Mr. ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' (American English) or ''Mr'' (British English), is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. ...

Tjung Tin Jan (9 February 1919 – February 1994) or Jani Arsadjaja was an Indonesian politician and lawyer of

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians (), or simply ''Orang Tionghoa'' or ''Tionghoa'', are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese Indonesians are the fourth largest community of Overseas Chinese in th ...

origin.

Early life and education

Tjung was born in Sungai Selan, part of what is today Central Bangka Regency of

Bangka Island Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is administered under the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of Belitung across the Gaspar Strait. The 9th largest island in ...

, then part of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

, on 9 February 1919. He studied at a ''Recht Hogeschool'' in Batavia, before heading to the Netherlands to study law at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

, and he received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree.

Career

After Tjung returned to the Indies, he had worked at a telephone company and became a lawyer before being appointed as a deputy prosecutor in

Pangkal Pinang Pangkalpinang, colloquially written as Pangkal Pinang, also known as Pin-kong in Hakka, is the capital and largest city of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province in Indonesia. It is located on Bangka Island's east coast, the city is divided into ...

's court. He also founded, and later led, the Bangka branch of the Chinese Association. Additionally, he acted as a legal adviser to a Chinese school in Pangkal Pinang. In 1950, he was appointed as a Senator for the newly formed Senate of the United States of Indonesia, representing Bangka. In 1950, following the Senate's dissolution and the defederation of the

United States of Indonesia The United States of Indonesia (, ; abbreviated as RIS or RUSI, also known as Federal Republic of Indonesia) was a short-lived federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies (except Netherlands N ...

, Tjung was appointed to the

Provisional People's Representative Council The Provisional House of Representatives (, DPRS) was the first Indonesian legislature under the Provisional Constitution of 1950. It was formed after the transition of Indonesia to a unitary state on 17 August 1950. The DPRS initially consisted ...

as a "minority representative", alongside several other Chinese Indonesian politicians. He joined the Catholic Party in 1953, and he served in the

People's Representative Council The House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (, DPR-RI or simply DPR) is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the national legislature of Indonesia. It is considered the lower house, while th ...

as a member of that party until 1960. Within that party, he was a member of its central board between 1953 and 1959, and its deputy general chairman between 1956 and 1958. During and after his time in the council, Tjung served as a director of several mining companies, including at

Aneka Tambang PT Aneka Tambang Tbk, colloquially known as Antam, is an Indonesian mining company. The company primarily produces gold and nickel, and is the largest producer of nickel in Indonesia. Until 2017, Antam was a directly state-owned company, before ...

where he was its financial director between 1968 and 1974. He died in February 1994.

Views

Tjung was a proponent of the assimilation of Chinese Indonesians, and was critical of

Yap Thiam Hien John Yap Thiam Hien (25May 191325April 1989) was an Indonesian human rights lawyer. Life Born in Kutaraja, Aceh, Dutch East Indies, his father was Yap Sin Eng and his mother was Hwan Tjing Nio. Yap's family, living in genteel but reduced circ ...

's writings on discrimination of the group within Indonesia. One example of such a critique was titled ''Indonesia Bukan Amerika'' (Indonesia is not the United States), published in 1960, in response to one of Hien's essays earlier that year. In the same year he was also a signatory to the manifesto "Towards voluntary assimilation" () published in ''

Star Weekly The ''Star Weekly'' magazine was a Canadian periodical published from 1910 until 1973. The publication was read widely in rural Canada where delivery of daily newspapers was infrequent. History Formation The newspaper was founded as the ''Toront ...

''. This manifesto, which may have been spearheaded by

Ong Hok Ham Ong Hok Ham (1 May 1933 – 30 August 2007) was an eminent Chinese Indonesian historian considered one of the leading experts on Indonesian history during the 19th century Dutch colonial rule. His particular area of knowledge centered on events ...

, opposed the politics of integration advanced by

Siauw Giok Tjhan Siauw Giok Tjhan (; 23 March 1914 – 20 November 1981) was a Chinese Indonesian activist and politician. Born in Kapasan, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, he was an independent member of the Provisional House of Representatives in the early 1950 ...

and

BAPERKI The Consultative Council for Indonesian Citizenship (), often known by its Indonesian abbreviation Baperki, was an organization founded in Indonesia in 1954 by Indonesians of Chinese descent. It stood in the 1955 Indonesian legislative election, w ...

, which advocated for a distinct Chinese identity within a multiethnic Indonesia, and instead called for gradual and consensual assimilation into Indonesian society as a solution to ethnic conflict.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tjung, Tin Jan 1919 births 1994 deaths Indonesian politicians of Chinese descent People from the Bangka Belitung Islands 21st-century Indonesian politicians Leiden University alumni Indonesian Roman Catholics Members of the House of Representatives (Indonesia), 1950 Members of the House of Representatives (Indonesia), 1955 Members of Senate of the United States of Indonesia