NTB Government: Customary Law Communities Bill Must Guarantee Welfare

Mataram (ANTARA) - The West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Provincial Government has stressed that the Draft Law on Customary Law Communities (RUU Masyarakat Adat) must be capable of guaranteeing the welfare of indigenous communities through the protection of rights, living spaces, and equitable economic empowerment.

Head of the NTB Culture Office, Muhamad Ihwan, stated that the draft regulation must not stop merely at recognising the existence of indigenous communities. ‘It is not enough for indigenous communities to only have their existence recognised, they must be protected and made prosperous,’ he said in a statement in Mataram on Thursday.

Ihwan explained that indigenous communities need more than just legal recognition. They require protection of their customary territories, guarantees of traditional rights, and support to develop economically without losing their cultural identity.

Several indigenous communities in West Nusa Tenggara are currently still facing issues related to the protection of customary territories, land disputes, preservation of traditional houses, protection of historical sites and ancient manuscripts, and strengthening of customary institutions.

‘Although diverse, the aspirations that emerge share a common thread of recognition, protection, and welfare. These three words are the core of indigenous communities’ hopes for the state’s presence,’ said Ihwan.

He hopes that the Customary Law Communities Bill will be able to become a legal instrument that provides certainty while simultaneously opening up space for empowerment. Indigenous communities are not merely social groups inheriting traditions passed down through generations; they are guardians of local knowledge, preservers of the environment, and holders of cultural values that are still alive today.

On Lombok Island, the Bayan customary law community is one example of an indigenous community that still strongly maintains its value systems, institutions, and ancestral traditions. Meanwhile, on Sumbawa Island, various indigenous communities have historical and cultural links to the Bima Sultanate and the Dompu Sultanate, which have shaped the social identity of the community for centuries.

‘The existence of the Customary Law Communities Bill is important to provide stronger legal certainty for the existence of indigenous communities along with the rights inherent within them,’ said Ihwan.