Plan to revoke visa-free facility criticized

Plan to revoke visa-free facility criticized

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government's plan to abolish the visa-free facility given to
nationals of certain countries has drawn strong criticism from
investment and tourism experts, who have said the move would be a
setback to the country's economic recovery process.

Businessman and chairman of the National Economic Recovery
Committee (KPEN) Sofjan Wanandi said that revocation of the
facility would only hurt relations with important countries like
the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which have been major
sources of foreign investment and trading partners.

"The government must have lost its mind," he told The Jakarta
Post.

He was referring to an earlier report in this newspaper that
the Directorate General of Immigration had proposed the abolition
of the visa-free facility currently extended to citizens of 48
countries, including the U.S., Japan, Australia, Germany, the
Netherlands, France, South Korea and Taiwan.

Under the plan, the facility would be revoked starting next
year, and would be given to the nationals of 14 countries.

The visa-free facility, first introduced in 1983 in a bid to
attract more foreign tourists, allows foreign visitors to enter
the country without a visa if they stay no longer than two
months.

But the immigration office has argued that the facility has
often been abused by foreigners who work in the country illegally
or conduct other non-tourism-related activities. Another reason
is the reciprocity issue, as many Indonesian often face
difficulty in obtaining travel documents from the above
countries.

Sofjan said that the government should not take such a
retaliatory measure, particularly at a time when Indonesia is
facing economic difficulties.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Indonesian Culture and Tourism
Board at the State Ministry of Tourism and Culture Setyanto P.
Santosa said that the plan would further discourage foreign
tourists from entering the country.

"The plan is a setback; Indonesia will fade from the
international tourism map," said Setyanto.

The plan is currently being discussed with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, the State Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the
National Police and the immigration office.

Setyanto said that other countries in Southeast Asia were
racing to provide the facility to boost state income from the
tourism sector, and to attract investors.

In comparison, Malaysia currently grants a visa-free facility
to 130 countries, Thailand 150 and Vietnam to all countries for a
five-day stay.

Tourism experts have said that instead of abolishing
completely the visa-free facility, the government should instead
reduce the length of the permitted visa-free stay from 60 days to
30 days.