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."