Ambalat case hits exports

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)