More attention on indigenous people sought

JAKARTA (JP): Activists view that in some areas the government-sponsored transmigration program has failed because of the lack of the indigenous people's involvement in development projects.

On Thursday, Emmy Hafild from the Indonesian Forum of Environment and Stefanus Djuweng and Sandra Moniaga from the Institute of Dayakology Research and Development in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, told a discussion on the new transmigration bill that the success of the transmigration program partly depended on the role of the indigenous people in the development of the region.

The government recently finished drafting a transmigration bill to replace the 1972 law.

The activists said that social conflicts happened in some resettlement sites because the indigenous people were not involved in the development of the areas.

Lhokseumawe, which is rich in natural gas, was an example of a successful growth center, Emmy said. "But it is only the newcomers who enjoy the fruits, while the indigenous people have been left simply as spectators."

The lack of indigenous people's involvement in the process of development of their regions also resulted in serious environmental problems, the speakers said.

Djuweng and Sandra brought up the issue of exploitation of natural resources in the transmigration sites in West and East Kalimantan under the timber estate program.

Regional development should be in accordance with the culture and characteristics of the ecosystem of the region, which determines the carrying capacity of the region and is important for the implementation of the sustainable development, Emmy said.

"Therefore, regional development must be planned by the regional government," she said.

Another speaker in the discussion, Mangara Tambunan, director of the Center of the Study of Social Sciences as well as Emmy shared the idea that the government should establish growth centers in resettlement areas to provide job fields for both indigenous people and new comers.

Tambunan said it was unrealistic for the government to expect balanced population from transmigration program since the development was still concentrated in Java.

It is difficult to move people from densely-populated Java, where they can earn more money, even in informal sectors, than in other places, he said.

He suggested that the government combined the concepts of "land settlement" and "labor supply" in the transmigration program.

Tambunan said the government should pay more attention to the indigenous people. However, unlike Emmy, who emphasized that democracy should be fully maintained, Tambunan put weight on the economic development.

Tambunan said he agreed with an authoritarian government as long as it is clean and can provide opportunities for the people to take part in the economic development. "What's the use of pro- democracy if the people are all poor?" he argued.

He cited as an example Singapore, which has been enjoying economic success under an authoritarian but clean government.

"I don't agree that economy should come first and democracy later," Emmy pointed out.

She insisted that development should be based on democracy, and not the other way around.

The discussion also featured Maria Rita R. Pudjakarna, an indigenous rights specialist, and Z.A. Maulani, Secretary General of the Transmigration Ministry. (sim)