Business opportunities abound at NU Congress

By Ainur R. Sophiaan

KEDIRI, East Java (JP): To most watching the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) congress from afar its all about politics. But not for the droves of visitors to the congress at the Lirboyo pesantren (Islamic boarding school).

With about 300 stands rented in and around the congress venue, it has become an opportunity for small businesses to promote and sell their wares.

One of the merchants, Saifullah, said profit alone was not the sole reason for his presence at the congress.

Selling small souvenirs and crystal jewelry, Saifullah said turnover was not as brisk as originally hoped.

He and 12 of his colleagues rented a two-by-three meter stand from the congress' organizing committee in Jakarta at a cost of Rp 1.5 million. However, when he arrived here he discovered the location prepared for him was not what had been promised.

"I realized at that moment that business would be slow," he said, indicating the remote location of his stand.

He added that he also had to pay an additional Rp 750,000 fee for an advertising display set up by Kediri residents.

"Initially, I thought I could make about Rp 2 million per day, but so far I've only made about a quarter of that," said the Kalimantan native.

He said this was not enough to cover his daily expenses. "Quite honestly, I'm in the red if my only intention was business. But at least being here I can watch the congress and meet friends."

Many have described the sheer number of visitors to the congress as phenomenal.

M. Nu'man, a hat vendor from Pekanbaru, Riau, expressed discontent with how the local organizing committee rearranged the layout of the stands.

"Because of the rearrangements, I have lost millions of rupiah," he said.

Stands at the congress can be rented for between Rp 1 million to Rp 1.5 million per month.

However, several vendors said additional daily costs were levied.

The local organizing committee charges an additional daily fee of Rp 10,000 while a neighborhood committee usually collects Rp 2,000 a day, according to the vendors.

"It's absolutely useless," Utami, a rice seller from Jepara, Central Java, said of the extra fees. "And the way they ask us for the money it is almost like coercion."

It may be these hidden fees or vendors simply taking advantage of the large crowds, but the price of much of the food and drink being sold at the congress is expensive even by Jakarta standards.

For example, a bowl of bakso (meat balls) at several stands here costs Rp 10,000.

Soothsayer

Seemingly every imaginable goods and service are on sale here, including fortune-telling.

Yusroni, a soothsayer from Magelang, Central Java, said he did not have a set price for his clients.

He said people came to him for advice on a variety of matters, including their careers and potential mates.

He says he makes up to Rp 50,000 per day, with those seeking his services ranging from teenagers to congress delegates.

One stand attracting large crowds sells cassettes of speeches by current NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid and Amien Rais, who was a chairman of the country's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah.

The stand's owner, Nurakhman, said he sold about 100 cassettes per day at a price of about Rp 10,000 each.

The young entrepreneur from Banyumas, Central Java, said apart from the brisk business, he was pleased his enterprise was helping to unite the two normally rival Muslim organizations.

Ainul Yaqin, a member of the congress' regional organizing committee, noted that the excessive commercialization of the congress was a sign of the times.

"Everyone now thinks in terms of economics, including the congress' committee," he said. "Everything is suddenly calculated in terms of money."