REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli believes the bomb blasts near Sarinah Mall and Starbucks Cafe in Central Jakarta's business center area will not have long-term effects on economic sectors, especially tourism and investor confidence.
"Certainly, the incident will have a short-term impact on tourism, but in the medium term, the impact will be reduced," he claimed here on Thursday.
Ramli was optimistic that the bombings and a series of shootouts between the police and attackers will not affect investor confidence.
He also denied claims that the incident was aimed at degrading the investment climate to create a sense of uncertainty among investors.
"I am sure there will be an impact, but with the passage of time, the situation will normalize. We also felt a strong impact after the bombing at the JW Marriot, which led to the deaths of several foreigners, but the effects were not long-lasting," he pointed out.
On the other hand, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya stated that tourism is the most sensitive sector, which could easily be affected by security issues, such as incidents of bomb explosions.
"Tourism has a linear relationship with the security situation. If the security situation shows a 10 percent improvement, then tourism will also grow around 10 percent," he explained.
In line with tourism, trade will also be affected by the bombings, while investment is considered as the sector to be least affected by security issues.
Yahya was not in a position to forecast the decrease in tourism income due to the bombings.
"It should be calculated based on the country's image index. If a certain incident causes a 20 percent drop in our index, tourism will also decrease if we do not implement measures to immediately fix the matter," he affirmed.
Three suicide bombers blew themselves up near a police post in the Jakarta Theatre Building at the M.H. Thamrin Boulevard, according to an eye witness.
The Thamrin area is now being cordoned off as police officers are still investigating the incident.
According to witnesses, around six explosions were heard during the bombing attacks.
The first and second explosions occurred in the Starbucks coffee shop at around 10:40 a.m. and 10:53 a.m. local time, Tri Feranto, a security officer of Bank Mandiri building located near the site of the explosions, stated.
The third explosion took place near the police post and hit the three suicide bombers and a police officer, according to Tri.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth explosions took place at 11 a.m., 11:03 a.m., and 11:04 a.m. local time.
Seven people, including four perpetrators, were killed in the bombing and shootout incidents.
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