Indonesian Manpower Minister, Jacob Nuwa Wea, has publicly threatened to lead a campaign for a boycott of Sony products unless the company 'explains' the proposed closure of its Indonesian factory. The closure, down for next March, will result in the loss of about 1,000 jobs. Saburo Izumi of the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) was quoted in the Indonesian media as saying the main reasons for the Sony closure are continuing problems with labor disputes, unfavorable government regulations and customs policies, as well as rampant smuggling. In spite of the recent imposition of a luxury tax of between 10 and 75 per cent on electronic products, smuggled electronic goods dominate the Indonesian market and are sold much cheaper as they are free of such taxes. But the pullout may also have been catalysed by a dispute at the plant when Sony was accused of 'serious human and labor rights violations' in Indonesia. In July 2000, about 1,000 Sony workers went on strike when the company announced the dismissal of 1,007 workers out of its then total workforce of 1,300. The Indonesian Metalworkers Union, supported by the Geneva-based International Metalworkers Federation (IMF), intervened and eventually succeeded in bringing the parties to the negotiating table. Finally, an agreement was reached on 1 September 2000, to reinstate all workers from the PT Sony Employees Union and compensate those workers who did not wish to continue working for the electronics giant.

Asia Times Online

7 December 2002

Following the Bali bombing, six Australian students decided to remain in Yogyakarta despite warnings from their government, and at the risk of losing their university credits back home. One of the students, Becky Meckelburg, cited her love of Javanese village (kampung) life as her main reason for staying. Meckelburg, who is enrolled at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia was one of six Australian students studying at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University (UGM) who decided to stay and continue their studies in spite of security and travel advisories. In early November 2002, Bambang Puwono, assistant to the vice rector of business development and co-operation, revealed that 59 Australian students had been studying at the university, out of which only six had decided to stay; the rest had gone home almost immediately after the Australian government issued travel advisories following the 12 October bombings. In addition, six Norwegian students, four American students and an American professor were reported to have left UGM due to the bombings.

The Jakarta Post

12 November 2002

Thousands of Indonesian students and workers around the country protested the government's decision to raise fuel, electricity and telephone rates. On 2 January the government raised fuel prices by 22 per cent, and also increased the cost of electricity and telephone as part of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan package aimed at weaning the economy away from hefty subsidies. Nationwide protests began less than a week later. In an effort to quell the protests, which had the support of political elites, the government chose to delay planned hikes in telephone services, and selected fuel and electricity price increases were also rolled back. Despite these backdowns, donors still pledged US$2.7 billion in loans at a Consultative Group on Indonesia meeting on 22 January. The Indonesian government is weighing the possibility of allowing their US$5 billion program with the IMF to lapse when it expires later in 2003. Critics of the IMF hope the discontinuing the program will free Indonesia from tough fiscal measures that could jeopardize the poor.

CPI Indonesia Update

27 January 2003

A former police advisor has said that the Indonesian police investigation into the Bali bombing has revealed how the lack of technical expertise and equipment constrains the work of the force. Hermawan Sulistyo, an analyst for the Indonesian Institute of the Social Sciences (Lipi), was in Bali when the bombs exploded. Hermawan said he was asked by the Bali Police to assist them in the investigation. He had just finalized a research project to evaluate the work performance of the Bali Police and was already acquainted with the local senior officers. 'The police were not ready to deal with anything like (the Bali bombing)', he told Lipi staff at an informal meeting, at which he spoke of his involvement in the investigation. Hermawan said that police were poorly trained in handling and archiving valuable data in an investigation. Most of the problems, however, arose from lack of equipment. When the investigating team set up its command post at one of the hotels close to the bomb site, Hermawan said he noticed the police were not familiar with computer networking.

The Jakarta Post