Javanese need pioneering spirit lest island sinks
Javanese need pioneering spirit lest island sinks
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs to instill a greater pioneering
spirit among its ethnic Javanese population because the island,
already one of the most densely populated areas in the world, and
its resources are now burdened by population difficulties.
The low degree of mobility among the Javanese people, or the
lack thereof, will be the subject of a two-day conference here
next week as part of the government's effort to invigorate its
program to resettle people from Java to the other islands.
About 60 percent of Indonesia's 180 million population now
live on Java. The population density on the island is 814 people
for every square kilometer, compared to an average of 93
nationwide, according to a 1992 population survey.
The island has already shown some signs of being unable to
cope with the ever growing population, most notably flooding
during the rainy season and severe water shortages during the dry
season.
A recent study showed that 87 percent of the Javanese people
were born, raised and died in a similar regency. This is in
contrast to the pioneering spirit possessed by the Bugis in
Sulawesi and Minang and Bataks of Sumatra who dared to migrate to
other regions to try their luck.
Alwi Dahlan, an executive of the agency which advises
President Soeharto on ideological matters, said on Monday that
this low mobility among Javanese people needs correcting.
"What is needed now are efforts to encourage people to migrate
through their own initiative. We need more pioneers," Alwi said.
Alwi was speaking at a press conference to announce the
seminar on the "Pioneering Culture in People's Mobility" on April
19-20.
Also present at the conference were sociologists Dr. Selo
Soemardjan and Mely G. Tan, Dr. Yulfita Rahardjo, anthropologist,
and Dr. Kartomo Wirosoeharjo, a demographer.
The two-day conference will feature speakers such as Sultan
Hamengkubuwono X, (King of the Yogyakarta Sultanate), writer
Mochtar Lubis, senior journalist Jacob Oetama, and anthropologist
Riga Adiwoso.
Selo said the Javanese possessed "magical-religious" relations
with their land which they tilled and used as a dwelling place.
Mely said that pioneering spirit would be applied by people
who sought to take chances and face risks. She said that
education had played a role in encouraging the people to migrate
to other regions. (par)