Action against hoarding urged

SEMARANG, Central Java: Dozens of local Chinese-Indonesian traders called on the Central Java administration to prosecute traders caught hoarding rice and other basic foodstuffs.

"Whoever they are, whether they are ethnic Chinese or not, they have to be dealt with firmly," Budi Darmawan, head of the Chinese Entrepreneurs Fraternity, said.

Budi admitted that some Chinese-Indonesian traders were involved in hoarding and smuggling out government-subsidized rice. "This kind of behavior is further straining the relations between Chinese and non-Chinese, particularly the Javanese," he said. (har)