[STUDENT DISCUSSION] Polemic of Modern Stores and Mall Development in Bantul District

“This is not a problem between modern and traditional, but this is a local and capitalist problem,” Fitri said as the moderator in Thursday’s discussion on November 16, 2016 at the East Seminar Room of Fisipol UGM. The post-graduate students of DPP held a talk show on “Building Modern Stores and Mall in Bantul.” Speakers in the talkshow were Lilik Rahardjo (Observer of Development Studies in Bantul), Anang Kurniawan Hanudji (General Secretary of the Modern Store Association of Bantul), and Yahya (Chairman of the Association of Market Traders Traditional Indonesian branch of Bantul).

Bantul District Government encourages investors to invest in Bantul, so that government revenue increases. Many regulations were created to facilitate the investment process in the form of the development of modern stores and malls. However, the policy recieve some critics from the citizens for turning off their economies and changing the character of society to be consumptive. According to Yahya, many small shops have less buyers after the existence of a modern shop in Bantul. To bridge the potential for conflict, the Modern Store Association of Bantul conducts training for communities to compete with modern stores. People, especially shopkeepers, should have a strategy to compete with modern stores.

The development of modern shops and malls in Bantul can not be separated from the pull of the interests of various parties. Society must unite and work together to reverse the strength of the local economy and counter the influence of investors through its modern stores. The development case in Bantul illustrates how the local economy responds to the penetration of global capitalism.

Credit Photo by Media DPP Team.
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