Business community plans mass strike on Tuesday<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Members of the Indonesian business community
\nthreatened to stage a one-day strike on Tuesday if President B.J.
\nHabibie and Minister of Defense and Security\/Indonesian Military
\nCommander Gen. Wiranto continued their bids for the presidency
\nand vice presidency, respectively.<\/p>\n
National Mandate Party (PAN) member Bara Hasibuan said on
\nMonday intellectuals and professionals across the city were
\nexpected to join the strike.<\/p>\n
\"The one-day strike will not be limited to businesspeople at
\nthe Jakarta Stock Exchange. It's open to all professionals,\" Bara
\ntold reporters during a protest at the Jakarta Stock Exchange
\n(JSX) on Jl. Sudirman.<\/p>\n
\"We have spread news of the planned strike to professional
\ngroups in the capital via E-mail and word of mouth. We had hoped
\nto arrange a nationwide strike, but it's a bit late for that
\nnow.\"<\/p>\n
Groups expected to participate in the one-day strike include
\nthe Professional Society for Democracy, the Solidarity of
\nProfessionals for Reform and the Jakarta Graduates Movement.<\/p>\n
\"The location of the strike might be in front of the central
\nbank in Central Jakarta, but we're not sure as yet. Let's see how
\nthings go tomorrow (Tuesday),\" Bara said.<\/p>\n
The protesters on Monday, mostly employees from the JSX
\nbuilding, called on the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) not
\nto elect Habibie and Wiranto in the presidential and vice
\npresidential elections slated for Wednesday and Thursday,
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
Businesswoman Amalia Achmad of private television station
\nANteve said the strike would convey \"a very simple message from
\nthe Indonesian business community\".<\/p>\n
\"We just want the MPR to reject the candidacies of Habibie and
\nWiranto as president and vice president, respectively. We can't
\ntake them anymore.\"<\/p>\n
A National University student and member of the City Forum
\n(Forkot) student group said on Sunday night that should the MPR
\nelect Habibie and Wiranto, there would be \"war cries throughout
\nthe capital\".<\/p>\n
\"Forkot, Famred and other elements of the City Forum will
\nrevolt if the candidacies (of Wiranto and Habibie) are accepted,\"
\nthe student, who asked for anonymity, said. Famred is the Student
\nAction Front for Reform and Democracy.<\/p>\n
The white-collar protest on Monday was attended by several
\npolitical figures, including MPR deputy speakers Matori Abdul
\nDjalil and Kwik Kian Gie, PAN secretary-general Faisal Basri and
\ndeputy chairman Abdillah Toha, noted lawyers Todung Mulya Lubis
\nand Bambang Widjojanto, economists Rizal Ramli and Pande Radja
\nSilalahi, human rights campaigner Albert Hasibuan and artist
\nRatna Sarumpaet.<\/p>\n
Kwik Kian Gie said the election of Habibie and Wiranto would
\nbe \"the beginning of the end\" for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Those setan dan iblis (devils) should not be elected. If it
\nhappens, we are all doomed,\" Kwik told the protesters, who roared
\nwith approval.<\/p>\n
Matori said the appointment of Habibie and Wiranto would lead
\nto the country's disintegration.<\/p>\n
\"The question is, if those two are elected president and vice
\npresident, are we ready, as a nation, to lose Irian Jaya? Aceh?
\nAre we ready for them to tear us apart,\" Matori asked.<\/p>\n
The protesters renewed their threat to boycott the JSX if
\nHabibie was elected president.<\/p>\n
\"If Habibie is reelected, you should stop trading before the
\nindex goes down,\" Faisal Basri said.<\/p>\n
An unusual incident occurred during the demonstration, when
\nFaisal Basri, upon seeing Matori's arrival to join the
\nprotesters, said: \"Let (PAN legislator) A.M. Fatwa interrupt the
\nsession again so everybody can see his stupidity.\"<\/p>\n
Faisal was referring to an incident in the MPR on Friday, when
\nFatwa criticized Matori during the Assembly session for attending
\nan earlier protest at the JSX.<\/p>\n
The one-hour rally ended after Matori released balloons into
\nthe air and unveiled a banner which read: \"No to Habibie. The
\nReform faction says Habibie's speech used faulty data.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Monitoring Body for the Implementation of Total
\nReform (Bappertal) filed a complaint against Habibie at the
\nNational Police Headquarters on Monday for delivering a faulty
\naccountability speech to the nation.<\/p>\n
Bappertal spokesman Syafril Sofyan said most of the economic
\nfigures Habibie used in the speech were incorrect.<\/p>\n
\"We have the correct data with us and we are submitting it to
\nthe National Police,\" Syafril said after a meeting with National
\nPolice deputy chief of detectives Brig. Gen. Saluchu.<\/p>\n
During his speech to the Assembly, Habibie said inflation was
\ncompletely under control, the rupiah had strengthened and
\neconomic growth could reach 1 percent or remain flat for the
\ncurrent fiscal year, compared to a 13.2 percent contraction in
\n1998.<\/p>\n
\"All these indicators show that our economy has returned to
\nthe path of recovery,\" he told the Assembly last Thursday.
\n(04\/ylt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/business-community-plans-mass-strike-on-tuesday-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}