Prasetiya Mulya puzzled by offer to join Kadin

JAKARTA (JP): The Prasetiya Mulya Foundation (YPM), an educational and social organization established by the country's top conglomerates, has turned down an offer to join the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

Prasetiya chairman Ciputra and executive director Prasastro Sudyatmiko said in a statement that the invitation went to a wrong address.

"It doesn't make any sense to ask YPM to join Kadin because YPM is not a business organization," Ciputra said about Kadin's offer.

Kadin chairman Aburizal Bakrie last week asked Prasetiya Mulia to join the chamber.

But Aburizal, also the chairman of the Bakrie Group, did not specifically explain why he was inviting Prasetiya Mulia to join.

To many people, Prasetiya Mulia represents an exclusive group of top conglomerates owned by Chinese-Indonesian businessmen, including Sudono Salim alias Liem Sioe Liong, rather than a social organization.

YPM's statement said that Kadin statutes did not allow the chamber to take members which were not business or trade organizations.

YPM stated that individual member companies and businesspeople in the foundation were free to join the chamber.

"Most of our businesspeople have become Kadin members since the foundation was established," the statement said.

"If Kadin wants to establish an organization practicing in social services and education like us, we would be very pleased to help it," the statement added.

The foundation said its Prasetiya Mulya Management Institute could help Kadin implement business education should the chamber start such a project. (gis)