Megawati secures tiny Nipah island

Megawati secures tiny Nipah island

Fadli and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Batam, Riau/Jakarta

Traumatized by the perceived loss of two islands from Indonesia's
territory, President Megawati Soekarnoputri placed a plaque on
Friday at a location on a small island bordering Singapore.

The 60-hectare Nipah island is only 10 minutes by boat from
the city state, and at high tide, the island is completely
submerged by water.

"As an outer island of Indonesia we need to secure it and
maintain clear borders with neighboring countries," Minister of
Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno, who accompanied
the President, said.

"We will develop the island as a tourist resort and an
agribusiness site," the minister said.

The minister added that the government had allocated some Rp
100 billion (US$11.3million) for the reclamation project.

The unclear border with the city state, and the recent
decision to hand Sipadan and Ligitan islands to Malaysia, has led
to fears that the island may one day be claimed by another
country.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded the two
islands to Malaysia in late 2002, citing that Malaysia had
developed the islands.

Megawati was on the last leg of a four-day trip that included
Iran where she attended the D-8 Summit. She arrived in Singapore
on Friday morning.

The President was also accompanied by Minister of Maritime
Affairs and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri on her visit to the island.

Aboard an Indonesian Navy ship, the presidential entourage
went from Singapore straight to Nipah island, where the President
also planted a casuarina tree.

The government has been discussing measures to develop its
small islands that border neighboring countries for some time.
Nipah has been chosen as the first island to be developed.

Should Singapore continue with its reclamation project, it
would eventually cross over into Indonesia's territory, Rokhmin
said.

The President arrived in Jakarta later on Friday. She was
welcomed by Vice President Hamzah Haz at the Halim Perdanakusumah
airport.

Megawati is slated to leave the country again on Feb.25 to
attend the G-15 Summit in Venezuela, her last overseas trip
before the legislative election on March 11.