Expatriates operating illegal businesses in Jepara

Expatriates operating illegal businesses in Jepara

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Manpower will take measures
against more than 170 expatriates who are operating their
businesses illegally in the Central Java town of Jepara.

Director General of Manpower Placement and Development Din
Syamsuddin said here on Saturday that the expatriates's illegal
businesses had caused material and moral losses to the
government, the local people and businessmen.

"The foreign businessmen, mostly from Belgium, the United
States of America and South Korea, have used tourist visas to
remain in the town and run their businesses," he told reporters
after making an impromptu inspection of the craft and furniture
industries in Jepara on Friday.

Din said the expatriates first came to the town to purchase
crafts and furnitures to resell in their countries, but they then
settled in the town and began to operate their own companies.

They had no work permits, let alone permits to run businesses,
he said, adding that most of the expatriates had been in the town
for more than five years.

He said that the expatriates had recruited locals and
appointed them directors of their businesses. In reality,
however, these locals were employed as drivers and security
guards while the expatriates were the ones who managed the
companies.

"This is clearly a manipulation of the system which has been
going on for a long time... Probably there has been some
collusion between the expatriates and local officials," he said.

According to government regulations, expatriates must obtain
business and work permits from authorities if they wish to invest
in the country. A 1995 presidential decree stipulates that
expatriates working here are obliged to pay US$100 annually to
help finance a training program for locals.

Din added that religious leaders had complained about the
"increasing number of illegal marriages" between the expatriates
and local women.

"Many babies have been born to couples with illegal marriages
in Jepara," he said.

Meanwhile, Hetifah Saefudian, a researcher of small-scale
industries, called on the government to deregulate small-scale
industries as a way of preventing such marriages.

"Many expatriates have entered a contract-based marriage with
local women in Jepara because the government restricts their
businesses," she said.

She cited the fact that expatriates were barred from setting
up workshops in the town to promote their products.

Hetifah, a staffer at the Bandung-based Akatiga social studies
center, said the expatriates' presence had brought indirect
advantages because they had mastered the business practices of
the international market.

"Amid globalization, Indonesia must be more open than it has
been in the past if it doesn't want to lose in the international
competition," she said.

Hetifah added that the government should also be proactive in
seeking market opportunities for export-oriented Jepara products.
(rms)