Regulation for newcomers

Regulation for newcomers

From Koran Tempo

On July 17, 2001 Koran Tempo carried a story on page B6 regarding Central Kalimantan's drafting of a regulation on Madurese moving to the province.

I personally think the province should have known better than to come up with such a regulation. This is totally unacceptable. They know that Indonesia is made up of many ethnic groups which have been living side by side across the archipelago for many years.

Those involved in drafting the regulation, which dictates how people of a certain ethnic group should live in a certain area, are really narrow-minded. Indonesia is reverting to the era before the Youth Pledge was declared in 1928 and even before the inception of Budi Oetomo (a national organization established on May 20, 1908 which later became the national awakening day). This is a drawback and very saddening!

Questions that may arise: Will other regions or local administrations follow suit? Will they create a similar regulation for the people of Central Kalimantan going to their land? What about the Central Kalimantan people who have been living in other areas such as East Java, Bali and Lampung for years?

The local governments should foster goodwill among its residents and encourage the people to live in harmony because we are all citizens of Indonesia, regardless of whether we are from Kalimantan, Java, Madura, Ambon and so forth.

Central Kalimantan's Council is currently drawing up a regulation governing all people entering the province that is slated to be passed next year.

Please stop being absurd.

TONIE SUPRATMANTO

Jakarta