RI must swiftly act against terrorists: Businessmen

RI must swiftly act against terrorists: Businessmen

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The business community urged the government on Monday to take
swift action against terrorists to contain the damage caused by
the Bali bomb attack to the country's economy.

Businessman Sofyan Wanandi said the government must quickly
arrest the perpetrators of the bomb blasts, which killed more
than 180 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Aburizal Bakri said the Bali tragedy should serve as a wake-up
call for the government that the country urgently requires an
antiterrorism law.

Sofyan, the chairman of the Indonesian Committee for Economic
Recovery (KPEN), said a swift resolution of the Bali bombings
would give investors confidence that Indonesia was able to deal
with terrorists.

"The government must stop quarreling and blaming each other
and work quickly to arrest the terrorists. International
investors are waiting for us to resolve the case immediately,"
Sofyan said prior to a meeting between the government and
investors.

More than 20 leading foreign and domestic investors attended
the meeting, arranged by Coordinating Minister of the Economy
Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti to talk about the Bali attack and
explain the actions being taken by the government to contain the
damage to the country's economy.

Dorodjatun presided over the one-hour meeting.

Sofyan said swift action against the terrorists responsible
for the Bali attack was necessary to contain the damage to the
tourist industry, the backbone of Bali's economy and an important
engine in the country's drive to recover from the economic
crisis.

Sofyan also warned that the attack would ruin investor
confidence. "It will be difficult to restore investor confidence.
Bali has been praised as a safe haven before the weekend
terrorist attacks."

Should the government fail to resolve the case immediately,
Sofyan warned, the feared mass exodus of investors would finally
happen.

Aburizal said the Bali attack should provide the government
the momentum to complete the draft of the antiterrorism bill and
submit it to the House of Representatives for quick debate.

If passed into law, the bill would provide the government the
legal grounds to act against terrorists, he said.

Tough action is necessary to ensure the country's stability
and the safety of the Indonesian people, as well as domestic and
international investors, said Aburizal, the chairman of the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The government has been drafting the antiterrorism bill for
several months, but Cabinet members appear to be far from
reaching an agreement on the bill.

In response to the businessmen's concerns, Dorodjatun said the
government was working to apprehend the terrorists behind the
Bali bombings and would soon complete the antiterrorism bill.

The coordinating minister also said that the government would
provide airplanes to transport victims of the bombings back to
their countries and would establish a telephone hot line for
victims to contact their families.

The government also will cooperate with the business sector
and international event organizers to ensure that conventions and
conferences scheduled for Bali next year can go ahead as planned,
he said.

Aside from a tourist resort, Bali is also popular for
convention, conferences and exhibitions.

Among the big conference scheduled to be held on the island in
the near future is the Pacific Asia Travel Association
conference, scheduled for next year and with more than 2,000
attendants expected.