End Rempang Conflict with Integrated Residential Area Built for Residents

Minister of Transmigration (Mentrans) M Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara has revealed the approach to resolving the Rempang residents’ conflict through the construction of an integrated settlement. Iftitah explained that the conflict in Rempang originated from an investment plan on land spanning approximately 16,000 hectares, consisting of forest areas and community and state lands. “In Rempang, there are 16,000 hectares. 8,000 hectares are forest, and 8,000 hectares are community and state land. Then a Chinese investor came, wanting to invest, and the community was evicted. In the end, a conflict occurred,” he stated during the export dispatch in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Thursday (16/4/2026). According to him, this situation reflects a common issue in various regions of Indonesia, where land is not yet optimally utilised but has the potential to trigger conflicts when developed. To address this, the government, through the local transmigration programme, is building integrated settlement units for the affected communities. “With the local transmigration programme, we are creating integrated settlement units,” he said. Iftitah explained that in this concept, the community is not only relocated but also provided with complete facilities. Additionally, the settlement area is equipped with infrastructure such as concrete roads, educational facilities from primary school to vocational high school, markets, and waste processing facilities. “The roads are already concrete, then there are primary schools, junior high schools, senior high schools, vocational high schools, then there are markets, waste and rubbish processing sites, then there is a dock because it’s by the sea, then there is assistance for boats,” he said. Iftitah added that the development of this ecosystem also opens up new investment opportunities. Currently, there are investors planning to develop solar energy with an export market to Singapore. This investment is estimated to absorb more than 20,000 workers, far greater than the Rempang population of around 9,800 people. “If that investment comes, there will be no unemployment in Rempang, even in Batam,” said Iftitah. He emphasised that this integrated settlement approach will become a model to be developed in the future, so that communities not only get housing but also sustainable economic benefits.