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Goh urges Indonesia to protect foreign investors

SINGAPORE: Indonesia must protect foreign investors on the resort island of Bintan hit by protests, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said in remarks published on Sunday.

"I will leave it to the Indonesian authorities to handle this. They have to protect foreign investors," Goh said, quoted by the Sunday Times, as he returned from a six-day trip to India.

"In this case it happens to be a Singaporean investor. But the basic message must be they have to protect foreign investors," he said.

Goh said he was "rather sad" at what was happening at the resort, especially since earlier this month he travelled to Indonesia, beset by troubles in several provinces, to help Jakarta woo back foreign capital.

Hundreds of villagers, armed with knives and spears, stormed into the Bintan Industrial Park and seized a key power plant last weekend, severing electricity and water supply to 27 factories.

The protesters also threatened to tear down the park, demanding more money for the land that was sold in 1991 to Indonesia's Salim Group, the largest shareholder in the industrial estate.

The park is managed by a unit of Singapore conglomerate SembCorp. Industries Ltd. which has threatened to close it down if the situation worsens.

According to the Sunday Times, a meeting between Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid and the demonstrators set for Monday has been cancelled. No reason was given.

The report added about 200 more troops were sent to the island, joining 300 police and military personnel already there.

The protesters, who left the power plant last Wednesday following appeals by government officials and politicians, have promised to return if Wahid does not step in to resolve their claims.

The villagers were reportedly paid 100 rupiah per square metre of land occupied by the industrial park and the Bintan Beach International Resort but now want 10 times the amount Ñ 10,000 rupiah (1.37 US dollars) Ñ reports say.

Bintan, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of here, is a popular weekend resort for Singaporeans who also hold the lion's share of the 1.35 billion-Singapore-dollar (808-million-US dollars) in investment there. AFP