Government, NU: Boycotting U.S. products self-defeating<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
\nheavily criticized calls to boycott U.S. products, arguing that
\nsuch a move would only hurt the nation.<\/p>\n
Sultonul Huda, chairperson of the Research and Development
\nInstitute of NU's Human Resources, said on Saturday that
\nboycotting U.S. products may lead to the revocation of business
\nlicenses and thus closure of Indonesian firms holding franchising
\nrights in those products.<\/p>\n
\"We slam calls to boycott U.S. products, as it will spell more
\ntrouble than benefits,\" he told The Jakarta Post. NU has around
\n40 million members across the country.<\/p>\n
Calls for boycotting U.S. products have mounted across the
\ncountry after the world's only superpower led coalition forces
\nagainst Iraq in an effort to topple president Saddam Hussein from
\npower for refusing to destroy the weapons of mass destruction he
\nhas allegedly amassed and hidden in the country.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, Surakarta in East Java, Semarang in Central Java,
\nand in Lampung and Yogyakarta, people have recently picketed
\nAmerican fast food franchises like McDonald's, Kentucky Fried
\nChicken, and Dunkin' Donuts to protest the invasion, which has
\nalso drawn strong condemnation from world leaders.<\/p>\n
The U.S.'s close allies, Britain and Australia, are also
\nparticipating in the campaign dubbed \"Operation Iraq Freedom\".<\/p>\n
According to Sultonul, boycotting U.S. products would deal a
\ndeadly blow to the country's unemployment rate, as it could
\ntrigger massive lay-offs if Indonesian firms holding the
\nfranchising licenses for U.S. products had to close down.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's unemployment rate has been relatively high since
\nthe country plunged into deep economic crisis in 1997. According
\nto estimates by labor experts, some 40 million people are
\ncurrently jobless, including those who work less than 35 hours
\nper week.<\/p>\n
The protracted economic woes have also forced many Indonesian
\nfirms to downsize their operations to cut costs, or to totally
\nclose down their businesses amid continuous losses.<\/p>\n
Following the Bali bombing last October, some two million
\npeople, mostly those involved in the tourism industry, lost their
\njobs.<\/p>\n
\"Several U.S. firms have pulled out due to the protracted
\neconomic crisis, leaving a huge number of people unemployed. We
\ndon't want that to recur,\" said Sultonul, adding that thousands
\nof Indonesian workers lost their jobs when U.S. shoe company Nike
\ndecided to stop its Indonesian operations last year.<\/p>\n
Separately, Vice President Hamzah Haz voiced similar concern
\nwith NU, by urging the people to take into account the negative
\nimpacts such a boycott would bring.<\/p>\n
\"We must consider the impacts of the call for a boycott. We
\nshould think of our long-term interests, not only short-term
\nones,\" Hamzah was quoted as saying by Antara.<\/p>\n
Hamzah also noted that many U.S. products had already been
\nfranchised to Indonesians and had thus become Indonesian
\nproperty, with franchise-based enterprises providing employment
\nto many Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Sultonul also said that NU was also against calls for
\nIndonesia to severe diplomatic ties with the U.S. and its allies
\nfor attacking Iraq.<\/p>\n
\"It is unrealistic, given the fact that in many things,
\nIndonesia still depends on those countries,\" Sultonul stressed.<\/p>\n
Politicians and some legislators have called on the government
\nto cut diplomatic ties with the U.S. if it did not put an
\nimmediate end to the war.<\/p>\n
The government has made it clear that cutting diplomatic ties
\nwith U.S. did not serve Indonesia's national interests.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-nu-boycotting-us-products-self-defeating-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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