Muchus Budi R., Solo — Scores of people
demonstrated at the Gladag roundabout in the Central
Java city of Solo on March 13 opposing the
ratification of the Draft Law on Capital Investment
because it fails to side with the interests of the
people.
The protesters, who came from a number of student
groups and non-government organisations calling
themselves the Social Alliance for the People’s
Welfare (Amuk Rakyat), arrived at the roundabout at
around 10.30am.
In speeches, the demonstrators called for the
ratification of the draft law to be opposed because
it overly sides with the interest of foreign
capitalists. They also believe that it lacks
transparency.
“The articles in the Draft Law on Capital Investment
will cause huge financial losses to the state and
the people. Because of this the ratification of the
law must be opposed”, said one of the demonstrators
in a speech.
The articles with the potential to cause looses
include Article 1 Paragraph 3 that makes it possible
for foreign capitalists to operate in Indonesia
without working jointly with domestic capital.
Article 6 Paragraph 1 says that the state will
provide similar treatment to capitalists from all
countries. According to the protesters, this is the
same as the state failing to protect domestic
capital.
Article 8 Paragraph 1 says that capital investors
can transfer their assets to another party. This
article frees foreign capitalists from their
responsibilities so that financial losses will be
born by the state.
Moreover, Article 20 Paragraph 1 states that
business permits will be issued for 95 years,
building permits for 80 years and land use rights to
the produce from state or privately owned land for
70 years. These rights signify that the government
will transfer huge amounts of assets to foreign
capitalists.
“Because of this, Amuk Rakyat opposes the draft law,
opposes neoliberalism and opposes foreign
interference”, said one of the protesters.