Kutai grapples with poverty problem

Kutai grapples with poverty problem

Rusman, The Jakarta Post/Kutai Kartanegara

Ignoring people's preparations to celebrate the 60th anniversary
of Indonesian Independence, an elderly man dragged deeply on his
cigarette and blew the smoke out. He was resting under a banana
tree while looking over a rice field. The rice field was not his.
He only worked there, and each harvest he received a sack of rice
and Rp 500,000 (US$52) for his toil.

"This sort of money is barely enough to cover my family's
expenses," Sukirjan, the 39-years-old farm laborer, told The
Jakarta Post on Sunday.

A native of East Java who now lives in Tenggarong Seberang in
Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, can only find work during the
harvest season, or once every four to six months.

As a farm laborer, he cannot afford to send his two children
to school nor adequately feed his family. He depends on the crops
growing on his neighbor's farm for additional vegetables as
the money he earns is only enough to buy tofu and tempeh for side
dishes. In order to earn extra money, his wife, Karti, 37, sells
the cassava they grow behind their house, which brings in about
Rp 20,000 per day, and occasionally sells kangkung (water
spinach), when the cassava is nearing its end.

Sukirjan and his family live in a wooden house measuring some
30 square meter, with a corrugated roof. Not a single household
appliance is to be seen inside, only a worn-out mat spread out on
the living room floor. In the parents' bedroom, the only
furniture is an old bed with a thin mattress. The same applies in
the children's bedroom. Their eldest child is 16 and the youngest
13.

As Indonesian Independence Day was being celebrated, the
family felt that they had little to celebrate from the country's
freedom. They hoped that the government would help them free
themselves from poverty.

"The important thing is, we can survive. We only hope that the
government can provide assistance for us, the poor. We don't
think of other necessities, just how to put food on the table,"
he said.

The impoverished condition of Sukirjan's family is ironic
considering that they live in Kutai Kartanegara regency, the
richest regency in the province, with annual revenues of Rp 2.6
trillion, but also the regency with the biggest number of poor
people in the province.

Latest data from the East Kalimantan Statistics Bureau shows
that an estimated 19,231 of the 547,254 residents of the regency
live below the poverty line, while there are 306,779 poor people
out of the province's total population of 2.7 million.

The regency, which is rich in natural resources such as coal,
oil and gas, plays host to a number of large multinational
companies. Most of its revenues are derived from the mining, oil
and gas sectors, which contributes as much as Rp 15.596 trillion
to the country. The local administration has provided each
subdistrict with Rp 2 billion under the Kutai Empowerment and
Development Movement (Gerbang Dayaku) scheme.

Meanwhile, Kutai Kartanegara regent Syaukani HR acknowledged
that there was a high number of poor people living in the regency
but said that efforts were being made to alleviate the problem.

He said that his office was currently trying to deal with two
main problems, eradicating child labor and providing free
education for the poor.

"The poverty problem is a national issue. The problem existed
long before local autonomy was implemented. Kutai is rich, but
has only recently started to enjoy its wealth. But we will
constantly work to improve the situation until the number of poor
people declines," Syaukani said.