Survey paints picture of fear, worry following Bali blast

Muhammad Nafik and Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Most Indonesians believe the devastating Bali bombings will spark a new round of political fighting in the country and that the fragile nation will suffer further bomb attacks in the future, according to a survey.

The survey, conducted by the New Indonesian Alliance Party (PIB), shows that more than 76 percent of the 800 respondents from across the country believe that the Oct. 12 Bali bombings, which killed at least 190 people, will "foment new conflicts in Indonesian politics".

"The political conflicts have already emerged, resulting from the deteriorating relations between members of the political elite who fault each other because of different interests," according to the survey released on Tuesday.

The survey was conducted on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3 through telephone interviews of 800 people in 12 major cities -- Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Bandung, Denpasar, Medan, Padang, Pontianak, Makassar, Manado and Pekanbaru.

The respondents were mostly high school graduates between the ages of 17 and 55. The majority of them worked in the private sector.

Only 13.6 percent of the respondents said the bomb attack, the worst in Indonesia's history, would not worsen the country's political bickering.

The survey did not elaborate on the new political conflicts in question.

Economists and labor experts have said about half a million people in Bali are in danger of losing their jobs because the attack has destroyed the tourist sector.

PIB executives said on Friday hotels and other tourist-related businesses in Bali had begun to suspend workers or cut their working hours due to declining tourist numbers.

Many people have expressed fear that workers from outside of Bali will be run off the island in response to any mass layoffs.

"This (expulsion) is possible. When people are hungry, anything can happen," PIB secretary-general Amir Karamoy said.

"If (these problems) are not dealt with quickly, they could become dangerous," he said, urging the government to launch a "rescue program" for Bali's economy.

The vast majority of survey respondents also are certain that bomb attacks will continue to haunt Indonesia in the future, given that terrorists are still at large in the country and none have been captured.

Only 15 percent of the respondents dismissed the fears, saying the government will be "more alert" to prevent a repeat of the Bali bombings.

The survey also urged the nation to end the heated debate about who was behind the deadly explosions and instead concentrate on mitigating the effects of the tragedy.