From 'Ali Baba' to 'kawin kontrak'<\/p>\n
Gin Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jepara<\/p>\n
The economic boom is over. Local furnituremakers, known
\nworldwide for first-class craftsmanship and superb teakwood, are
\nnow facing their painful days in agony. Anxiety over the future
\nshadows every day of their lives.<\/p>\n
In the golden days, Jepara -- a coastal town in Central Java
\n-- witnessed numerous success stories of the local furniture
\nmanufacturers, who grew from very small-scale home industries to
\nexport-oriented companies. While other businesses were dying
\nduring the 1997-1999 crisis, many furnituremakers here enjoyed
\nthe rupiah's depreciation.<\/p>\n
But that was two years ago. The end looms near for many
\nJeparan entrepreneurs running a business. Overseas orders have
\nbeen drastically reduced from an average of 1,000 and 1,200
\ncontainers per month to between 300 and 400 containers. Last
\nyear, the figure was between 600 and 800 containers.<\/p>\n
With an assumption that each container holds US$20,000 worth
\nof goods, the export value of Jeparan furniture per month totaled
\nabout $20 million at that time. That figure has now plunged to
\nsome $600,000!<\/p>\n
Take a walk around town and one can easily see the closure of
\na number of furniture showrooms and workshops.<\/p>\n
To publicly express their misery and fear, some businessmen
\nhave placed banners in front of their establishments, which have
\ntemporarily closed.<\/p>\n
\"Iki Kepiye? Kok sepi order. Ayo dipikir bareng-bareng\"
\n(What's up? Ordering has been quiet. Let's think about it) reads
\na banner at the gate of the PT Kalingga showroom on Jl. Tahunan.<\/p>\n
Another sign reads: \"If riots happened all the time, the
\nfurniture business would collapse.\"<\/p>\n
Some businessmen have said that their savings had seriously
\nshrunk. The Jeparan furniture industry, once a major contributor
\nto both the local and state budget, is on the brink of collapse.<\/p>\n
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the icons of America, a
\ncountry that was a major exporter of Jeparan products, will
\nfurther worsen the overall situation.<\/p>\n
So far, entrepreneurs have no clear idea about what the real
\nproblems were that led to the drastic reduction in foreign
\nshipments. They said they could only guess.<\/p>\n
Some pointed a finger to the strict eco-labeling requirements
\nfor their products shipped to the States and European countries.
\nOthers simply blame it on the global recession.<\/p>\n
Arifin Mubarok, the chairman of the Jepara Furnituremakers
\nAssociation, said some 200 containers of Jeparan furniture
\ninitially shipped to Germany were sent back as exporters failed
\nto show the required eco-labeling certificate for their products.<\/p>\n
Arifin said that the treatment was unfair to producers.<\/p>\n
\"It should have been Perhutani (the state-owned timber
\ncompany) that showed the certificate, not us who purchased the
\nmaterial from Perhutani,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Perhutani, the main supplier for local manufacturers, has been
\ncertified by the eco-labeling system, Arifin explained.<\/p>\n
Besides the eco-labeling issue, Jeparans also see the
\n\"invasion\" of foreign parties as the perpetrators who sparked the
\ncurrent slowdown.<\/p>\n
Jeparans have said the foreigners -- including Americans and
\nEuropeans -- not only visited Jepara to make orders based on
\ntheir designs, but also purchased several local manufacturing
\ncompanies by hiring local men as their \"executives\", who locals
\ncall \"Ali Babas\".<\/p>\n
By hiring the Ali Babas, who are well-dressed in a suit and
\ntie but have no right to make any decisions, the foreigners could
\nescape from, among other things, taxes and other business and
\nimmigration red tape, said some manufacturers.<\/p>\n
\"Foreigners have commandeered a 75 percent share of the
\nindustry here, while the remaining 25 percent is dominated by
\nlocals,\" said Arifin, the director of a leading export-oriented
\nfurniture firm.<\/p>\n
He and his colleagues in the business said they were not
\nconcerned about the presence of foreign players ahead of the
\nimplementation of a free-trade area in Asia soon. But they
\ndisrespected the business ethics used to avoid being present
\nprobably due to the reasons given above, he said.<\/p>\n
Akhmad Fauzi, the chairman of Jepara's Forum for Economic
\nDevelopment, Employment and Promotion (FEDEP), said some 200
\nfurniture manufacturing firms were believed to be owned by
\nforeigners.<\/p>\n
\"They are invisible. In reality they own the companies, but
\nadministratively their names are not on the company ownership
\npapers,\" Akhmad said.<\/p>\n
\"The foreigners,\" he explained, \"have advanced technology,
\nmanagement and marketing skills which make it easy for them to
\nimmediately occupy 75 percent of the industry.\"<\/p>\n
That is why, like the Ali Babas, many local craftsmen now work
\nfor foreigners, Akhmad said.<\/p>\n
About 60,000 Jeparans depend on this line of business for
\ntheir livelihood. The latest data reveals that the town has some
\n2,300 furniture firms, but most of them have gone bankrupt or are
\ndying.<\/p>\n
Another ploy used by foreign businessmen to smoothly run their
\nfurniture business in Jepara is to marry local women.<\/p>\n
Unlike official wedlock, this type of marriage -- known
\nlocally as kawin kontrak (wedding contract) -- needs no legal
\ncertificate and the union can be ended at any time, based on the
\ncontract between the couple. Under the kawin kontrak scheme, the
\nforeigner puts the name of his wife as the owner of the company
\nwith him still in full command.<\/p>\n
The trend has initiated some Jeparans to offer services to
\nforeigners looking for wives.<\/p>\n
A restaurant at Kartini beach, famous among foreigners, has
\nbeen a popular hangout for some Jeparan women, who are ready to
\nbe engaged in kawin kontrak.<\/p>\n
\"That's why many people here dubbed our restaurant as the mak
\ncomblang (middleman) restaurant,\" said Rio, a senior staff member
\nat the restaurant.<\/p>\n
Following growing anti-U.S. rallies over the past few days,
\nmany foreigners here have left Jepara for other safe towns
\nnearby, such as Solo, Semarang and Klaten.<\/p>\n
\"I'm pretty sure that they will be back soon after the
\nsituation returns to normal,\" said Santi, who married an Italian
\nand is the director of C.V. Arti Santi, a furniture firm.<\/p>\n
Jeparans strongly hope the current grim episode will end soon.
\nOtherwise, the Jeparan furniture business will become history.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/from-ali-baba-to-kawin-kontrak-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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