Cirebon port management allows smuggling to grow

Cirebon port management allows smuggling to grow

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon

The Cirebon seaport in West Java has long been a destination for
smuggled goods from other islands across the country and abroad
due to its poor law enforcement and security, says a former local
district military chief.

Soenaryo, a deputy speaker of the Cirebon legislative council,
said logs, timber, electronic equipment and luxury cars were
among the goods often smuggled via the port.

"I have to admit that the Cirebon port has been a smuggling
hub for some time. Since serving as the Cirebon military chief in
1982, the port has been rife with smugglers," he told The Jakarta
Post on Monday.

Apart from the port authorities' poor performance, he also
blamed corruption among the authorities for rampant smuggling.

"The condition has continued and developed until now. In the
past, only smuggled logs and electronic goods were smuggled
through the port. But now smuggled goods are of upmarket goods,
such as luxury cars," Soenaryo said.

"In the past, the volume of smuggled merchandise was very
limited. But now it is extremely high," he added. However, he
could not provide data on smuggling at the port.

The latest high-profile case was 19 containers containing at
least four luxury cars and hundreds of electronic goods, which
were smuggled in aboard Panana-flagged ships via the port from
Singapore.

So far, 17 have been released by the local customs and excise
office even though the investigation is still under way.

The city's legislative council has issued a no-confidence
motion against senior customs officials, prosecutors and police
officers accused of involvement in the smuggling.

The case prompted the local police to launch raids on March 14
against smuggling activities off Cirebon. At least six ships
carrying 3,700 cubic meters of logs on board were confiscated
recently in the city's waters.

The ongoing crackdowns have been blamed for a drastic drop of
ships docking since last week, threatening at least 1,000 jobs.

Moch. Sami'an, head of the port's labor cooperatives, said his
office had sent most of the workers home to prevent an outbreak
of violence.

Every day, between 200 and 300 have been sent by bus to their
hometowns in the subdistricts of Astanajapura and Kapetakan,
Cirebon, he said.

"We want to avert any trouble because we have seen signs of
anger among idle workers. There used to be 1,000 workers loading
and unloading ships, but we have had to reduce the number to
around 200 people," he told the Post on Monday.

Citing their status as temporary workers, Sami'an said the
repatriated workers were not entitled to compensation from the
port management.

"The money they borrow from the cooperatives increases to Rp 5
million per day. They are forced to borrow money because they
have no more income since the loading and unloading activities
have declined," he said.

"Some of them have changed their profession to become pedicab
drivers or street cleaners," he added.

In response to the repatriation of idle workers, Soenaryo said
it was also an impact of the port's poor management system and
security.

"If the system was healthy and free from corruption, the
situation would certainly be overcome. The chaotic system has in
turn made the low-income people, like port workers, victims," he
added.

Soenaryo questioned the motive of police raids on log
shipments in Cirebon, saying if the operations were in the name
of law enforcement, it should not have prevented many ships from
docking in the port.

"Ships are reluctant to enter the Cirebon port probably
because the operation has not been properly carried out ... Maybe
the ships have legal documents, but they are still arrested for
unsubstantiated reasons," he argued.