PT National Gobel

PT National Gobel

We refer to your article: Companies to face trial over toxic
waste on Dec. 16, 2003, which was written by Leony Aurora. It was
mentioned that a Company named PT Nasional Panasonic Gobel
Indonesia was one of the companies being accused by Public
Interest Environmental Lawyers (PIEL) over a violation of
Government Regulation No. 18/1999 on the treatment of hazardous
and toxic waste.

Around 1.5 years ago, a similar case occurred in the East
Jakarta Court. However, that time it was the citizens of Munjul,
East Jakarta, suing UD Kurnia (in a criminal action) for
contaminating watercourses and the air in Munjul. PT National
Gobel was one of the companies that used UD Kurnia as a
contractor for the disposal of its non-toxic waste up to April 1,
1998. Based on the East Jakarta Court verdict on June 25, 2002,
the owner of UD Kurnia was convicted and sentenced accordingly.
It was clear that PT National Gobel never disposed of toxic waste
via UD Kurnia.

PT National Gobel is one of the Group Companies of Matsushita
Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., Japan. PT National Gobel was the
first joint venture company between pioneers of the Japanese and
Indonesian electronics industry -- Matsushita and Gobel. Since
its first establishment in 1918 in Japan and 1970 in Indonesia,
the commitment to "developing people before products" has always
been their first priority. In line with this, the Group
Companies made an official statement in 1991 to help preserve the
environment so as to ensure people and social sustainability in
the future.

Since then, the Matsushita Group of Companies has established,
and is continuously improving, solid and sound procedures to make
sure that processes, products and services are environmentally
safe. The most recent company policy is the Green Plan 2010 under
which it is envisaged that by 2010 all Matsushita Group Companies
in the world will have green products, clean factories, green
procurement and distribution, and will carry out environmental
social responsibility duties.

The procedures for the purchase of materials, the use of
materials, and the handling of waste, both toxic and non-toxic,
up to after-sales service are detailed and specified to comply
with Government Regulations and Matsushita Standards. PT National
Gobel always submits monthly reports to the government and the
Jakarta Environmental Control Agency (BPLHD). PT National Gobel
is an ISO 9001 and 14001 certified company.

Our unstinting efforts have been appreciated by the Government
of Indonesia. We have received awards for our performance in
treating waste water from the Governor of Jakarta for 4
consecutive years starting in 2000, blue category awards for
Proper Prokasih and vehicle emissions, the Kalpataru Award in the
Pembina Lingkungan category, and top place in the 2002 Kementrian
Lingkungan Hidup (KLH) competition on the handling of vehicle
emissions. Internally, PT National Gobel received Clean Factory
Awards in the World Matsushita Environment Competition in 2000
and 2001.

For your information, in the Matsushita Group of Companies
there are no companies named PT Nasional Panasonic Gobel
Indonesia or PT Nasional Gobel Indonesia.

YANTI ANWAR
Director
PT National Gobel
Jakarta