When violence is used to overcome big business

When violence is used to overcome big business

Kornelius Purba, Nusa Dua, Bali

Members of the Business Competition Supervisory Commission
(KPPU), like Pande Raja Silalahi, and executives of the
Association of Indonesian Retailers (Aprindo), were shocked when
a member of the House of Representatives' (DPR) Commission VI
reacted during their recent hearing with the commission. "Just
burn it," he said, after one of the association's delegates
complained about unfair treatment by a well-known hypermarket
against its small suppliers.

"It is terrible to hear such a reaction from a respectable
legislator. What would happen if the media quoted such a
irresponsible statement and sections of the public then acted on
it?" said one of the hearing's participants, recalling the
meeting. Fortunately, journalists covering the hearing were
taking a nap when the legislator made the remark.

Small businessmen have been complaining about the ever growing
presence of modern retailers and wholesalers, such as hypermarket
giants Carrefour and Macro. Sometimes the perceived greed of the
hypermarkets has reached ridiculous levels. A few years ago
Carrefour received strong protests from traditional goat traders
when it also sold goats and cows for sacrifice for the Islamic
holiday of Idul Adha (Sacrifice Day).

From time to time, the aggressive expansion of mini market
chains like Indomaret and Alfa have also sparked strong outcries
from traditional shop owners and traditional markets, although
now the resistance seems to be decreasing. Indomaret has just
opened its 1001st shop. Most of its shops operate in Jakarta and
next year it targets to open up another 600 shops.

It is quite understandable that small traders are upset with
the big retailers, because there is no way that they can compete
with these capital-intensive and well-managed giants. They feel
frustrated because the government has never appeared serious in
protecting them and ensuring their survival.

However, in the near future President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
is expected to sign a presidential decree to regulate big
retailers and wholesalers. Surprisingly, the draft of the decree
has been widely circulated in the public domain. The draft is
very tough and is quite protective towards the small business
community.

But what exactly was the motivation in leaking a copy of the
draft decree, and who leaked it? Was the leaking aimed at
soliciting input from the public, or was the only purpose to
blackmail certain sections of the business community?

Recently, the President allegedly complained that he having
trouble finding the draft of a presidential decree on the
appointment of new National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief. The
draft was eventually found and Maj. Gen. Sjamsir Siregar was
appointed.

The message of this article is in fact not about the somewhat
controversial expansion of modern, multinational supermarket
chains in Indonesia. For decades, from Soeharto to Susilo, the
government, the House and political leaders have talked much
about the need to develop cooperatives and small-scale business
as the cornerstone of the country's economy. That is fine. But
what about the implementation of these policies? We cannot always
just blame big business. They are operating and expanding their
business with official government permits, meaning they are
working within the law. All related government agencies have also
given their approvals. Of course no one believes -- even the
President himself and Minister for Trade Marie Pangestu -- that
they got their business license or permits free of charge. There
is nothing free here; even your family will have to bribe
officials to have your body buried here in Jakarta.

The problem is, as always, in implementing our laws and
regulations. When big business causes harm to the public or to
small business and cooperatives, then of course the government
has an obligation to ensure that small businesses get fair
protection. But big business also has the right to survive, as
long as they abide by the law. The problems are not about the
lack of laws, but in their implementation. The cooperatives
sector has often been abused to enrich small groups who claim to
work for the prosperity of poor people. Nurdin Halid, a leading
figure in cooperatives movement, now currently in detention for
alleged corruption in the national cooperatives scheme.

The government has the right to close down modern retail
outlets if they violate the law. But, as everyone knows, shops
that have been closed down will with ease get back into operation
after they have bribed government officials. The closure of a
company is more often than not motivated by efforts to coerce and
extort, having no relationship to the upholding of the law
itself. The victims in the end are always poor vendors, because
they have no money to bribe city officials who have demolished
their small warung (stalls).

The legislator mentioned at the beginning of this article
apparently thought that violence was the only way to force the
hypermarket to settle complaints. But this is a very dangerous
mind-set for a politician. We have seen far too much violence in
this country where mobs burn or destroy shops or business
centers. Hundreds of people, many of them looters, were burned
alive in shopping malls in Jakarta just few days before
Soeharto's fall in May 1998. How many Chinese Indonesian women
became the victims of sexual violence in Jakarta when the masses
were provoked to attack them? This tragedy continues to haunt the
nation and we must be vigilant in ensuring that such
irresponsible acts never occur again.

Shopping malls are rapidly growing in big cities like Jakarta
and Medan. In Jakarta, it is Governor Sutiyoso himself who is
responsible for the closure of many traditional markets,
believing that Jakarta needs more modern markets. Should we
condemn big business for pouring their money into their ventures
and creating new employment? Their businesses are, at least in a
formal sense, legal. They have all necessary official permits to
undertake their business, regardless they way the got them. They
make a large contribution to our nation's economy. They will
follow the rules if they know the government is really serious in
enforcing the law.

Hopefully, the legislator's remark was a mere slip of the
tongue, and after all, he is only one of 550 members in the
national legislature. Perhaps he was half asleep or semi-
conscious when he said, "Just burn it." But what would happen if
he had said the same thing in front of hundreds of low-wage
workers demanding justice after their company has laid them off
for unacceptable reasons?

The author is a staff writer of The Jakarta Post, and he can
be reached at purba@thejakartapost.com.