Kalimantan governors vow to protect investment

Kalimantan governors vow to protect investment

JAKARTA (JP): In a bid to lure back prospective investors,
governors of oil and mineral rich Kalimantan vowed here on
Tuesday to protect business investment on the vast island.

Speaking at a forum for investment promotion organized by PT
Harvest International, the governors of East, West, Central and
South Kalimantan agreed that investment was the backbone of the
island's development.

"We would like to express that we will protect the interests
of investors ... because without investment it is impossible to
develop Kalimantan," Central Kalimantan Governor Asmawi A. Gani
said.

"I am certain that the government of East, West, Central and
South Kalimantan will protect and serve the business interests of
investors ... so with this in mind be assured that your interests
will be protected," he added.

However, Asmawi did not elaborate on what kind of security
arrangement was going to be implemented to secure business
investments in Kalimantan.

East Kalimantan Governor Suwarna Abdul Fatah later told
journalists that "so far no concrete measures have been taken" to
tackle security problems in Kalimantan.

"It (a joint agreement between four governors on security) has
not been discussed, but I agree that follow-up action on that
should immediately be taken," Suwarna said on the sidelines of
the forum.

City mayors in Kalimantan said recently in a congress that
security in Kalimantan was at a historic low.

They said security personnel were unable to cope with communal
clashes and mob attacks on state buildings and domestic and
joint-venture companies.

Asmawi said that security problems in Kalimantan were "the
result of 32 years of an authoritarian system".

"Local people feel that they have been robbed so they are now
venting their anger on business interests, particularly those
that come from outside Indonesia," he said.

Home to around 11 million people, Kalimantan is blessed with
millions of hectares of tropical forest, abundant oil and gas, as
well as mineral reserves, including coal and gold.

Foreign investment in Kalimantan has accumulated to a whopping
US$11.5 billion since 1967.

Foreign investors in Kalimantatn include oil companies Unocal
Corp. and Vico Indonesia -- both with operations in East
Kalimantan -- gold mining firm Kelian Equatorial Mining (KEM),
and huge coal miner Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC).

Domestic investment has been focused on forest concessions.

Earlier this year, road blocks by local villagers and a
workers' strike had forced at least two foreign companies, KEM
and KPC, to temporarily shut down their mining operations in East
Kalimantan.

Clashes between Malays and Madurese settlers in the West
Kalimantan capital of Pontianak, which flared up again late last
month, were also a constant headache in Kalimantan.

Gruesome clashes pitting Malays against the Madurese settlers
have erupted periodically in the region. Hundreds of people,
mostly Madurese, were killed in 1999. Dozens also died in attacks
in 1997.

The launch of the new autonomy law giving greater power to
regional administrations has also created some confusion and fear
among businesses.

The troubles in KEM and KPC were the latest in a string of
clashes between foreign resource companies and local communities
in Indonesia, where local authorities in several resource-rich
provinces are trying to wrest a greater share of income from such
companies. (byg)