Indonesia's lone land gateway to Malaysia cements ties

By R. Masri Sareb Putra

ENTEKONG, West Kalimantan (JP): Relations between Indonesia and Malaysia, nations with predominantly Malay populations, have become closer since a direct land gateway was opened seven years ago today here across from Tebedu in Sarawak, East Malaysia.

Entekong, lying about 314 km and a six-hour drive from the provincial capital, Pontianak, was jointly inaugurated by then commander-in-chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces, Gen. Try Sutrisno, as his nation's chairman of the Joint Border Committee, and his opposite number on the committee, Datok Seri Mohamad Najib, Malaysian defense minister at the time.

Today, shops, stalls and small hotels crowd either side of the Pontianak-Tebedu road where once there was only dense forest. Undeniably, the gateway has done much to reduce economic disparities between the peoples and forge ties.

Entekong has been closed only once. Riots in January of last year, now known as the "Sanggau Ledo incident", led to its closure for two months as Malaysia suspended activities at 20 of its border crossings with its neighbor.

"When the situation returned to normal, these border-crossing check points were reopened. The longer they were closed, the bigger the losses the two countries suffered," said Djauhari, a merchant residing in Sarawak.

Djauhari, originally from the Djangkang subdistrict in the Indonesian border area but now a naturalized Malaysian citizen, said he bought goods in his former homeland and resold them in Malaysia.

"Indonesian clove cigarettes, batiks, garlic and durians sell well in Malaysia," he said in an interview last month.

Before the official opening of the gateway, black market practices conducted by citizens of both countries were rife. Between the 1940s and 1980s, the illegal trade was so widespread that Indonesian black marketeers entering Sarawak were known as "Mongkos", after a popular entry point into Malaysia.

The state suffered huge losses because it could not impose import duties and other taxes on the goods, and the two countries finally agreed to open up direct land transportation in 1967.

It was not until May 1984, however, that they reached a border-crossing agreement in Medan, North Sumatra. This was realized with the issuance of crossing passes for citizens of both nations residing in the immediate area of the border.

It led to construction of a legal entry point in the form of a long house unique to the Dayak, the indigenous West Kalimantan people, at Entekong, a small village in Sekayan subdistrict, Sanggau Kapuas district.

The arrangement was familiar territory for Malaysia, which also has six land gateways with Thailand, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. But it was new to Indonesia, despite the fact that the provinces of East Kalimantan and Irian Jaya also share borders with, respectively, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.

Understandably, it took time for the Indonesian side to arrange its border regulations. Among these is that holders of West Kalimantan residential identity cards are exempt from paying the full departure tax when crossing the land border, a fortunate privilege in these tough economic times.

Although the Indonesian government raised departure taxes to Rp 1 million for air, Rp 500,000 for sea and Rp 200,000 for land as of Feb. 5 this year, West Kalimantan residents continue to pay Rp 50,000 when they leave for Malaysia. This dates back to a 1992 Finance Ministry decree, and is one of the facilities earmarked to assist in cementing the two nations' ties.

The gateway appears to have helped Indonesian tourist promotions. According to data compiled by the West Kalimantan office of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, 9,015 foreign tourists -- 8,269 among them Malaysians -- visited the province through the Entekong gateway in the first six months of 1996, compared to 4,085 people arriving by air.

Annual bilateral trade is estimated at US$4.5 million. Malaysians using a border pass to cross into the Indonesian territory are allowed to spend 3,000 ringgit. Nonborder residents are not allowed to engage in trading activities and cannot fully enjoy the facilities that the gateway offers.

Bilateral border trade is still traditional in nature because it is not well regulated. Malaysian merchants do not dare to be openly engaged in trading activities in West Kalimantan because they believe that these are not sanctioned by the Indonesian authorities.

Nevertheless, there has been success. Records from the Entekong customs and excise checkpoint revealed that Rp 3 million to Rp 4 million can be pocketed daily from the imposition of customs and excise duties on goods traded at the official gateway alone, and even more is collected at illegal entry points.

Trade goes on

Illegal activities are difficult to monitor due to geographical logistics. Other entry points into Indonesia from Sarawak include Sambas district, Sintete harbor and Aruk on land. Plywood, crumb rubber, fish, pepper and a type of nut, locally known as tengkawang, are among the goods traded.

The chairman of the West Kalimantan provincial planning board announced that the 1995 exports of timber and crumb rubber through official routes of Pontianak, Kendawangan and Teluk Air harbors generated $379.12 million and $163.72 million respectively. These ports, which can accommodate vessels up to 25,000 dwt, are West Kalimantan's prime export harbors. Illegal exports to Malaysia and Singapore are often conducted through Sintete.

Trade between the two countries is so intensive that shops and supermarkets in West Kalimantan, such as Ligo Mitra supermarket in Pontianak, are filled with goods marked "Made in Malaysia". Canned food, bread and other consumer goods dominate local shops and supermarkets, but not all enter through the official gateway.

The gateway does bring benefits to the tourist sectors of the countries, especially considering their shared culture and traditions. The flow of people through the gateway reaches its peak during the Dayak people's new year's day, known as "Naik Dango".

In a meeting with House Representative's Commission I for security and defense, law, politics and information chaired by Aisyah Amini on July 23, 1996, West Kalimantan Governor Aspar Aswin said 62,190 Indonesians had visited Malaysia through the gateway from its opening to June 1996.

Data from the Indonesian consulate in Kuching reveals that in January of this year, 2,000 Malaysian citizens applied for permits to visit Indonesia for family, business, cultural and other purposes.

Foreign tourists, especially from their closest neighbor, are just what West Kalimantan needs to ensure continued development. Tourism is one of the sectors in which the gateway will continue to bring the two countries closer together.