Transmigrants lose their chance to earn a living<\/p>\n
Bonifasius Gunung, Indonesian Advocacy Service for Justice and
\nPeace (PADMA), Jakarta<\/p>\n
Transmigration, a program that promotes public welfare, has
\ncome back into the spotlight. In Sintang, West Kalimantan, 3,500
\nfamilies of farmers participating in the transmigration-related
\nnucleus estates and smallholders project (PIR-Trans) in various
\nsettlement units in West Kalimantan, have been plagued with
\npoverty and a great deal of suffering from errors committed by
\nthe government and the nucleus company in charge of implementing
\nthe transmigration.<\/p>\n
The farming communities initially believed that the government
\nand relevant agencies in the transmigration scheme had spent time
\nconsidering, planning and preparing all the facilities promised.
\nBut when the participants arrived at the project locations, the
\npromised facilities of a house on a 0.5-hectare plot and a two-
\nhectare estate with oil palms were not there.<\/p>\n
The government's insensitive, inconsistent, arrogant and
\ndiscriminative attitude in law enforcement has caused scarce job
\nopportunities, a high mortality rate among infants and pregnant
\nwomen, infant malnutrition, a high dropout rate among high school
\nstudents and child labor, and the sale or exchange of children
\nfor rice -- clear indications of how the transmigrants have been
\nleft to live in absolute poverty.<\/p>\n
It is important and urgent to address the following questions
\nto the government: (1) Why haven't the government and all
\nagencies concerned with the transmigration scheme taken concrete
\nmeasures to settle the transmigrants' problems? (2) Why has the
\ngovernment appointed a nucleus company, which has shirked its
\nresponsibility and not shown any remorse?<\/p>\n
These are only a few questions among the many that need to be
\nraised to find out the causes behind this transmigration failure.
\nThe longer they remain unanswered, the stronger will be the
\npublic's impression that the government is not only incapable of
\nsolving the problem but is also purposely allowing them to live
\nwithout an opportunity for survival. Perhaps the transmigrants'
\nsituation has created an opportunity for affluence within the
\ngovernment circles through corruption, collusion and nepotism.<\/p>\n
The poverty suffered by the 3,500 transmigrant families is a
\ndirect result of the government's failure to grant them legal
\nrights as required by the law on transmigration, therefore, the
\ngovernment should be held accountable for their misery. As a
\npublic instrument authorized to undertake efforts to promote the
\nwelfare of society, the government is legally bound to alleviate
\nthe transmigrants' poverty.<\/p>\n
Therefore, it is imperative and urgent to make comprehensive
\nand fundamental efforts to solve the transmigrants' problems.
\nWith reference to the project participants in the ninth
\nsettlement unit in Singkup, Kedawangan, fifth and ninth
\nsettlement units in Marau and Manis Mata districts, Ketapang and
\nthe second and third units in the Ketunggu Ilir district,
\nSintang, West Kalimantan, the urgent efforts that need to be made
\nare the following:<\/p>\n
o A revision of all regulations designed to implement the
\ntransmigration program. Presidential Instruction No.1\/1986, for
\ninstance, cannot be effectively implemented because (a) there are
\ntoo many agencies involved in the PIR-Trans program
\nimplementation, (b) there are overlapping areas of authority
\ndelegated to the agencies, (c) there is no clear boundary of
\ncoordination between the agencies, and (d) the government, in
\nthis case the agriculture minister, has no authority over its
\nsupervision or to seek the accountability of the nucleus company
\nappointed as the government's business partner.<\/p>\n
o A review of regulations relating to acquisition of communal
\nproperty land in transmigration locations. This is important
\nbecause often the new transmigrants are driven away by locals who
\nfeel they have not yet received proper compensation for the land
\nacquired by the government for the transmigration. The potential
\npotential for conflict between locals and newcomers must be
\nminimized. Rational and natural assimilation should remain a
\npriority to strengthen social stability, a main goal of
\ntransmigration.<\/p>\n
o Stern action needs to be taken against all parties abusing
\nauthority and power. Otherwise, transmigration will pose major
\nissues in the future and can even disrupt the nation's
\nsociopolitical stability.<\/p>\n
o Concrete steps should be promptly taken for the
\ntransmigrants now struggling for their rights, such as returning
\nthem to their areas of origin and giving them compensation or
\nmoving them to another resettlement area and providing them with
\na sufficient living allowance.<\/p>\n
By not fulfilling its obligations, the accusations that the
\ngovernment has committed deception, which is a criminal offense,
\nand a legal infringement, a civil offense, will be hard to evade.<\/p>",
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