In my viewpoint, if other people no longer need us, we have actually died. What the nation needs now is not discourse but concrete action to help our fellow citizens
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Businessman-cum-intelligence observer Suhendra Hadikuntono plans to sell several of his companies, clocking a turnover of hundreds of billions of rupiah, to assist the government in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In my viewpoint, if other people no longer need us, then we have actually died. What the nation needs now is not discourse but concrete action to help our fellow citizens," he noted in a written statement released on Monday night.

The companies that Hadikuntono intends to sell are engaged in property and mining as well as secure parking businesses, among others.

The companies, under the aegis of Indo Sarana Group, are operating in Jakarta and other cities in the country, including Bandung and Cirebon in West Java, Pekalongan and Semarang in Central Java, Surabaya in East Java, and Yogyakarta.

The companies currently employ thousands of workers.

Hadikuntono has vowed to channel proceeds from the sale of the companies to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers on the forefront in the battle against the spread of coronavirus.

"If we talk about the world, the talk will never end. What we need now is sacrifice to contain the pandemic since nobody knows when it will end. We do what we can do. The country now calls upon us," he emphasized.

Hadikuntono remarked that the sale of the companies will run transparently, and all taxes arising from this will be paid to the state treasury.

Hadikuntono is also known to have broad networks with various circles at home and abroad. In fact, Thailand once requested him to act as an intermediary in the conflict in South Thailand.

Moreover, he held the post of chief of the Indonesia-Vietnam Human Rights Violation Settlement that freed 150 Vietnamese detained on Anambas Island for allegedly violating the Indonesian waters.

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Translator: Zuhdiar Laeis/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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