ISSA protests government regulation on shipping

ISSA protests government regulation on shipping

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Shipping Agencies Association
(ISAA) has called on the government to annul a controversial
regulation that requires every agency of a foreign shipping
company in the country to own, at the minimum, a 5,000-ton
Indonesian-flagged vessel.

"More than 1,300 local agencies of foreign shipping companies
will certainly go bankrupt and more than 65,000 employees will
face mass dismissal if the government goes ahead with its plan to
enforce the regulation from Oct. 5, 2001," Capt. Anthon Sihombing
told a press conference here on Monday.

He accused domestic shipping companies of being behind the
controversial 1999 regulation as part of their efforts to create
a monopoly in the industry.

"Only state-owned PT Pelni and Djakarta Lloyd own 5,000-ton
vessels. These two ship owners are trying to set up a monopoly,
which is against the law," he asserted.

He said the regulation was issued by former president B.J.
Habibie weeks before he gave up his bid to retain office in
October 1999 in an apparent attempt to sell ships produced by
state-owned PT PAL in Surabaya, East Java.

"It's very strange that there are still some people who are
trying to engage in monopolistic practices despite the current
mood of reform," Anthon said.

He also attacked Tjuk Sukardiman, Director General for Sea
Transportation, whom he criticized as being unprofessional in
performing his duties.

"We are suspicious that Sukardiman knows nothing about
international shipping regulations," he said.

Budi Mulyono, chief of the ISAA's legal affairs department,
said the ISAA would file a lawsuit with the State Administrative
Court if the government declined to revoke the regulation.

"The ISAA has recruited lawyers to accompany us in court," he
said.

One of the ISAA's lawyers, Kristopel Butarbutar, said the
government regulation must be struck down as it conflicted with
commercial law.

"Indonesia has laws on trade and sea transportation but they
do not require shipping agencies to own ships of a certain
tonnage," he said.

He added that Indonesia was the only country which had issued
such a regulation.

He said that besides suing the Director General of Sea
Transportation in the administrative court, the ISAA would ask
the Supreme Court to review the regulation.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Seamen's Association (KPI) urged the
government to take action against a rival KPI established and
directed by Iskandar B. Illahude, a senior official with the
transportation and telecommunications ministry. Iskandar set up
the rival association when he was not reelected as KPI chairman
at its extraordinary congress late last month.

"The rival KPI is illegal. It represents no seafarers and is
not recognized by the government nor the International
Transportation Federation," Hanafie Rustandi, the newly-elected
chairman of KPI said.

He said the government should take action against Iskandar and
his associates as they were running a recruitment agency through
the rival association. This was against the ILO convention on
freedom of association, he said.

He said Iskandar, Director of Classification at the
Directorate of Sea Transportation, had set up the rival
association as part of an effort to protect his recruitment
business.(rms)