Timor car owners distressed by uncertainty<\/p>\n
By I. Christianto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Edna drives her red sedan car every day, the
\nsame way, to her office in a high-rise building in the city. Even
\nthough she is alone in the car, she is happy and confident that
\nher car will never give her trouble. Lately, however, she worries
\na little. Not because of the engine. It is the brand that bothers
\nher. The car is a Timor car.<\/p>\n
That is why she rarely drives it after office hours.<\/p>\n
Edna said many people have told her to be more careful in
\ndriving the car.<\/p>\n
"The controversy around the Timor car has created a kind of
\npublic awareness that driving one is now more risky than any
\nother car," she said.<\/p>\n
"Sometimes, I feel unsafe while driving this car. Especially
\nafter witnessing that Timor cars were among those burned in
\nvarious riots.<\/p>\n
"This car belongs to my company. I wish I could change it with
\nanother brand but this is what my company offers me and to my
\nother colleagues. Just for 'protection', I removed the logo at
\nthe back of the car," she said.<\/p>\n
By doing so, she feels a bit more comfortable.<\/p>\n
The story of the Timor car started following an ambitious plan
\nset up on behalf of a national car project. PT Timor Putra
\nNational Timor, owned by former president Soeharto's son Hutomo
\n(Tommy) Mandala Putra, was incorporated in 1996 in collaboration
\nwith Korea's Kia Motors Corps. Yet, controversy has dodged the
\ncompany, locally and internationally.<\/p>\n
The company was given luxury tax and import duty privileges.
\nSoeharto's regime protected the Timor car project, which drew
\nstrong protest from the World Trade Organization.<\/p>\n
Without a full feasibility study, the Timor car won a
\nmultimillion-dollar banking syndicated loan from private and
\nstate-owned banks.<\/p>\n
The ongoing crisis has badly affected the project. Its
\nprivileges ended soon after Indonesia signed an economic bailout
\nagreement with the IMF early this year. Now, PT Timor has to
\nrepay hundreds of million of dollars in import duty and luxury
\ntax to the government.<\/p>\n
Timor cars, as well as Bimantara cars, which were assembled by
\nTommy's brother Bambang Trihatmodjo, were among those damaged by
\nrioters in May, a few days before Soeharto stepped down. Many
\nbelieved this happened because of public anger against the crony
\ncapitalism created by Soeharto.<\/p>\n
There are two types of Timor sedans in Indonesia, the S515 and
\nthe S515i. Both are derived from Kia Sephia. There is also a
\nlimited number of the J5201 jeep derived from Kia Sportage. PT
\nTimor has carried out some modification in order to push sales
\nbut the logo has never been removed from the car.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, there are 39,000 Timor cars. But thousands
\nremain idle at the company's parking lot in Cikampek, West Java,
\nwhere there are plans to develop a plant.<\/p>\n
Timor's price has almost double from the initial price when it
\nwas launched in 1996, yet, it is still competitive. The price
\nstarts at Rp 60 million per car, compared to prices of other cars
\nin the same class, which are about Rp 100 million.<\/p>\n
Special offers have been given to attract more buyers: a new
\ncar if the first one is totally damaged during a riot, or
\ninterest-free installments. But sales are slow as the car is not
\nconsidered as a national car but as a product of Soeharto's
\ndynasty.<\/p>\n
Like Edna, many motorists who drive Timor cars have removed
\nthe Timor logo from the back of the vehicles for safety reason.<\/p>\n
Physician Rhobdi said that he intentionally removed the logo
\nto avoid attacks. "I understand that, to some extent, many people
\ndid not like Timor cars. I removed the logo so that people would
\nnot easily recognize it as a Timor," he said.<\/p>\n
He said that the national car project was actually a good
\nidea. "Unfortunately, it was put into the wrong hands. It should
\nhave been controlled by the government. I hope the government can
\nnow take over the project."<\/p>\n
Samuel, a worker, also removed the logo from his Timor car,
\nbut he denied he did it for safety reasons. For him, removing the
\nlogo is a "habit", as he also removed the logos of his other cars
\nbefore he drove a Timor.<\/p>\n
He admitted, though, that many relatives and friends had
\nreminded him not to drive his Timor car to areas with high crime
\nrates.<\/p>\n
"But any car can be a target, not only a Timor car."<\/p>\n
He said that he likes the car because it is more powerful
\ncompared to other cars of the same class. The only weakness of
\nhis Timor car was its imperfect brakes, he said.<\/p>\n
Abi's car is also a Timor but those who are not familiar with
\nit might think that it is an Audi.<\/p>\n
"I replaced the logo with an Audi car logo as both cars are
\nslightly similar from the back," Abi said.<\/p>\n
He removed the Timor sticker shortly after he bought it in
\nearly 1997 but the logo was taken off only after the May riots.<\/p>\n
"I still feel worried, though I know there are many other cars
\nalso attacked."<\/p>\n
He now drives it only around his housing complex in the Sunter
\narea, North Jakarta. "To avoid something bad happening to me, I
\ndon't want to drive it far," he said.<\/p>\n
But there are also many Timor car owners who do not have any
\nproblem with the brand.<\/p>\n
Youva S. Wulandari, a worker, said that she is proud of the
\ncar and enjoyed driving it. She said that her father, who has a
\nMercedes, even likes to drive the Timor car sometimes.<\/p>\n
"I understand there are many crimes now. But I am always
\nconfident that I won't experience bad luck."<\/p>\n
She said that she sometimes took her university jacket in her
\ncar even though she has graduated. "Just in case I am trapped in
\nstudent demonstrations," she said.<\/p>\n
S. Nasution has two Timor cars at his home, one belongs to
\nhim, the other to his brother. "The logos are still in place. I
\ndon't have such a feeling, like being afraid while driving a
\nTimor even though the car has not been insured yet," he said.<\/p>\n
Yayat, who drives his company's Timor car, does not see the
\nneed to remove the logo, either. But he is more cautious now. "I
\nwon't drive when I hear there is a riot happening." But then,
\nmany others do not either, regardless the brand of their car.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/timor-car-owners-distressed-by-uncertainty-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}