Natuna wants to pull out from Kepri province<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A delegation representing Natuna regency opposed their inclusion
\nin the newly formed Riau Island (Kepri) province and, instead,
\ndeclared a desire to remain as part of Riau province.<\/p>\n
Daeng Rusnadi, who led the Natuna delegation, after a meeting
\nwith President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Friday at the
\nPresidential Palace, said that Natuna wanted to remain an
\nintegral part of Riau province in order to receive its share of
\nthe province's fiscal balance in natural resources exploration.<\/p>\n
\"As part of Riau (province), Natuna will remain one of eight
\noil- and gas-rich regencies in the province, while Natuna will be
\nobliged to shoulder the economic burden of other regencies in
\nRiau Island if it joins the new province, because it is the only
\none who has natural resources,\" Rusnadi remarked.<\/p>\n
He explained that staying as part of Riau province the regency
\nhave received around Rp 112 billion (US$14.2million) annually
\nunder the fiscal balance.<\/p>\n
Natuna, made up of several islands, is located in the South
\nChina Sea between the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, and has
\nhuge deposits of oil and gas that have yet to be explored
\noptimally.<\/p>\n
The Natuna issue surfaced following the controversial
\nformation of the Riau Islands province, which nevertheless had
\nthe full support of the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
The House, exercising its legislative authority to prepare the
\nbill on the formation of the new province, pressured the central
\ngovernment to accept the new province. Riau has opposed the
\nformation of the new province and to finance its development,
\nbecause it failed to win the support of all regencies in the
\nproposed province.<\/p>\n
President Megawati has approved Law No. 25\/2002 but has not
\nyet issued any decree to enforce it, because the formation of the
\nnew province has met opposition both from Riau and Natuna.<\/p>\n
The delegation, mostly comprising members of the Natuna
\nregency legislature, said they had never given any support for
\nthe establishment of the new province, because it would certainly
\noverburden the regency.<\/p>\n
\"We respect the decision on the formation of the new province,
\nbut we do not desire to be included in Riau Island province,
\nbecause we have never supported the legislation process,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In response to the demand from the Natuna delegation, Megawati
\ncalled on them remain calm, because the law on the new province
\nwould be enforced within the next three years.<\/p>\n
The formation of new provinces and regencies have been a
\nrising trend since the implementation of regional autonomy in
\nJan. 2000. The decentralization has been a blessing for resource-
\nrich regions such as Riau, East Kalimantan, Aceh and Papua, but
\nit has provoked jealous reactions from those provinces that lack
\nnatural resources.<\/p>\n
Another similar case is the formation of the provinces of West
\nand Central Irian Jaya, which has met with opposition from the
\nPapuan political elite, who fear losing revenues tied to natural
\nresources located in the two new provinces.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/natuna-wants-to-pull-out-from-kepri-province-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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