Some garment traders hurt by multiparty system

Some garment traders hurt by multiparty system

By Kafil Yamin

BANDUNG (JP): About 30 kilometers southeast of the West Java
capital of Bandung lies prosperous Cigondewah village, an enclave
of garment and secondhand clothing business.

Almost 90 percent of the some 3,400 population make a living
from these businesses, a source of income which has turned the
village into a contrasting scene of conspicuous prosperity amid a
slum.

Luxurious mansions stand tall among heaps of clothing waste,
which locals call majun. Kijangs, Mercedes and BMWs are seen on
the village's small roads and parked in front of the houses. But
they have failed to dispel the images of a slum.

A middle-aged woman speaks on her mobile phone in Sundanese.
Ten gold bracelets coil around her wrists and a big diamond
necklace hangs around her neck.

In one corner of the village there is a large compound in
which four luxurious houses stand next to each other. "This
belongs to Haj Amas," a local said. "He has four wives. Each wife
gets one house".

This small village attracts regular customers from across Java
and from other regions, including Sumatra and Bali. Many of the
customers have foreign buyers. The new academic year, when
schools and universities need new school uniforms, is one of the
village's peak business times.

But the campaign season really brings a windfall to this
enclave. But this year has brought many changes thanks to
reformasi and its multiparty political system.

The campaign season this year is not a happy time for the
large and long-established clothing firms because orders have
been spread out among a number of firms. People are going where
the most attractive prices are offered.

"Things were much better under the three-party system," a
businessman in Cigondewah Hilir, Zainal Muttaqien, 56, said.

"Our orders have dropped by some 60 percent. Can you believe
that?"

Under the three-party system, Zainal regularly received orders
for 200,000 kodi (one kodi equals 20 pieces) of jackets, 200,000
kodi of caps and a similar number for flags. The orders were
worth some Rp 4 billion, from which he reaped Rp 800 million in
profit, or 20 percent.

Now his orders stand at only 80,000 kodi. He use to receive
regular orders from Golkar because "only Golkar had the money".

He attributed his success in gaining the large orders to his
close relationship with Golkar's men.

"You could not win large orders if you were not well-
connected," he said. "Now, if you are well-connected (to a
certain party) you will lose other chances."

Good fortune

While the multiparty election is bringing gloom to the well-
connected, it is bringing good fortune to self-reliant medium and
small-scale businessmen.

Agus Handoyatno, a garment businessman in the Kiaracondong
subdistrict, said his sales had risen by 300 percent compared to
previous campaign seasons. He said he sold 2.3 million pieces of
party accessories during the last two months.

"Now we have 48 parties. Take 10 of them as potential
customers. Only a fool would say having more customers is worse
than clinging to a single buyer," Handoyatno told The Jakarta
Post.

Retailers share Handoyatno's view of brighter days under the
multiparty system.

"I sell 200 PDI T-shirts in a day. A similar number of PKB and
PPP T-shirts are sold in two days," a T-shirt street vendor on
Jl. Pasteur, Maman, said.

He said large-scale businessmen should not be pessimistic,
saying they were not thankful for God's blessings and were still
consumed by the past when they reigned supreme without having to
face any competition.

"The key for gaining orders in the past was close ties and
unreserved loyalty to Golkar. Now that things have changed, they
still think the same way," Maman said.

As Zainal explained, in the past, orders were usually passed
through a government official who distributed them to his
business allies. Businessmen were accustomed to giving this
person large sums of money to secure the contracts. Zainal said
business was much easier that way, "but we don't have such a man
now".

Another garment businessman in Cigondewah Hilir, Eden
Nursyiqin, complained about the drop in the value of orders. He
is now seeing small-scale businessmen making gains.

"My days are through," Eden said.

The present "cash" era has made the problems more complicated,
Handoyatno said.

"In the past, you could get material from textile factories on
credit. If you didn't have the money, you could get a loan from
the bank. Now suppliers want cash, and only a few businessmen
have it," he said.

However, Handoyatno sees no reason for big businessmen to be
pessimistic.

"They share the very characteristic of our fragile
conglomerates. They are spoiled entrepreneurs who are used to
being hand-fed," he said.

Handoyatno said the market was actually buoyant for large
businessmen if they were willing to observe market trends. Some
parties have large numbers of supporters in certain areas, so
businessmen should enter these areas instead of waiting for
orders, he said.

"I know Bali is home to a large number of PDI Perjuangan
supporters, so I sent my products there and they are selling
well."