"This is a follow-up to a directive from President (Joko Widodo). We have done this several times; last time, it was in Pekanbaru, East Java, and the peak is this: more than 7 thousand bundles, valued at Rp80 billion," Minister Hasan informed in Cikarang, West Java, on Tuesday.
On the same occasion, Minister Masduki said that the items of clothing imported from neighboring countries were destroyed as part of the government's efforts to protect micro, small, and medium enterprises, whose businesses are compromised by illegal imports.
According to him, the practice has been going on for long and is only getting worse. Hence, the government has taken measures to cut off the supply chain from the upstream, he added.
"I feel like what has been done today is a part of government (efforts) to protect national MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises). I think this should be a part of the ecosystem, on how the government protects businesses so they would become better," he said.
Some officials from the national police, the directorate general of customs and excise of the Finance Ministry, as well as the deputy attorney general on general criminal affairs were present at the burning of the illegally imported items.
The imported second-hand clothes were confiscated during an operation from March 20 to 25, 2023, by a team consisting of customs and excise staff and the Criminal Investigation Agency.
Director general of customs and excise at the Finance Ministry, Askolani, said that the 7,363 bundles of second-hand clothing were confiscated owing to data provided by all the stakeholders.
“They (items of clothing) are usually imported from Singapore, Malaysia, or Vietnam, those are the ones, or Thailand, as one of the (sources). We know that the items caught is not only now, since a few years ago, we have consistently caught some bundles, which are also valued at some tens of billions, which, of course, the investigation will be further improved this year and the next time," he said.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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