Ambalat case hits exports

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The ongoing dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over the Ambalat offshore oil field has affected exports from Indonesia to the neighboring country.

"The Professional Civil Society (MPM) organization has received reports from entrepreneurs in Central Java, East Java and Bali to the effect that their exports have decreased following the dispute. Some (of their Malaysian clients) have even canceled contracts for two to three months ahead," MPM chairman Ismed Hasan Putro said on Monday.

Citing an example, he said 30 percent of some 20 furniture manufacturers in Central Java had suffered losses as a result of the cancellations. But he did not any details of the figures involved.

However, other countries, such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, had also canceled orders for seaweed that had caused local suppliers here to suffer a 40 percent decrease in business.

To avoid further losses, the MPM called on the government to immediately address the problem.

Indonesian and Malaysian leaders have both pledged a peaceful settlement to the dispute, but both countries have maintained a military presence in the disputed area.

The dispute started last month when Malaysia awarded an offshore oil concession in Ambalat to an international oil company, despite the fact that Indonesia claims Ambalat as its territory.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), MS Hidayat, said there had been no significant change in Indonesia's investment climate due to the dispute.

"In fact, Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Syed Hamid Albar and a Malaysian delegation will visit Indonesia on March 22," he said.

He added that the Malaysians were coming here to attend an annual dialog with the Indonesian government -- represented by Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu and Kadin members -- to discuss business issues of concern to the two countries. (004)