Sunday, January 25, 2009

Difficult to find a Chinese Merchant is Panyabungan. Why?

Difficult to find a Chinese Merchant is Panyabungan. Why?
As my experience when I always went to many cities or towns around Indonesia. I always found many Chinese merchants in every town. They are always be a big merchant. It is difference with a genguine civilitation who always loss to compete in business with them. For a long time, I never know why was very difficult to find a Chinese merchant in Panyabungan. I never knew the answer of this question. But Many people tell me that long time ago there were many Chinese merchants in Panyabungan. There are many proofs about it. We can find many cemitaries of Chinese in this town. It is very easy to know which one is the civil bury, and which one is the Chinese bury. Chinese bury always be built very large and always built with permanent cement in my town. But the bury of genguine people always be built as a small bury, and usually find not permanent style.
As I know there are two places of Chinese cemitary in Panyabungan. Its are in Pagaran Sigatal, near Kota Siantar, and behind the exbuilding of Tapanuli Cinema, around Pasar Lama, Panyabungan, Mandailing Natal. It is the proof that many Chinese lived in this town long time ago.I write this story because many people don't know about it. When I write something like this, I can feel that I have shared my knowledge about Chinese case in this town. When I was talking about this story with my uncle Mr. Kamarudin, the pensiun of SDN 9 Panyabungan Jae. He told me about why does very difficult to find Chinese etnis in Panyabungan. He said the everything began in 1966. When President Soekarno announced the Perpu number 10. It is forbidden for Chinese to write the mark of his business place in Kanji or Chinese Capital, and forbidden for them to life in Kecamatan (district). In 1966, the area of Panyabungan was a district, not a Kabupaten or regent. So as the Perpu number 10 had made Chinese people was forbode to live in Panyabungan. Not only in Panyabungan, but in every district in Indonesia. But in the else town, no people felt object with apparance of Chinese in their town. When people felt okay in a district area with this situation,, many Chinese would live in that peacefully. When people felt object, the government would push them to leave the town. So in Panyabungan, many people didn't agree with appearance of Chinese merchant in this town. Many people felt object, that's why Chinese had to leave Panyabungan. Until now, it is very difficult to find Chinese here. I found two man, but they have Indonesian guingine wife. A man has Mandailing as his wife, and the other man has Batak from Porsea as his wife. That's why they still live in Panyabungan. That's why they still live in Panyabungan until now, because their wife are a genguine people or Pribumi people.
Mr. Kamarudin told me that there were many Chinese merchants in Panyabungan long time ago. Almost the shop around main street in Panyabungan, always belong to Chinese people. They had become a winner in every kind of business. Including garment, sugar, rubber, and many source from forest. Really it was very difficult for a Pribumi to compete with a Chinese merchant. Soekarno knew about it. President Sukarno it knew very much, that's why he made Perpu number 10, in 1966. When people agree with this Perpu and push the Government to make reality this term, Chinese had to leave the town. But many districts were not like in Panyabungan. But now, Panyabungan is not a district anymore, it has been a regent now. The Perpu has been not for Panyabungan anymore. But maybe because a Chinese is not usually live in Panyabungan, that's why nobody want to try to live and to begin here.

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