Deputy Batam mayor urged to step down

Deputy Batam mayor urged to step down

BATAM, Riau: The locally based Petisi 13 Group called on Deputy Batam Mayor Asman Abnur to step down for his recent controversial statement, which has raised confusion among the local elite and foreign investors.

"It is better for Asman Abnur to step down voluntarily before local people demand the city legislative council impeach him," Johnson Napitupulu, chairman of the Petisi 13 Group, announced at a media conference here on Tuesday.

Asman called on the Ministry of Home Affairs to dissolve Batam Authority, which has managed the industrial development of the island. Thousands of local and foreign investors have invested in manufacturing products for exports in several industrial areas in Batam.

Ahadi Hutasoit, secretary of Batam's legislative council, warned that Batam would be beset by social conflict if the deputy mayor did not retract his contentious statement.

He had said that many foreign investors had declined to invest in Batam because the island was prone to ethnic and sectarian conflicts.

"Foreign investors are not sure whether the Batam administration would be capable enough to take over from Batam Authority," he added. --Antara