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.