Batam's ruling on migration control opposed

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

People can no longer migrate into Batam in Riau province freely as all entry points to the island bordering Singapore and Malaysia are being closely watched by officers from the local municipal administration.

All newcomers arriving at the entry points will be asked to show their identity card and other documents clarifying their trip to the island.

Domestic tourists are allowed to enter the island if they have a certain amount of money and visitors are obliged to identify the family that will guarantee their stay, while those having no identity card or no clear reason for visiting the island are detained for subsequent expulsion from the island.

Job seekers wishing to enter the island are obliged to show a document or letter from the company recruiting them.

The ban on people migrating to Batam without any clear plan is based on Bylaw No. 02/2001, which took effect last October.

So far, hundreds of people, including job seekers, have been expelled for violating the ruling, the enforcement of which has raised confusion and controversy among people inside and outside the island.

Over the weekend, some 100 youths, who had arrived from Sumatra, Java and East Nusa Tenggara, staged a demonstration at the municipal administration office, demanding the lifting of the bylaw, which they considered against the 1945 Constitution guaranteeing both the freedom to travel and human rights.

Enforcement of the ruling has also raised friction between the locals. Melayu people, who claim to be the original occupants of the island, have thrown their weight behind the ruling, while migrants have opposed it.

A number of banners have been put in strategic locations on the islands, saying Masyarakat Melayu kota Batam mempertahankan berlakunya perdaduk (Melayu people in Batam support the enforcement of the ruling on migration control).

Turman, an activist of the Grassroots Communication Forum (FKAB), condemned the ruling, saying it was against Chapter 27 of the 1945 Constitution on Indonesian citizens' rights.

"Such a ruling threatens national unity and citizens' rights to stay wherever they want to in the country," he said.

Secretary-general of the Indonesian Government and Parliament Watch (IGPW) Asrin Silitonga concurred and said the friction was the microcosm of a potentially serious conflict that could lead to the nation's disintegration.

He said IGPW and other nongovernmental organizations had sent a letter to the President and the home affairs minister to annul the ruling.

He said the local administration's reasoning behind the policy was groundless because companies in Batam were short of employees.

"The main problem is whether the local authorities are able to provide training to employ job seekers and enforce the law in order to minimize crime on the island," he said.

Muhammad Nabiel, deputy chairman of the Batam legislative council, said the ruling had been issued in connection with overpopulation, the increasing extent of slum areas and a rising crime rate on the island over the last decade.

"Batam has been overpopulated and the increase in crime on the island has a lot to do with the increasing number of jobless people on the island," he said, citing that more than 20 percent of the more than 540,000 people on the island were unemployed.

Batam Mayor Nyat Kadir conceded the ruling had been issued to control the number of migrants to the island due to overpopulation.

"The overpopulation has forced authorities to erect a 'ring fence' to prevent unwanted people from entering the island," he said.

Ismeth Abdullah, chairman of the Batam Investment Development Authority (BIDA), said BIDA had supported the ruling because of the mushrooming of illegal huts on the island.

"With the ruling, we're trying to revitalize social life on the island to avoid a population explosion at some time in the future," he said.

He added the ruling would bring financial benefit for workers on the island because they could put aside a part of their monthly income to be sent to their family in their home villages outside the island.