PIKIRAN RAKYAT - The Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasamita, has confirmed that the Indonesian government is conducting a full investigation into the case of illegal importation of donated shoes from Singapore.

"We will investigate thoroughly, the Indonesian government will uncover the perpetrators, and we will solve it so that it will not happen again," said Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita at the opening of IFEX 2023 in Jakarta on Thursday, March 9, 2023.

He explained that the Ministry of Industry is coordinating with the Ministry of Trade and Customs to comprehensively investigate the case of illegal importation of donated shoes. He has also contacted the Singaporean Government to cooperate in the investigation.

"The Singaporean government will assist us in investigating the case," said Agus as reported by the Antara news agency.

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Furthermore, he said that the investigation into the case of illegally donated shoe import involves many parties ranging from the Ministry and Police to bilateral relations. He will also take legal action against shoe manufacturers who violate international trade laws.

"The Ministry of Industry will foster the shoe industry while its trade violation will be handled together with other parties," Agus explained.

Illegally imported shoes entering the national market will have a negative impact on the local shoe industry as they will disrupt price stability and harm other traders.

"The presence of illegally imported shoes will definitely damage the local industry, and we are trying to prevent that from happening because shoe production must involve Indonesian workers," Agus said.

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"If you buy illegally imported shoes, it will not benefit local shoemakers. It is better to buy shoes made by local shoemakers because they have the same quality and provide benefits to domestic manufacturers,” he added.

As previously reported, the case of illegal shoe imports was uncovered after a foreign journalist from Dow placed a tracking device on shoes donated during a charity event. The journalist from Dow said the donated shoes would be recycled but instead, nearly all the tagged shoes ended up in the hands of Yok Impex Pte Ltd, a Singaporean second-hand goods exporter, according to the trackers and that exporter’s logistics manager.

The manager said his firm had been hired by a waste management company involved in the recycling program to retrieve shoes from the donation bins for delivery to that company’s local warehouse.

But that’s not what happened to the shoes donated by Reuters. Ten pairs moved first from the donation bins to the exporter’s facility, then on to neighboring Indonesia, in some cases traveling hundreds of miles to different corners of the vast archipelago, the location trackers showed.

The donated shoes turn out for sale at various markets in Indonesia. The donated shoes from Reuters were not distributed for charity but were instead sold by unscrupulous sellers for profit.***