Indonesian Government Unlikely to Boycott Pro-Israel Products
- Satria Zulfikar/VIVA.
Jakarta – The Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan revealed on Monday that the current government is unlikely to boycott pro-Israel products.
"We don't prohibit any product as long as the product is by the existing rules," the Minister said during a working meeting with Commission VI of the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Monday.
Regarding the boycott of pro-Israel products by the public, it's not a problem because it's the right of each other, Minister Hasan stated.
Menteri Perdagangan (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan
- VIVA/Yeni Lestari
According to the Minister, the government only focuses on providing rules. Therefore, the government does not prohibit any product from being sold in Indonesia as long as it is by applicable regulations.
"There is public opinion, go ahead. The government has nothing to prohibit, nothing, if it regulates yes," Minister Hasan remarked.
It's known that the Director General of Domestic Trade of the Ministry of Trade Isy Karim stated that the preparation of a boycott list of products affiliated with Israel must be done selectively so that the information circulating in the community is not half-and-half.
Karim said that the fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) banning the use of products affiliated with Israel is in line with the government's stance in defending Palestinian independence.
However, a deeper study is needed to select which products are directly affiliated and which are not.
Ratusan Santri di Bogor Gelar Razia dan Bakar Produk Israel
- VIVA | Muhammad AR (Bogor)
"The boycott must be selective, this requirement is so as not to make what is circulating on social media become wild. This is what we need to explore more deeply, which products are directly and indirectly affiliated," Karim explained.
According to Karim, the products circulating in the community are not directly related to Israeli aggression. The relationship between Indonesia and Israel is only limited to business-to-business (B to B) trade relations and has no diplomatic relations (G to G).
In addition, the list of products circulating on social media are domestic products, where the labor comes from Indonesia. Therefore, the Ministry of Trade will further investigate which products are truly affiliated with Israel.
