Government to reform policy on transmigration

Government to reform policy on transmigration

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government is set to reform the transmigration program,
making it more effective and preventing it from becoming a source
of conflict between locals and migrants, an official said on
Wednesday.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said
that the policy reform was aimed at focusing on the creation of
job opportunities and not just a mass movement of people.

In conjunction with the commemoration of the 51st
Transmigration Day, which fell on Dec. 12, Jacob reflected on the
successes and failures of the migration program, which is still a
source of conflict in several regions.

Jacob admitted that under the existing policy more facilities
are given to the migrants, including grants in the form of arable
land in order to help develop the economy in particular regions,
but it fails to assess the social, cultural, and environmental
background of the local region and its people.

"The current policy has sparked protests from locals, who have
demanded the return of their land. I have to say that the policy
has ignored the locals' interests. It's not fair," he said.

Jacob disclosed that now the government would first determine
the legal status of the land to avoid disputes with locals and
that the number of migrants would not exceed the number of locals
to enable them to integrate with each other.

"We have to make proper preparations before allowing people to
relocate. So there will no longer be stories about the poor
people becoming even poorer in their new location. The new
mission is to give people a living. They can work as farmers on
plantations or cultivate the land," he explained.

Existing data shows that over 36 million people are jobless
this year and the number is expected to grow steadily due to the
economic crisis.

The transmigration program began in 1950, when 77 residents
from Kedu in Central Java were relocated to the sparsely-
populated Lampung province.

Indonesia has an uneven distribution of population. According
to 2000 statistics, 59 percent of the 200 million population live
in Java. Only 2 percent of the country's population live in
Maluku and Irian Jaya islands although the islands account for
one-fourth of the country's total area.

Out of over 3,300 transmigration locations in the provinces,
82 have grown into regencies, with 13 others becoming the
capitals of districts or municipalities.

Internal conflicts in several regions over the last few years
have displaced more than 1.3 million people, forcing them to seek
refuge in other regions. Most of the displaced people are
migrants.

Jacob said the government has taken several measures to help
solve the refugee problem and hopes that it will be resolved next
year.

"Next year we expect to be free of refugee problems. But we
need funds amounting to Rp 1.6 trillion (US$1.5 million) to help
the displaced people return to their homes and get jobs in the
new regions where they are being accommodated or be relocated to
other islands," he said.

Jacob urged all regional administrations not to further burden
the displaced people and to allow their children to be exempt
from school tuition fees.

"I also ask the indigenous people in Aceh and Kalimantan to
allow their migrant brothers to return home," he added.

The revision of the transmigration policy
* Legal status of land will be checked before being given to
migrants
* provision of job opportunities i.e. plantations
* 50:50 ratio between locals and transmigrants