Leader of labor export body defies meeting<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The embattled chief of the Association of Labor
\nExport Companies (Apjati), Mahfudz Djaelani, vowed yesterday to
\nfight any attempts to unseat him.<\/p>\n
Mahfudz said he rejected his opponents' ongoing meeting, which
\nwas scheduled to elect his successor late last night. He is
\nplanning to hold his own meeting next month.<\/p>\n
\"Let them elect a new chairman but I tell you that the
\ncongress is illegal because it was held without the legitimate
\nexecutive board's consent,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"I will run the association as usual,\" said Mahfudz, who
\ntogether with his loyalists boycotted the congress.<\/p>\n
He said he was certain that if the rebel members did dethrone
\nhim, the new executive board would not last long: \"The internal
\nbickering is so bad that they will last no more than six months.\"<\/p>\n
He said he did not attend the heavily guarded congress because
\nhe wanted to prevent brawls by opposing members of the
\nassociation.<\/p>\n
He claimed that many members were attending the meeting
\nbecause they were threatened with dismissal if they did not
\nattend.<\/p>\n
\"They were told they might lose their licenses if they failed
\nto show up,\" Mahfudz said.<\/p>\n
Formed last year to eliminate the chaos affecting Indonesia's
\nlabor exports, the association is now split into two opposing
\ncamps. The rebel camp is headed by Abdullah Puteh and the other
\ncamp by Mahfudz, who is an ally of the organization's advisory
\ncouncil chief Malik Aliun.<\/p>\n
Mahfudz's term of office ends in 1998. His opponents, however,
\nare trying to depose him because they say he is incompetent.<\/p>\n
Mahfudz refuted the accusation that he failed to make the
\nassociation's statutes and prepare a financial report. \"We made
\nthe statutes last year and the members also agreed that the
\nfinancial report will be in December,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The financial report is being audited by a public accountant,
\nhe said. The association has also reported its progress to the
\nDirectorate General of Manpower Placement and Development.<\/p>\n
The two-day meeting was opened by Minister of Manpower Abdul
\nLatief as a token of the government's support. The event was
\nattended by 118 of the association's 135 members.<\/p>\n
Separately yesterday, Latief denied accusations that he had
\nengineered the rebel meeting, saying the meeting was called by
\nmost of the association's members.<\/p>\n
He said he would swear in the new association chairman. \"Let's
\nsee if the new chairman is democratically elected,\" he told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
The rebel meeting was also supported by House member Iskandar
\nMandji, who insisted that it was \"constitutional\".<\/p>\n
\"The government should resolve the conflict otherwise
\nIndonesia's labor exports will be affected,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The association was formed in March last year and is expected
\nto design strategies to expand the market, and devise better
\nlegal protection for workers.<\/p>\n
Observers say, the internal rift arose because some members
\nwanted to impose their will on others for their own or their
\ngroup's interests.<\/p>\n
They say that many of the association's executives hold their
\nposts simply because of their connection with powerful government
\nofficials who have shares in manpower firms. (ste)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/leader-of-labor-export-body-defies-meeting-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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