To Minister Boediono<\/p>\n
Dear Mr. Boediono, please read the news stories about the
\nsmuggling of various goods, ranging from second-hand bicycles to
\nused helicopters, published in the mass media over the past two
\nweeks (Feb. 14 to Feb. 26).<\/p>\n
In short, there is nothing that cannot be imported into our
\ncountry. Second-hand garments from abroad, which are trash in
\ntheir countries of origin, have glutted the country's garment
\nmarkets in recent years.<\/p>\n
Mr. Minister, it is not unlikely that our country is now a
\ndustbin for other states' waste, especially because developed
\ncountries like the U.S., Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, etc. are facing
\na major problem in disposing of their waste.<\/p>\n
When you were one of Bank Indonesia's directors, the Habibie
\nadministration opened the country's markets to all foreign
\nproducts in an effort to win over the IMF. Some food and
\nagricultural products, which were once subject to import duties
\nor were banned from entering the country, have been allowed to
\nenter the country. As a result, foreign products are flooding our
\nmarkets today.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, although our government has allowed great
\nfreedom to import goods, certain foreign producers, our own
\nimporters and even our customs and excise officers themselves
\nhave abused the facility. Consequently, many foreign items have
\nentered the country by means of three illegal methods, namely:
\nsmuggling, underinvoicing and dumping.<\/p>\n
Mr. Boediono, these three methods have begun to crush our
\nlocal industries. Take, for example, the manufacturers of
\nchildren toys. They are now out of business. Then the textile,
\ngarment, footwear and sugar industries also collapsed. In the
\ncase of the last mentioned, the sugarcane farmers have been
\nhardest hit. It is very likely that unless steps are taken to
\neradicate the three methods referred to above, all our industries
\nwill collapse. Should this happen, the country's economy will
\nsuffer from zero or even minus growth, in which case millions of
\nIndonesians will become jobless.<\/p>\n
DJOKO KRISTANTO<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/to-minister-boediono-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }