INDONESIA : Some 500 protesters from an alliance of Indonesian
university students, civil organisations and labour unions staged a
noisy demonstration in front of the office of Indonesia's
anti-monopoly watchdog in Jakarta.
They are demanding for the removal of the head of the watchdog and
the replacement of all its members.
They alleged that the Business Competition Supervisory Committee
(KPPU) has wrongfully prosecuted state-owned enterprises for
alleged anti-competition practices, creating uncertainties in the
business environment.
The protesters then proceeded to the presidential palace to deliver
their petition.
Only the president - upon the advice of the parliament - can
replace and appoint members of the KPPU.
The protesters come from the Nationalist Indonesian Students
Alliance (AMNI) which represents students from more than 10
universities in Jakarta, the National Coalition of Workers Union,
and two civic organisations.
The group highlighted three recent cases which they accuse the KPPU
of mishandling.
Among them - the current probe on Singapore investment company
Temasek Holdings and its subsidiaries Singapore Technologies
Telemedia and Singapore Telecom.
The KPPU has accused Temasek of violating Indonesia's anti-monopoly
laws through the two subsidiaries which have stakes in Indonesian
telecom operators Indosat and Telkomsel - charges that Temasek has
denied.
The group alleged that the watchdog's probe into Temasek has been
influenced by a Russian company who was said to be interested in
Singapore Technologies Telemedia's shares in Indosat.
"The allegation that KPPU was contaminated by a Russian company,
Altimo is getting obvious. It's meant to pressure the Singapore
company to sell its shares," said Arief Puyono, head of the
Federation of United Workers Union for State-Owned
Enterprise.
"To me, these are bad for the future, and more so when President
Yudhoyono has a programme to attract foreign investment to speed up
economic growth." - CNA /ls