’m a Sundanesse. I’ve always been told that people outside of my group are racist, but as a matter of fact we are the one who are racist.
Older people from my group always tell me that Chinese-Indonesian (Chindo) people do not want to be associated with us. It goes the same with people from Sumatera — an island outside java — they told me Sumatran people hate Javanese people. They also told me that other group outside of Sunda always stereotyping us as lazy and selfish. It turns out the other way around.
Right now, I go to a Catholic based University in my city. I got exposed to many people outside of my ethnic group and also race (Chindo). What funny is I’m now a minority in my uni right now because majority of the student here are a Catholic or a Christian. Being a minority in my uni open my eyes on how us—majority group in Indonesia — are a racist son of a bitch.
I also accidentally in love with this Christian Chindo boy. I was always avoiding this inter-religion and inter-race relationship because of my Aunty. A little background story, she convert to be a Christian to marry the love of her life and her whole family — excluding mine — kind of hate her. Long story short, I know that this relationship would never work.
However, I’m still in love him, I really do love him. I was single for a really long time because I haven’t find a guy that I really want. He’s the guy that I’ve been manifesting in my journal, he’s everything that I want, but this will never work. He came from a very religious family, whereas I’m not. Even though I’m not religious, I think that it is not worth it to trade god for love.
From that I learn, us the majority group in Indonesia are the one who are racist. We should change this. We should be more tolerance of the differences between us
