Scholar renews independence proposal for Riau
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)