BNPPDT to Extend Border Management to Underdeveloped Regions

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The head of the National Agency for Border and Remote Area Management (BNPPDT), and Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) Deputy Commander, General Maruli Simanjuntak, said that border-area management would in future focus not only on security but also on improving residents’ welfare.

“We need to establish a new nomenclature because, in addition to managing border areas, we will also be responsible for improving welfare in buffer-zone areas,” Maruli said at the BNPP office in Jakarta on Monday.

Maruli made the remarks after taking over as head of BNPPDT from Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian.

He said the agency would continue its ongoing programmes while stepping up the implementation of programmes planned by the government.

The measures are expected to strengthen border-area management as BNPP’s responsibilities expand.

“Many things planned this year will be implemented next year to improve BNPP. With BNPPDT added as well, hopefully we can expand further in the future,” he said.

Karnavian had earlier expressed hope that Maruli’s leadership would improve the effectiveness of BNPPDT’s work, including the management of land and sea borders and the development of underdeveloped regions.

He also stressed the importance of improving welfare in border communities to reinforce nationalism and territorial resilience.

“When people are prosperous, they strengthen nationalism and become a buffer zone against infiltration by land or sea,” he said.