'Local businessmen of foreign descent are less nationalistic'

SEMARANG, Central Java (JP): The Association of Indigenous Entrepreneurs charged the country's businesspeople of foreign descent yesterday with being less nationalistic.

Probosutedjo, the chairman of the supervisory board of the association, said at the association's national meeting in Semarang, Central Java, that businesspeople of foreign descent often, for example, threaten to shift their investments overseas if they are not given business privileges at home.

He did not indicate the target of his criticism but his statement was apparently addressed to businessmen of Chinese descent, who have control over an estimated 85 percent of the country's economic activities

If there is difficulty in doing businesses at home, large- scale businessmen, especially those of foreign descent, will go overseas either to look for more favorable business climates or to save their wealth, said Probo, who is also President Soeharto's half-brother.

"In addition, even though they have benefited from trillions of rupiah in loans from state-owned banks, they have no pity at all for those who still live in poverty," he told the meeting which ends today.

The big bosses of foreign origins, Probo said, have no interest in developing the country's cooperatives as stipulated in the constitution.

Help

"They are not willing to spend a small part of the wealth they have made in the country to help the business activities of indigenous people, like those in Malaysia " he said.

Probo, the chairman of the Garmak and Mercubuana business groups, said that businessmen of foreign origins are trusted by the government and get the greatest slice the economic pie.

"However, despite the privileges, they still tend to upset the government with their unrealistic demands," he said, adding that when those business people face a problem doing business, they often ask the government to deregulate the system.

On the other hand, he said indigenous businessmen, due to the small size of their business activities, are often ignored.

"Unlike conglomerates, companies owned by indigenous people are often outbid even in the handling small projects in provinces and some of them are often insulted," he said.

In lending activity, he said local banks usually treat small- scale companies differently.

Small-scale companies even face difficulties in getting small loans from banks, he said, while conglomerates receive billions of rupiah from the same banks with ease. (har/hen)