HRD vital in eastern Indonesia

HRD vital in eastern Indonesia

By Riwanto Tirtosudarmo

JAKARTA (JP): Eastern Indonesia, the provinces located east of
the biogeographic Wallace line, is a vast area containing
remarkably diverse heterogeneous ethnic groups which follow
everything from stone-age to highly educated and urban
lifestyles.

It's obvious that development in the provinces, a hot topic
during the past five years, will be hampered by this
sociocultural plurality.

The Eastern versus Western contrast has replaced the dichotomy
of "Java" and "Outer Islands", a classic political and economic
issue in Indonesia. The government attributes the poor
development in the east to the poor quality of human resources.
In addition to the poor condition of human resources, however,
are decisive political and cultural factors.

As pointed out by a Malaysian scholar, Lim Teck Ghee, the only
intrinsic value in development is the human dimension. So far,
the government has had the misguided assumption that physical
development is the only part of improving human resources.

The reason is that literature on human resources development
is dominated by the work of development-economists which
formulate the concept of "human capital" as the basic tenet for
their theories and approaches. The theory holds that human
capital formation, the process of changing the quality or
productive power of human labor, is primarily affected by formal
education, on-the-job training, health and migration.

The development of the human capital theory provided an
economic rationale for the process of human capital formation at
an individual level by the very simple proposition that
individuals "invest" in themselves through education, better
health and nutrition, and migration with the expectation of
higher returns.

This narrow approach certainly supports and justifies the
government's perception of the poor quality of human resources in
the eastern region. All the conventional statistical indicators
on education, health and the economy of the region's population
are far below those of western Indonesia.

The domination of physical indicators in measuring human
resources development in eastern Indonesia, in turn, have
influenced the formulation of various development policies which
virtually ignore the social and cultural aspects of the
population.

The government tends to treat locals as inferior and backward.
And when the government encounters difficulty in communicating
development programs, it perceives the local population as
disobedient.

Human resource improvement will not be accomplished if it is
treated similar to education or health affairs. Although
statistics show a significant improvement in education and health
conditions, genuine development in human resource in eastern
Indonesia is still problematic.

The New Order government's strategy is economic growth. The
emphasis on economic growth has made infrastructure the priority.

Eastern Indonesia's economy, predominantly a mono-crop
agriculture with no industrial base, is vulnerable to external
shocks, as pointed out by Dhakidae.

He cited two national policies which have severely affected
eastern Indonesia's economy.

One, the 1955 government monetary policy which caused a drop
in the value of coconuts, the region's major commodity. The
relocation of trading center from Makassar (now Ujungpandang) to
Surabaya due to the PRRI-PERMESTA rebellion, in late 1950s also
affected eastern Indonesia's economy.

Two, the introduction of a trade regulation in the 1980s which
formed the clove monopoly. This further eclipsed the viability of
eastern Indonesia's economy.

The President's acknowledgement of lack of development in
eastern Indonesia in the House of Representatives in January
1990, ignited a wide academic debate. Real government action to
accelerate development in these provinces has been surprisingly
leisurely. Part of the problem is perhaps the complex social and
geographical challenges.

This slowness is reflected by the clumsy creation of the
National Advisory Council on the development of eastern Indonesia
in December 1993. The organizational structure of this council
and the wide area designated as eastern Indonesia indicates the
government's tendency to compromise when faced with managing a
complex task.

It is not surprising that the council has faced problems
deciding on issues. For example, it took more than a year for the
council to arrange its first plenary meeting in January 1995.

The government's definition of eastern Indonesia, which
includes Kalimantan, also creates a problem. The region comprises
not only resource-rich provinces such as East Kalimantan and
Irian Jaya, but also very poor provinces, such as East
Nusatenggara and East Timor.

The centralistic character of the government, which tends to
standardize policy, has resulted in rich and poor provinces being
treated similarly. The real answer is greater flexibility and
autonomy for the provinces.

Separate treatment is needed for poor provinces, such as East
Nusatenggara and East Timor, as they may need more subsidies to
develop. The allocation of INPRES grants, where the only
significant variable taken into account is the size of
population, shows the government's bias towards western
Indonesia, particularly Java.

Noted economist Iwan Azis strongly warned that replicating
Indonesia is not only unsuitable, but would be detrimental to the
vast natural resources of the region.

The Freeport case in Irian Jaya confirms the advanced thinking
of Azis. The alternative development of eastern Indonesia,
according to Azis, is a strategy that could promote small and
medium-scale indigenous investors.

Much discussion on regional autonomy began after the
government launched a pilot project early last year in all 27
provinces, except Jakarta. Many observers are skeptical the plan
will have any significant effect on the existing central and
regional structure and relationships. The central and regional
governments' financial arrangements are centralistic and are not
likely to be altered any time soon.

The condition of human resources in eastern Indonesia is the
outcome of a long process of social, economic and political
development. It is also, however, the key component for
sustainable development in the future.

Closing the human resource development gap between eastern and
western Indonesia is crucial to sustain national development.

The sluggishness of the government's interventions to reduce
the imbalance in human resources and economic development between
the two regions will cause tension between people in the regions.

Local populations will most likely be discouraged by the more
aggressive and highly skilled migrants.

A strategy to prevent conflict between local populations and
migrants is therefore urgently needed.

Azis' suggestion of giving indigenous entrepreneurs a larger
opportunity to develop their economic activities should be taken
seriously by the government.

An integral element of his strategy is forming an employment
creation policy. A viable policy on human resource development
must be formulated, not only to serve economic development but
also to convey the political and cultural aspirations of the
population.

The writer is a researcher at the Center for Population and
Human Resources Studies at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
in Jakarta.