Importers demand Cabinet show more seriousness about customs' incompetence

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Importers Association (GINSI) has expressed utter disappointment over the recent disappearance of 14 containers of smuggled luxury cars and electronic goods from the custody of the customs office at Cirebon port in West Java, pointing out that the incident only reaffirmed the incompetence of the customs service.

"It is simply mind-boggling to note how so many containers held by the local customs office in late January could have simply disappeared from their custody and were subsequently discovered in the warehouse of a local businessman," GINSI Chairman Amirudin Saud said over the weekend.

Amirudin said it was almost unbelievable that after the Director General of Customs and Excise Duty Permana Agung personally visited Cirebon to inspect the contraband goods, his officers still allowed such a blatant scam to occur.

"The incident has implications, which go beyond the case itself. If 14 containers can disappear from a relatively small port such as Cirebon without anybody claiming to see or hear anything, it is a demonstration to the rest of the world that Indonesia has lost control over its ports," he added.

Amirudin was commenting on reports in The Jakarta Post over the past few weeks about the smuggling attempt discovery by Cirebon port officials who immediately notified the customs office.

However, what was initially hailed as a success in foiling the smuggling of goods worth an estimated Rp 20.5 billion, but soon turned into a public scandal after a team of local legislators found out several days later that the 14 containers had disappeared from custody and were later found in the warehouse of a local businessman, who is alleged to have ties with some military officers.

"This incident could have serious consequences for the security rating of export cargoes shipped out of Indonesia to the United States and Europe. The government should realize these broader implications," Amirudin added.

He said if the Cabinet intends to make any decisions of economic consequence this year it should begin by bringing the country's ports under control and thereby eliminate the possibility of Indonesia being blacklisted as a high-risk nation from the point of view of "supply chain security".

Amirudin added that as soon as the customs service was alerted by Cirebon port officials of the smuggling attempt, it should have immediately placed a customs seal on the containers and put them under guard and duly alerted the port's security that the containers were not to be removed under any circumstances.

"However, it is hard to imagine how 14 containers and 14 trucks could have just driven out of the port. This could only happen if there was a combination of conspiracy, negligence and incompetence," he pointed out.

According to him, 12 containers of electronic goods are enough electronics, that if they were dumped on the domestic market, could have a major impact on local businesses and employment.

"How many times must this happen again before the government takes action? We are most concerned that the Cabinet's reluctance to take a bold decision may result in no decision at all," Amirudin said.

This incident, he said, is not just about the loss of import duty revenue to the state. It is about everything that matters so much to Indonesia's economic recovery. It is about employment, port efficiency, discipline and the country's image as a secure trading partner.

Amirudin fully supported the demands by the Cirebon legislators that the government appoint an independent investigation into this case with a view to documenting all the lapses in port security that allowed it to happen and to take immediate steps to ensure that such an incident will not be repeated.