ANTARA/USEP URBAN

The Indian expatriate association extended Friday their apologies for the “indecent statement” that provoked rioting at Batam dockyard.

“We earnestly apologize for the incident… for the statement by our member. We have been living here and [up until this incident] it has gone well. We have learned a lesson from this,” emotional community leader Devalajan Prakash said during a meeting Friday.

The meeting was attended by Denis Welch, the CEO of Drydocks World Southeast Asia, Batam deputy Mayor Ria Saptarika, Batam Police chief Leonidas Braksan and Mustofa Widjaja, the chairman of the Batam Free Zone Authority.

According to Prakash, there are 500 Indian people residing and working in Batam. Fifty of them, he added, have taken refuge to Singapore since Thursday night for fear of a possible backlash by local people in the wake of rioting at a dockyard, managed by PT Drydocks World Graha.

The riot in the Dubai-owned dockyard company in Tanjung Uncang area on Thursday started when an Indian supervisor, who was upset by a poor evaluation, allegedly made a racist remark toward a local worker during a morning meeting.

Other workers in the room then attacked the Indian supervisor, the incident quickly escalated as news of the dispute spread across the docks.

Local workers, who armed themselves with weapons ranging from hammers to iron rods, stormed the main office searching for Indian workers.

The rioting left about 20 cars belonging to company employees and warehouses damaged and six workers injured, four of whom were Indian citizens.

Welch, during Friday’s mediation to calm the situation, said all parties deeply regretted the incident.

“Our investigation into this incident is ongoing and we do not wish to presume any outcome. All parties wish to confirm that the multi-national/ethnic workforce employed in Batam has enjoyed excellent relations for a long time and the incident is an isolated one-off,” Welch said in a release.

Meanwhile, after questioning 38 expatriate workers and eight local workers over the riot, the police have named one suspect of Indian nationality, who is believed to have instigated the riot.

Riau Islands Police chief Brig. Gen. Pudji Hartanto Iskandar said they were expecting a long investigation because the incident involved thousands of workers. He said a thorough investigation was important to ensure investor confidence.

“We will take those who caused damage in the dockyards to court. It is important to maintain legal supremacy,” he said.

He claimed that security in Batam had been restored and there had been no police sweeps after the riot
Barelang Police chief Sr. Comr. Leonidas Braksan said the suspect, who is still in hospital, faced charges of humiliation and hostility against the unitary state of the Indonesia and was liable to up to seven years in jail.

Labor advocate Setia Tarigan has appealed to the police not to acquit the suspect and warned against implicating local workers for the riot.

“This is an accumulation of partiality sentiments between local workers and expatriate workers the government has never heeded. This incident may be an catalyst to resolving labor problems in Batam,” he said.

In Jakarta, the government said the disturbance at PT Drydocks between workers had been isolated and would not perturb investors, and the company’s management had taken steps to reach a settlement.

“It’s a corporate problem. The management has cooperated with the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry and the labor union. We don’t want this kind of thing to make investment in Indonesia look risky,” Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa told reporters Friday.

PT Drydocks employs almost 20,000 workers with operational sites in Pertama, Nanindah and Graha with total investment of US$54 million. The operations in Pertama and Nanindah are scheduled to resume Monday.

Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this story from Jakarta

Popular

Garuda Indonesia grounds 15 planes over maintenance, financial issues

GDP growth drops below 5% in Prabowo’s first quarter

Govt suspends Sam Altman’s biometric identity project over legal concerns