HIMKI Calls The Indonesian Furniture Industry Difficult To Compete With Vietnam Due To The Actions Of Mass Organization Thugs

JAKARTA - The practice of thuggery carried out by community organizations aka Ormas has a significant impact on the performance of the domestic industry, including the performance of the furniture industry.

Chairman of the Indonesian Furniture and Crafts Industry Association (HIMKI) Abdul Sobur said that the act of thuggery of mass organizations was a stumbling block for this sector to compete with Vietnam.

"We are concentrating on fighting and fighting against a country that is clean from those things (ormas), such as Vietnam. Maybe there can grow industry, but here we still have to face those things (ormas)," said Sobur at the 2025 Indonesia International Furniture Expo (IFEX) press conference at JIExpo, Kemayoran, Jakarta, Thursday, March 6.

Sobur assessed that acts of thuggery by mass organizations clearly harm the industry. He also hoped that the government would focus on giving firm action to harmful mass organizations.

"The act of thuggery is one of the disturbances, it is the government's job (to take firm action against mass organizations) if we want to advance. However, I believe the government already has a fairly large awareness that an important element must be suppressed (ormas) because it is clearly disturbing, especially in big industries," he said.

"It also disturbs the furniture industry, the cases we heard yesterday were interference from mass organizations," he continued.

The performance of the RI furniture industry is currently at 2.5 million US dollars. The figure is far behind Vietnam, which has reached 20 million US dollars.

According to Sobur, to compete with Vietnam, the business climate needs to be maintained in order to attract investors. Reflecting on Vietnam's ability to maintain the industrial climate to accept industrial relocation from China.

"If the country wants to progress as Vietnam is benchmarking, incentives need to be enlarged, thuggery if Vietnam has run out, maybe minimal. So, it is natural that their furniture exports can reach 20 million dollars because the country is conducive to investment," explained Sobur.

In addition, said Sobur, the relocation of the furniture industry from China that entered Vietnam in the past decade has reached more than 630 companies.

Not only is the industrial climate stable, Vietnam also has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States (US) and Europe.

"We don't have it yet. Vietnam has 20 years ago had FTA both to the United States and to Europe. So, actually one of the country's powers is there. If we want to enter the United States it is difficult, we expect the government," he concluded.