Pribumi
Pribumi (literally "offspring of the soil") is an Indonesian term referring to people considered as natives of the country, belonging to various ethnic groups in the archipelago. As a sociodemographic category, it refers to the Dutch colonial policy of differentiating three classes of people—Europeans, Asian migrants (primarily ethnic Chinese), and pribumi (inlander in Dutch).
Pribumi and the Malaysian term bumiputra have equivalent meaning. However, in Malaysia, the bumiputra make up only just over half of the country's population, whereas the pribumi are around 95 percent of Indonesia's 220 million inhabitants; only about 5 percent of the population are considered as non-pribumi, mainly people of Chinese descent.
Also unlike Malaysia, where the bumiputra are largely Malay Muslims (as well as several ethnic minorities indigenous to the states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo island, many of whom are non-Muslims), in Indonesia the pribumi are not associated with any specific ethnic group or religion. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, and close to 90 percent of its population profess Islam as their religion. Yet there are regions and ethnic groups, mostly in the eastern part of the archipelago, in which people of other faiths are in the majority. For instance, the areas of southern Maluku and Irian Jaya (the western half of New Guinea island) are predominantly Protestant; the province of East Nusa Tenggara is predominantly Catholic; and Bali is home to Indonesian Hindus. Despite the differences in religious beliefs compared with the Muslim majority, they are also considered pribumi.
Similar to the bumiputra in Malaysia, the pribumi are mainly a socioeconomic category, especially in terms of true economic disparity. Although only a small percentage of the total population of Indonesia, the non-pribumi, especially the ethnic Chinese, control much of the country's economic activities, primarily in the manufacturing, financial, and trading sectors. As a result, the non-pribumi are perceived as an affluent class, while the pribumi are economically disadvantaged.
On the other hand, the Indonesian state has an unofficial discriminatory policy toward non-pribumi. Hurdles discourage them from entering public civil or military services and state universities. In the past, many of them were even persuaded to change their names from mainly Chinese to pribumi ones, so that they might be more readily assimilated with the pribumi.
There have been efforts to ameliorate the tense pribumi–non-pribumi relationship in Indonesia. On the economic front, to bridge the gap between the poorer pribumi and the more affluent non-pribumi, some have suggested the idea of developing a people's economy, more or less inspired by the perceived success of Malaysia's New Economic Policy. This economy would direct state resources toward helping small and medium enterprises as well as cooperatives owned overwhelmingly by pribumi entrepreneurs.
On the social side, people have suggested allowing the non-pribumi access to public services, including political posts. This proposed policy would aim at offsetting the non-pribumi preoccupation with economicrelated activities while fostering greater social integration.
Further Reading
Center for Information and Development Studies. (1998) Pribumi dan Non-Pribumi dalam Perspektif Pemerataan Ekonomi dan Integrasi Sosial (Pribumi and Non-Pribumi in the Perspective of Economic Redistribution and Social Integration). Jakarta, Indonesia: Center for Information and Development Studies
Suryadinata, Leo. (1992) Pribumi Indonesians, the Chinese Minority, and China. Singapore: Heinemann Asia.
Wahono, Riyanto D., et al., eds. (1997) 70 Tahun Junus Jahja: Pribumi Kuat Kunci Pembauran (70 Years Junus Jahja: Strong Pribumi Key to Assimilation). Jakarta, Indonesia: Bina Rena Pariwara.
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