Lawlessness will scare away business: Sofyan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Continuing reports of rampant looting and
\nunlawful seizure of property and businesses of Chinese-
\nIndonesians will cause more businesspeople to flee to safer
\nshores and scare off foreign investors, a noted businessman has
\nwarned.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Gemala Group Sofyan Wanandi said here
\nyesterday the government must step in to stop the lawlessness.<\/p>\n
He cited the seizure of land belonging to real estate
\ndevelopers and plantation companies by people who argued it was
\nsold at an unfair price, looting of warehouses, stealing of raw
\nmaterials, theft of plantation harvests and takeovers of
\nfactories.<\/p>\n
Disturbances have occurred nationwide.<\/p>\n
\"Inti Indorayon has had to stop operations because the road to
\nthe plant has been blocked by the trespassers,\" Sofyan told The
\nJakarta Post in one example of the business disruptions.<\/p>\n
PT Inti Indorayon Utama is a publicly listed pulp manufacturer
\nwith a factory and timber estate concession in North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Widespread lawlessness has followed the May riots which forced
\npresident Soeharto to step down after 32 years in power.<\/p>\n
\"Without law and order there is no business certainty here.
\nThe government has to be resolute that this looting has to end,\"
\nsaid Sofyan, who is also regarded as the informal spokesman for
\nthe Chinese-Indonesian business community.<\/p>\n
He explained the lawlessness went unchecked because the
\ngovernment was weak, especially the state apparatus outside the
\ncapital, which lost its authoritative power after being branded
\nas part of the Soeharto regime.<\/p>\n
Sofyan said the jittery domestic environment had caused a loss
\nof between US$10 billion and $20 billion in capital owned by
\nChinese-Indonesians.<\/p>\n
There was also a brain drain as many young professionals --
\nabout 10 percent of the nation's five million Chinese-Indonesians
\n-- left.<\/p>\n
\"We need these talented and skillful human resources,
\nespecially to deal with the current economic crisis. We've spent
\na lot of money to educate these professionals overseas.\"<\/p>\n
Human resources and capital were vital to lift the country out
\nof the crisis, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The money from the IMF and other foreign donor institutions
\nare being used for consumption purposes which will be exhausted
\nin just a short period. But the money owned by the Chinese-
\nIndonesian businesspeople can be used for investment which will
\ncreate jobs.\"<\/p>\n
The International Monetary Fund announced yesterday the
\ndisbursement of an additional $1 billion for Indonesia, bringing
\nits total disbursement to $5 billion from its total commitment of
\n$10 billion, the key part of a $43 billion bailout package it
\narranged.<\/p>\n
Chinese-Indonesians, Sofyan said, were worried that rampant
\nlawlessness would lead to a social revolution, with them as the
\nprime target for reprisals.<\/p>\n
\"Over the past few years, the Chinese have always been the
\ntarget of social rioting here. And they're afraid that they'll
\ncontinue to be the target every time a public demonstration
\noccurs. The May incident was really traumatic for them.\"<\/p>\n
He urged President Habibie to invite the country's political
\nleaders to reach a consensus on solving the problems.<\/p>\n
\"Please don't settle the matters on the street. We must be
\nconcerned about the suffering of the 200 million people.\"<\/p>\n
He emphasized the country must solve lingering problems before
\nthe international community would return.<\/p>\n
\"Without law and order, I don't see any hope for Indonesia to
\ncome out of the crisis,\" he said. (rei)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lawlessness-will-scare-away-business-sofyan-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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