Scholar renews independence proposal for Riau
JAKARTA (JP): A scholar rejected on Monday a federal proposal for Riau and insisted that the oil-rich province separate from the Republic of Indonesia instead.
Tabrani Rab, a professor of medicine and a community figure who canceled the declaration of independence of Riau in March due to a fear of clashes with security personnel, claimed that the federal proposal was not popular in Riau.
"The demand for a federal state is only supported by the Riau people in Jakarta. Syarwan has communicated this idea to us but we choose to disagree," Tabrani told The Jakarta Post by phone from the provincial capital of Pekanbaru.
He said "students and intellectuals" in Riau were in favor of independence while bureaucrats were pushing for greater autonomy within Indonesia.
Tabrani was responding to former home affairs minister Syarwan Hamid, who said on Saturday that provincial legislators and community leaders in Riau would propose the establishment of a federal state of Indonesia this week.
"To be realistic, relations between the central (government) and regions must be improved. Federalism has been successful in promoting people's welfare while still retaining unity," Syarwan was quoted by the Kompas daily as saying.
"We're not thinking of asking for independence. Federalism is enough because it is still in the context of unity," said Syarwan, who represented Riau at the People's Consultative Assembly.
Syarwan, who is also a former deputy speaker of the legislature and a retired general, cited the United States and Australia as successful examples of federal systems of government.
Indonesia briefly adopted a federal system between 1949 and 1950. No such provision currently exists now, although there are special regions such as Aceh and Yogyakarta which were accorded their status due to their role in the fight against Dutch colonial rule. But leaders of the two provinces have said the territories had not benefited from the status.
President Abdurrahman Wahid said he would not oppose a federal system, but suggested that it would take time for the idea to win national acceptance.
Syarwan blamed centralized management of natural resources in Indonesia's provinces for the unfair distribution of income among people, saying that of Rp 59 trillion (US$8.4 billion) in revenue from Riau in 1999, only one trillion was funneled back to the province.
Tabrani said community leaders in Riau were planning to hold a congress next month to determine the future of the province.
Muhammad Dun, the chairman of the Riau Community Communication Forum, was quoted by Antara as saying the planned congress would seek to forge a common vision among people there.
Meanwhile, people grouped in the Riau Students Forum for Federation met with legislators of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle here on Monday demanding that Riau become a federal state of Indonesia before August next year. (byg/rms)