Some garment traders hurt by multiparty system<\/p>\n
By Kafil Yamin<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): About 30 kilometers southeast of the West Java
\ncapital of Bandung lies prosperous Cigondewah village, an enclave
\nof garment and secondhand clothing business.<\/p>\n
Almost 90 percent of the some 3,400 population make a living
\nfrom these businesses, a source of income which has turned the
\nvillage into a contrasting scene of conspicuous prosperity amid a
\nslum.<\/p>\n
Luxurious mansions stand tall among heaps of clothing waste,
\nwhich locals call majun. Kijangs, Mercedes and BMWs are seen on
\nthe village's small roads and parked in front of the houses. But
\nthey have failed to dispel the images of a slum.<\/p>\n
A middle-aged woman speaks on her mobile phone in Sundanese.
\nTen gold bracelets coil around her wrists and a big diamond
\nnecklace hangs around her neck.<\/p>\n
In one corner of the village there is a large compound in
\nwhich four luxurious houses stand next to each other. \"This
\nbelongs to Haj Amas,\" a local said. \"He has four wives. Each wife
\ngets one house\".<\/p>\n
This small village attracts regular customers from across Java
\nand from other regions, including Sumatra and Bali. Many of the
\ncustomers have foreign buyers. The new academic year, when
\nschools and universities need new school uniforms, is one of the
\nvillage's peak business times.<\/p>\n
But the campaign season really brings a windfall to this
\nenclave. But this year has brought many changes thanks to
\nreformasi and its multiparty political system.<\/p>\n
The campaign season this year is not a happy time for the
\nlarge and long-established clothing firms because orders have
\nbeen spread out among a number of firms. People are going where
\nthe most attractive prices are offered.<\/p>\n
\"Things were much better under the three-party system,\" a
\nbusinessman in Cigondewah Hilir, Zainal Muttaqien, 56, said.<\/p>\n
\"Our orders have dropped by some 60 percent. Can you believe
\nthat?\"<\/p>\n
Under the three-party system, Zainal regularly received orders
\nfor 200,000 kodi (one kodi equals 20 pieces) of jackets, 200,000
\nkodi of caps and a similar number for flags. The orders were
\nworth some Rp 4 billion, from which he reaped Rp 800 million in
\nprofit, or 20 percent.<\/p>\n
Now his orders stand at only 80,000 kodi. He use to receive
\nregular orders from Golkar because \"only Golkar had the money\".<\/p>\n
He attributed his success in gaining the large orders to his
\nclose relationship with Golkar's men.<\/p>\n
\"You could not win large orders if you were not well-
\nconnected,\" he said. \"Now, if you are well-connected (to a
\ncertain party) you will lose other chances.\"<\/p>\n
Good fortune<\/p>\n
While the multiparty election is bringing gloom to the well-
\nconnected, it is bringing good fortune to self-reliant medium and
\nsmall-scale businessmen.<\/p>\n
Agus Handoyatno, a garment businessman in the Kiaracondong
\nsubdistrict, said his sales had risen by 300 percent compared to
\nprevious campaign seasons. He said he sold 2.3 million pieces of
\nparty accessories during the last two months.<\/p>\n
\"Now we have 48 parties. Take 10 of them as potential
\ncustomers. Only a fool would say having more customers is worse
\nthan clinging to a single buyer,\" Handoyatno told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Retailers share Handoyatno's view of brighter days under the
\nmultiparty system.<\/p>\n
\"I sell 200 PDI T-shirts in a day. A similar number of PKB and
\nPPP T-shirts are sold in two days,\" a T-shirt street vendor on
\nJl. Pasteur, Maman, said.<\/p>\n
He said large-scale businessmen should not be pessimistic,
\nsaying they were not thankful for God's blessings and were still
\nconsumed by the past when they reigned supreme without having to
\nface any competition.<\/p>\n
\"The key for gaining orders in the past was close ties and
\nunreserved loyalty to Golkar. Now that things have changed, they
\nstill think the same way,\" Maman said.<\/p>\n
As Zainal explained, in the past, orders were usually passed
\nthrough a government official who distributed them to his
\nbusiness allies. Businessmen were accustomed to giving this
\nperson large sums of money to secure the contracts. Zainal said
\nbusiness was much easier that way, \"but we don't have such a man
\nnow\".<\/p>\n
Another garment businessman in Cigondewah Hilir, Eden
\nNursyiqin, complained about the drop in the value of orders. He
\nis now seeing small-scale businessmen making gains.<\/p>\n
\"My days are through,\" Eden said.<\/p>\n
The present \"cash\" era has made the problems more complicated,
\nHandoyatno said.<\/p>\n
\"In the past, you could get material from textile factories on
\ncredit. If you didn't have the money, you could get a loan from
\nthe bank. Now suppliers want cash, and only a few businessmen
\nhave it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, Handoyatno sees no reason for big businessmen to be
\npessimistic.<\/p>\n
\"They share the very characteristic of our fragile
\nconglomerates. They are spoiled entrepreneurs who are used to
\nbeing hand-fed,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Handoyatno said the market was actually buoyant for large
\nbusinessmen if they were willing to observe market trends. Some
\nparties have large numbers of supporters in certain areas, so
\nbusinessmen should enter these areas instead of waiting for
\norders, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I know Bali is home to a large number of PDI Perjuangan
\nsupporters, so I sent my products there and they are selling
\nwell.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/some-garment-traders-hurt-by-multiparty-system-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}