Youths call on government to ban luxury car imports

JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of people calling themselves the Anti- Luxury Cars Movement (GAMM), staged a rally at the Jakarta Convention Center on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, on Monday demanding the government ban the import of luxury cars.

The rally was held as hundreds of visitors inside the convention center were gleefully attending Auto Expo 2000, the largest automotive exhibition in the country, organized by the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo).

Imported luxury cars is the main feature being highlighted in the expo.

"The government has no sense of crisis at all!" shouted one of the protesters. "While millions of people are starving, the jobless multiplying and children are out of school, they lift the ban on luxury cars! What were they thinking?"

The protesters then brought a mock model of a car with the words "luxury car" written on it. They then poured gasoline on it and set it ablaze.

"Today we only burned a model. Tomorrow don't blame us if we burn the real ones!" one of the protesters warned.

Several visitors, curious about the commotion, approached the gate to see the rally. After seeing the protest, they went back into the building and grinned.

The protesters also urged the people not to buy luxury cars.

"You government officials, businessmen, conglomerates and other rich people, show your tolerance to the people who are now suffering from the economic crisis. Do not buy luxury cars!" another protester said.

In February, former minister of industry and trade Yusuf Kalla issued a decree imposing a ban on the import of luxury vehicles which seats fewer than 10 people in an attempt to reduce social envy.

However, the ban which later also applied to imported automobiles which have engine capacities of 4,000 cc and above or price tags of more than US$40,000, was revoked on June 2 by the new Minister of Industry and Trade Luhut Pandjaitan.

"The government is mocking starving people with their policy," leader of the movement MS. Jihad said.

"Luxury cars now roaming the streets will only spark social envy....So don't blame them if, in the future, they burn these luxury cars!" another protester said.

The protesters were mostly students from the Islamic Students Association (HMI) and various nongovernmental organizations such as Humanika. Several protesters then approached the entrance gate, which had been locked by security personnel shortly before they arrived, to the exhibition compound.

Among the popular and completely built-up (CBU) imported cars was a BMW Z8 sports car, on sale for about Rp 2 billion (US$250,000). The car was featured in the latest James Bond film.

The protest ended peacefully about half-an-hour later.

It is the country's first auto expo to display a wide range of CBU vehicles. The week-long exhibition, jointly opened last Wednesday by Minister of Industry and Trade Luhut Panjaitan and Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Agum Gumelar, is slated to be closed on Tuesday. (jaw)