More attention on indigenous people sought
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)