No more transmigrants for Irian Jaya

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: Irian Jaya will not receive any more transmigrants, but instead focus on programs improving the welfare of those who have already moved to the easternmost province, a councillor said.

Councillor Selamat Hutagalung, chairman of the Irian Jaya Council's Commission E for social welfare affairs, said the program in the next fiscal year of 2000/2001 would be very different from previous years.

"There will be no additional transmigrants coming from other provinces or new locations," Hutagalung told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He said the Ministry of Transmigration and Population would concentrate on improvements to current transmigrant locations while a new location would be reserved for Irianese returning from Papua New Guinea.

He said the budget allocated for the transmigration program would be slashed to Rp 24 billion in the next fiscal year from Rp 80 billion in the previous fiscal year. (eba)