Public Response Towards an Ethnic Chinese Indonesian Legislator: A Case Study of William Adi Sarana

ABSTRACT This study explores the public responses towards Chinese legislators and the challenges of political representation for the Chinese community in Indonesia, particularly through the representation of William Adi Sarana (WAS), a young legislator from the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI). Although the 1998 Reform provided wider opportunities for ethnic Chinese to increase their political representation, the post‐reform era has still been unable to fully erase the negative stereotypes and stigma towards ethnic Chinese in society that ultimately affect the political representation of ethnic Chinese politicians. Using sentiment analysis of YouTube comments on Sarana's political activities, this paper reveals that public sentiment towards WAS and his party, PSI, is predominantly negative (80%). Approximately 6% of all negative sentiments directed towards WAS are linked to his Chinese identity. These negative sentiments stem from historical negative stereotypes and discrimination against the Chinese community, which affect public sentiment and voter preferences. Although the number is small, these political experiences actually give rise to a minority complex and influence the representation of Chinese politicians. This study found that negative perceptions stemming from stigma and historical biases that persist, despite improvements in political participation since the 1998 reforms, affect the ability of Chinese politicians to achieve meaningful political representation. Therefore, descriptive and substantive representation for ethnic Chinese politicians in Indonesia remains challenging.