Indonesia's lone land gateway to Malaysia cements ties

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.