Survey paints picture of fear, worry following Bali blast
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.