'Kepri province still long way off'
'Kepri province still long way off'
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Minister for Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said Wednesday that the
establishment of Riau Islands province, known as Kepri, was still
a long way off as the plan had to be approved by the governor of
Riau province and its councillors.
"Theoretically, the Riau Islands could become a separate
province but it might be difficult to bring this about due to the
administrative requirements," Hari Sabarno was quoted by Antara
as saying in Pekanbaru, Riau on Wednesday.
People from Riau islands, consisting of Kepri Regency, Natuna
Regency, Karimun Regency, Batam, and Tanjungpinang town, have
been clamoring for a separated province, citing Pekanbaru's
neglect of their development needs.
The move, however, has met strong objection from the Riau
governor and provincial councillors.
The House of Representatives (DPR) is currently deliberating a
bill on the establishment of the Riau Islands province.
Hari said that for the Riau Islands to become a province,
endorsements from regents and mayors as well as councillors from
the five regencies/municipalities should be forthcoming.
"Each regency or municipality may express their own opinions
on the establishment of the Riau Islands province," he said.
After securing endorsement from regents and mayors, the plan
should also be endorsed by the governor and provincial
councillors.
According to Hari, the five regencies/municipalities still did
not agree on the future provincial capital of the Riau Islands
province should be Batam or Tanjungpinang.
Meanwhile, proponents of the Riau Islands province expressed
optimism on Wednesday that the government would approve the plan
as the region was ready to become a separate province from Riau.
"The central government promised to grant our demand for a
separate province on Sept. 24 when the House plenary meeting
endorsed the bill on the establishment of the Riau Islands
province," chairman of the Riau Islands Association Daud Kadir
said in Pekanbaru, Riau on Wednesday.
Hari Sabarno, however, said he was not aware that the House of
Representatives (DPR) had approved a bill on the establishment of
the Riau Islands province.
"I don't know who decided on that date," he said.
Daud admitted that the Riau governor and councillors had not
issued a recommendation on the issue but stressed that the most
important thing now was to endorse the bill.
"Endorse the bill first, we don't mind if its implementation
is postponed for two or three years," said Daud, stressing that
the House could exercise its initiative rights to propose a bill.
Senior advisor to the Riau Islands Province Working Committee,
Dun Usul, said the House had promised to endorse the bill on
Sept. 24.
Should there still be unresolved issues as of that date, the
people of Riau Islands are ready to hold a referendum to
determine whether or not the Riau Islands can form a separate
province.
He said referendum would be an effective tool for determining
whether or not the demand for the establishment of the Riau
Islands province was the genuine wish of the Riau Islands people.
The political elite in Pekanbaru, he said, had always labeled
the demands for an independent province as political maneuvers by
a small group of power-hungry politicians in the islands.
He also denied allegations that his group had bribed
provincial councillors to support its cause.
"It is not true that we bribed Riau provincial councillors to
support the proposal to set up the Riau Islands province," he
said.
Following strong demands for the establishment of the Riau
Islands province, Riau councillors set up a special team to
discuss the proposal.
The team endorsed the move, but the decision was vetoed by a
councillors' plenary meeting.