Repairing burned shops is easiest part of aftermath

Repairing burned shops is easiest part of aftermath

By Yogita Tahil Ramani

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie assured the country that
he "would take care of all traders," Chinese-Indonesian or not,
during his tour of several Jakarta shopping centers damaged in
the May 14 riots. But the charred ruins of buildings lining Jl.
Mangga Dua Raya in North Jakarta, and Chinatown in Glodok, West
Jakarta, tell a different story.

The ground in front of many stores is still grotesquely
decorated with hundreds of broken fragments of glass, almost a
month after the dark days, and traders are still scared.

Their fear stems from the ever-deteriorating economy,
threatening to fuel the dormant wrath which 'indigenous' people
here feel towards those of Chinese descent.

Traders, particularly Chinese-Indonesians, say that restoring
the ruined buildings, however unimaginable the expense, will be
the "easy part".

Timontis, whose kiosks in Harco Mangga Dua electronics center
was destroyed, said the government has its work cut out if it
wants to attract Chinese traders who fled the riots back into the
country.

"It is not going to be an easy job for the government to get
Chinese traders who fled to Singapore and Hong Kong to come
back," Timontis said.

Given the uncertain economy, traders were expecting another
black day like May 14. "(The day) could happen again soon, but we
will get our shops renovated. We will start from scratch again,
but we are still very edgy."

About 110,000 Chinese-Indonesian families fled the country
during the riots, according to a new group called the Forum of
Reform Entrepreneurs. Most have not returned, leaving their shops
deserted.

From laser-jet printers and automobile spare-parts to the
latest video-cds, Glodok and Harco Mangga Dua were the places to
go to bargain and shop for electronic goods. Shopping centers
were crammed with stores owned by Chinese-Indonesians.

Of some comfort is that the Mangga Dua Mall and the
International Trade Center (ITC) in North Jakarta escaped with
only a few broken windows after heavy security was put in place.

Parking lots at Mangga Dua and ITC were full last week and the
clothing, shoe and accessories stores on floors three to six in
the Mangga Dua mall were packed with bargain hunters.

Nightmare

Susanto Lasmin, renovations coordinator in Harco Mangga Dua
electronics center, said that 900 kiosks in the mall were burned
and looted causing Rp 1 trillion in damage, excluding looted and
damaged merchandise.

Losses including merchandise in the Harco Mangga Dua area
alone could be over Rp 2 trillion, he added. At least 50 of the
600 shop-houses outside the mall were set on fire.

In Glodok, the estimated loss including merchandise is put at
between Rp 5 trillion and Rp 8 trillion, Johannes G., general
manager of PT Multi Plaza Properties which runs Glodok Plaza,
said. He added 350 kiosks in the plaza and 100 of the 400 shop-
houses outside were badly damaged by fire.

In Jakarta, more than 5,000 buildings, including 4,204 shops
and shopping malls, 501 bank offices and 12 gas stations were
damaged, burned or looted during four days of rioting last month.
Losses from the city's property sector alone were put at Rp 2.5
trillion (US$250 million).

West Jakarta Mayor Sutardjianto had said that 65 people died
and 45 were seriously injured in the fires there.

Susanto said renovations started two weeks ago. "Only Rp 3
billion has been allocated to renovate the kiosks," he said.

"Insurance companies will not pay up." He claimed the
companies insuring many of the buildings actually covered for
damage caused by riots, but "they fear they will go bankrupt."

He said that renovations would take one month and it would be
a further two months before owners reopened their kiosks.

Susanto said the numerous entrances to the Harco Mangga Dua
area had enabled rioters to enter without difficulty.

"We have now spent hundreds of millions of rupiah on 30-
centimeter-thick concrete walls to surround the Harco area," he
said. The place doesn't quite look like a fortress, but there are
now only a few entrances.

He said that with absolutely no more capital to invest in
their kiosks, and with banks unwilling to provide loans, traders
were a little jittery about starting work again.

"We will fix the kiosks but trading is another story," Susanto
said. Even if banks would provide loans, interest rates would be
intolerably high.

Johannes said returning things to normal in Glodok would be a
long process.

He said his company would forward details of the losses to
Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung and petition the
government for help. He added traders were only asking for
leniency with building permits and taxation.

"If possible, exemption from taxes for three years at least,"
Johannes said, adding that "credit should be extended to traders
at interest rates of not more than 25 percent per annum."

Despite President Habibie's visit, he said, the government had
yet to make a formal statement asking traders who fled the city
to return.

"This in itself gives traders a negative impression," he said,
despite the President's recent assurance that they would not be
discriminated against.

"The government has never said 'we give you (traders who fled)
the assurance of safety. Please come back.' No such efforts have
been made."

"The new cabinet has promised that it will pay more attention
to small- and medium-sized enterprises," of the sort commonly
found in Glodok, he said.

Johanan, owner of the charred Sinar Mulya building materials
store on Jl. Mangga Dua Raya, said that he would have to spend
between Rp 200 million and Rp 300 million to repair his shop
premises. He said his losses could be as high as Rp 400 million.

"As long as the building is secure and we have a strong door,
that's fine by me," Johanan said.

But he believed that it was pointless to expect help to be
forthcoming from the municipality. "The nation itself is going
bankrupt, so what's the use?"

A woman walking through Glodok holding her six-year-old son's
hand stopped in shock in front of the once bustling plaza.

"My husband used to send me here with a list of all sorts of
things ... printing ink, tools. I have passed here so many times
since the burning, and yet I still can't get over the ruins," she
said.

"I feel sorry for those computer freaks. Where can they go
shopping now?" she added.

Eeng, an electronic goods repairman, said most of his
customers had stopped buying electronics equipment for the time
being.

"We know the Mangga Dua area traders will eventually reopen
their stores and lease shop-houses in the Asemka area, near Pintu
Kecil in Kota, North Jakarta," Eeng said.

"My friends usually buy electronics, including computer
equipment, from Pondok Indah Mall in South Jakarta. It has the
most complete range, but it costs a bomb."

He added that an incomplete range was also available at stores
in the Princeton Park area of Lokasari, Mangga Besar.