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)