Marginalization in Maluku<\/p>\n
I read the opinion article by Angelique L. Pauline van Engelen
\nand Harley Saimima on the cause of the conflict now flaring in
\nMaluku, which The Jakarta Post published on page 5 under the
\ntitle The seeds of discontent in the beautiful Maluku islands in
\nits July 20, issue, and have been prompted to comment on it.<\/p>\n
The two writers have blamed the resettlement project as the
\nroot cause of the Maluku conflict. They point to the fact that
\nthousands of newcomers have been resettled separately from the
\nlocal people, many of whom have had their plots of land
\nforcefully seized for these resettled people. The presence of
\nthese newcomers and the election of the heads of new villages
\nopened up for them have been seen as an attempt to Javanize the
\narea.<\/p>\n
While this opinion may be correct in some respects, the
\nstatistical data available tell a different story. For about 30
\nyears -- six 5-year development periods -- as many as 22,799
\nfamilies or 90,982 people were resettled in four regencies. This
\nnumber was less than 5 percent of the total population of the
\nprovince of Maluku in 1999. Most of them were resettled in
\nCentral Maluku (13,140 families or 52,548 people, i.e. about 7.99
\npercent of the population in Central Maluku in 1999). The main
\nresettlement areas are located on Buru Island and North Seram
\nIsland.<\/p>\n
The question is whether the presence of newcomers numbering
\nonly about 5 percent of Maluku population can cause turmoil
\nthroughout the entire Maluku province. Up to 1996 most of these
\nnewcomers were still poor and as evidence of their poverty, none
\nof those going for the haj pilgrimage this year came from Buru
\nIsland. On the other hand, according to Kompas (June 19), the
\nnumber of refugees from Maluku now in Buton regency (Southeast
\nSulawesi) is now recorded at some 107,000 people. Our own survey
\nin Buton (January 2000) reveals that 53 percent of these refugees
\nhave come from Ambon City and 44 percent of them from Central
\nMaluku regency.<\/p>\n
The number of people with Buginese, Buton and Muna (BBM)
\nethnic background made up some 35 percent of the population of
\nAmbon City in 1998 and 15 percent of the population in Central
\nMaluku. People of BBM ethnic background dominate the modern
\nsector (trade) in Ambon City and it is for this reason that
\nrioting first broke out in Ambon and not on Buru Island or other
\nplaces.<\/p>\n
Development and modernization always have structural
\ndifferentiation and cultural secularization as their attendant
\nconsequences. Structural differentiation takes place alongside
\nfunctional specialization and turns religious elders previously
\nplaying multiple roles into the singular role of prayer leader.<\/p>\n
Cultural secularization is a phenomenon followed by
\nmonetization and commercialization. In Maluku this phenomenon is
\nevident from the presence of large-scale businesses comprising
\nnot only the Agency for Clove Marketing and Bufferstock (BPPC)
\nheaded by Tommy Soeharto, but also business lines owned by
\ntycoons in forestry, agribusiness, mining and fisheries along
\nwith their supporting service enterprises such as the banking,
\ninsurance and marketing sectors. These companies bring with them
\nmanagers from Jakarta. Local people cannot fill higher management
\npositions because of their lack of education and experience. As
\nmost of the locals are not interested to take lower positions,
\nthese companies recruit people from Java or perhaps from among
\nthe resettled people in Maluku to be employed as ordinary
\nemployees, such as security guards. As a result, local people
\nhave been more marginalized than before.<\/p>\n
M. IKHSAN<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/marginalization-in-maluku-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }