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.