"The Conglomerate Comes, The Local People are Marginalized"
4 August 2003 15:50 WIB
This city was turned into a war zone at the end of 1996. Hundreds of shops and motor vehicles were burnt out. A number of sector police buildings were demolished by the mob, and a number of churches, shops, and residential houses were damaged.
The riot was sparked when Ustadz (religious teacher) Mahmud, one of the teachers in Pesantren Condong was tortured by some undisciplined police officers inside the Tasikmalaya Police Resort Headquarters. As the torture continued, the rumor spread widely: there was a humiliation and offense on Islam.
Was it the only "flame" that burnt Tasikmalaya?
Tatang Setiawan, 41, Chairman of Yayasan Bina Sektor Informal, a non-government organization which works on many informal sector problems, remarked on another factor. "This problem has actually been buried for a long time", said Tatang analyzing the situation that rocked the city.
According to a lecture at the Institute of Islamic Studies in Cipasung, the main factor that ignited the riot was the big economic disparity. " The Tasikmalayans are marginalized by the investment of big conglomerates. As a result, there are many jobless people," said the son of Tasikmalaya. TEMPO Interaktif interviewed Tatang Setiawan at his house which is close to Cipasung Pesantren, on Monday (December 30, 1996). The following is the quotation.
What incited the riot that spread so widely in Tasikmalaya?
In fact, the riot was the culmination of what had happened before. As a pesantren educated social worker, I observe that the problem is that the community doesn't have any access to economic resources. Moreover, they can’t rely on the law to guarantee justice. The identity of Tasikmalayans is vanishing. They can no longer compete in small business, they have lost their means of livelihood because the conglomerates have taken over those businesses, such as the embroidery industry and livestock. Tasikmalaya is the third largest industry center after Bali and Jakarta.As a matter of fact, this is a result of too much bureaucracy. For instance, the agricultural products have to pass down a long bureaucratic chain before they reach the consumers. It seems that the Tasikmalayans have been aware of the injustice. The Tasikmalayans should face the economic powers coming from outside. Another problem is that it is difficult for them to access credit to expand their businesses. The bank is happy to hold their money but doesn’t like to lend money to them.
Why are the Tasikmalayans incompetent when it comes to competing with the conglomerates? Are the Tasikmalayans not creative enough?
Well, in general the people are only creative in sectors of business such as credit, embroidery, plaiting and livestock. As the big investors enter the local business scene, the Tasikmalayans are marginalized and lose their jobs. Before the conglomerates came, the people could do their businesses.
Do you mean such a gap incited the riot?
As a Tasikmalayan I can say yes. I see the economic disparity as the main factor that incited the riot. I am also certain the pesantren people intended to diminish the gap. Anyhow, the pesantren people were not able to diminish the gap.
Other than the disparity, is there anything else that could incite the riot?
They would not be pesantren people if they did not become emotional seeing their pesantren leader treated so violently by the police officer. When there was a rumor that the Prophet Muhammad had been killed in battle, I guess, not only the Arabians were mad, but also all Moslems.
Are the people discontented with their daily life?
Yes, such a discontent has long been hidden. For instance, arranging a driver’s license for those who do business in informal sectors such as the motorcycle-taxi driver (ojek) fraught with extortion, but it is easy for those who have facilities (connections). Moreover, there are only a small number of local people who can attain high school education, while only the outsiders can go to school.
Did you observe that the riot was committed by economically marginalized people?
Exactly. They did feel oppressed by the conglomerate powers. I know this feeling because I was among them. Until now, I have been active in Yayasan Bina Informal so I understand their complaints and their feelings.
Does it demonstrate that the Tasikmalayans are not prepared for big industry? How can this be overcome? Can you give an example? Can the ulema-government connection overcome this matter?We feel the benefit of the appeal from the government and ABRI (Indonesian Arm Forces) to help the people. However, many policies created by the government caused a situation, where minorities could not enter industry.
BUMN (State owned enterprise) made rules that makes cooperating with low level people so difficult. Considering this situation, how can the people have access to non-government businesses? It is too difficult to obtain credit from the bank.
So far, the connection has been good. However, this affectionate connection is unpowerful if the macro policies, such as economy policy, occur. For instance, the policy of bank rate interest is up and down. The people bear the risk of that fluctuation
