Home Affairs Minister: Government to Enhance Development in Border Areas

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Home Affairs Muhammad Tito Karnavian has emphasised that the government will enhance development in border areas, one of which is the Indonesia-Philippines border region in the Siau Tagulandang Biaro Islands Regency (Sitaro), North Sulawesi (Sulut).

“Under President Prabowo’s programme, he has instructed Mr Maruarar Sirait (Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas), myself, the Head of BPS, and all relevant parties to work on housing issues and to improve development in border regions,” Tito stated during his remarks in Jakarta on Saturday.

This was conveyed by the Minister of Home Affairs during an inspection in the Sitaro region, which was recently hit by flooding. He stressed that their presence was a direct instruction from President Prabowo Subianto to ensure the handling of homes damaged by the disaster.

The visit was conducted alongside Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas (PKP) Maruarar Sirait and Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti.

Furthermore, the government has programmes to address uninhabitable homes and to strengthen development in border regions.

The Minister of Home Affairs explained that the Ministry of PKP has a programme to handle uninhabitable homes in border areas. Sitaro Regency is one of the implementation sites for this programme in response to the flood impacts experienced by the local community. Additionally, poverty rates in the region remain relatively high.

He further emphasised that this policy is part of the government’s strategy to strengthen border areas, both in terms of community welfare and aspects of defence and nationalism.

“(This policy is an effort) to maintain border areas as a security and defence buffer zone, as well as for the people’s justice so that nationalism increases and the state is present,” he said.