Autonomy pits Jambi against Riau over island

Autonomy pits Jambi against Riau over island

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Two neighboring provinces, Riau and Jambi, have been involved in
an intense rift over Berhala Island over the last two months.
Both have claimed the ten-square-kilometer islet, for political,
cultural and historical reasons.

Both sides said they were awaiting mediation from the central
government to resolve the conflict.

The dispute, which first surfaced in 1983, has been worsening
since the two provinces have grown increasingly interested in
developing the island's economic, tourist and fishing potential
under the regional autonomy law.

The row over the island rose into surface following the
proposed formation of the Riaus Island regency.

Jambi Governor Zulkifli Nurdin insisted that if seen from the
geographical, administrative and historical perspectives, Berhala
was an integral part of Jambi.

"If Riau said the rift over the island should no longer be
discussed because it was part of its territory, Jambi adversely
issues its own claim," he said in a meeting with students,
activists and journalists in Jambi on Tuesday.

He said the rift must be solved and the island must be
returned to Jambi.

He said he had none of his own interests behind the rift or
the island but his administration was collecting material
evidence and data to support their claim of the island.

Many Jambi people whose ancestors came from the island have
pressed the governor to retrieve the island since the island was
a home for their forefathers and cultural heritage of the former
Melayu kingdom Before and After Christ.

According to Zulkifli, administratively, 12 families living on
the island had identity cards from the Jambi provincial
administration and cast their votes for political parties in
Jambi in the 1982 general election

"This is evidence that the island's 50 inhabitants are part of
Jambi's population and they have interacted with other people on
the Jambi mainland," he said as quoted by Antara.

The island has been under a no-activity status since the rift
erupted in 1983, barring the two provinces from doing activities
on it.

Fachruddin Saudagar, a historian from Jambi University,
concurred and said that according to the Tanah Simpang and Tanah
Kumpeh Hilir charters written in 1211, the island was part of
Jambi.

He said Jambi should retrieve the island, explaining the
importance of the Islamic-Melayu history in the province.

He said that according to history, the island, located 2.5
miles off the Batanghari River mouth in the Jambi regency of East
Tanjung Jabung, was occupied by a king of Turkish-descent, King
Datuk Paduka Berhala in 1321.

From his marriage with Princess Selaras Pinang Masak, Berhala
gained a son named Datuk Paduka Nangsum who was made the new king
of the island. Nangsum married the daughter of Demang Lebar Daun
in Palembang, South Sumatra and they had four sons --Orang Kayo
Hitam, Orang Kayo Pingai, Orang Kayo Pendataran and Orang Kayo
Gemuk. On the island, the four established a town, Ujung Jabung,
which was an embryo for the birth of Islamic Melayu culture in
Jambi.

Meanwhile, Saleh Syari, an informal leader of Berhala Island,
called on the two provinces' governors to seek a peaceful
solution to the rift with the mediation of the home affairs
ministry to give legal certainty on the island's status.

"The government should seek an immediate solution to the
conflict so that the island's inhabitants are certain of which
province they are in," Antara quoted Syari as saying in Pekanbaru
on Wednesday.

According to him, most people on the island had claimed they
are part of Riau.

"In the past, many locals preferred Jambi Province because of
Riau's lack of attention to the island. But, now it is
different," he said without elaborating.

Besides the historical, cultural and political reasons, the
island is part of Riau in accordance with the map made during the
Dutch colonial era.

Directorate General for Public Administration and Regional
Autonomy Soedarsono said the government would immediately
facilitate a meeting between the conflicting provinces to seek a
peaceful solution.

He said the central government had no concept of how such
problems should be solved "but at least we will mediate between
the two sides to seek a peaceful solution."

Soedarsono admitted that many such problems had surfaced
during the autonomy but the government could do nothing to the
problems because such problems could not stipulated in the
regional autonomy.

He said most regents, experts and legislators were holding a
gathering in Palembang, South Sumatra to make preparations for
the planned amendment of the autonomy law so that such problems
would not arise in the future.

"I don't know yet what changes will be made to the law because
it is still being discussed by regents, experts and legislators,"
he told The Jakarta Post by telephone.