The impact of migration in eastern Indonesia

The impact of migration in eastern Indonesia

This is the second of two articles on the political impacts of
migration in eastern provinces, prepared by Riwanto Tirtosudarmo,
a researcher at the Center for Social and Cultural Studies, the
Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

JAKARTA (JP): The central government's transmigration policy
in Irian Jaya has contributed to an increase of ethnic tensions
there.

In the mid-1980s, as Irian Jaya became the main destination of
transmigrants, strong resentment from the local population was
aroused.

The resentment of the local population toward the
transmigrants, who mostly originated from Java, partly was due to
the local people's perception of unfair treatment at the hands of
the government. The local population believed the transmigrants
received more help than the locals. Controversial issues, such as
"Javanization", "internal colonization" and "Islamization" were
raised by many foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The World Bank, the main financial supporter of the
transmigration program, also was criticized by both foreign and
Indonesian NGOs for supporting the destruction of indigenous
peoples and tropical forests in the country.

Even though transmigration has been scaled back since the mid-
1980s, the net migration to eastern provinces is positive,
particularly to urban destinations. The shift of migration to
urban areas has been particularly dramatic in provinces such as
Irian Jaya, Maluku and East Timor. The shift of migration from
rural areas to urban areas, a result of the scaled-back
transmigration program, also reflects the elasticity of the urban
economy, most notably in the informal sectors, in eastern
Indonesia. Meanwhile, the labor surplus, particularly among the
new working age cohorts, is increasing in western Indonesia.

Java, in particular, could see a significant number of its
young people search for economic opportunities by migrating to
eastern provinces. It is likely that the bulk of migrants to
urban areas will be engaged mainly in a number of activities in
the informal sector.

In this regard, migrants tend to be more enterprising than
locals due to previous experience in their places of origin. The
migrants generally also have more education than locals.

Around 30 percent of the population of eastern Indonesia
resides in South Sulawesi. Given its large population and its
central location, South Sulawesi is a very important part of the
migration system. South Sulawesi, with Ujungpandang harbor, the
third largest seaport in the country, and the tendency of its
people to migrate, plays a dominant role in the development of
other eastern provinces, both economically and politically.

South Sulawesi is the home of three ethnic groups which are
well known for their tendency to migrate; namely the Buginese,
the Butonese and the Makassarese. In eastern Indonesia, these
three ethnic groups are popularly labeled as the BBM, an acronym
for Bugis-Buton-Makassar.

The migration behavior of the BBM and its social and economic
implications in eastern Indonesia are well documented in various
studies. These migrants are well-known as seafarers and traders
and have successfully developed social and economic networks in
major urban areas across eastern Indonesia.

In eastern Indonesia, most specifically in Irian Jaya and East
Timor, the division of labor among ethnic groups is somewhat
different as compared to other places. The upper-level economic
sectors usually are controlled by Chinese-Indonesians, while
middle and lower-level economic sectors are dominated by the
Makassarese, the Buginese and the Butonese. The Javanese, as well
as other migrant ethnic groups, usually occupy government jobs,
such as public servants or members of the military. The Javanese
domination of various governmental occupations is a by-product of
the process of recruitment for such jobs, which is conducted by
the central government in Java.

In Irian Jaya and East Timor, due to their political
histories, the appointment of officials by the central government
also is dictated by security and military considerations. The
feeling of resentment among the local population toward migrants'
domination of both the governmental and private sectors is
obvious and easily perceived, even by casual observers.

Given their distinct sociopolitical circumstances, conflicts
between migrants and the local populations in Irian Jaya and East
Timor cannot be understood if they are viewed only from
demographic and economic points of view.

In assessing these conflicts, the political histories of the
provinces, in relation to the process of building the nation-
state, should be given special consideration. Irian Jaya, called
West Papua during Dutch colonialism, was integrated into
Indonesian in 1963, after diplomatic negotiations and armed
conflict between Indonesians and the Dutch.

Irian Jaya was incorporated into Indonesia after the country
won a referendum under the supervision of the United Nations. A
group of West Papuans, however, rejected the outcome of the
referendum and proclaimed their liberation organization (OPM) the
legitimate owner of the province and took up armed struggle
against Indonesia.

East Timor was integrated into Indonesia in 1976 amid internal
conflicts among political parties competing for the right to rule
the former Portuguese colony.

Similar to Irian Jaya, armed struggle in East Timor against
Indonesia persists today. The role of the underground resistance
movements should not be underestimated in assessing the conflicts
between migrants and the local indigenous populations.

In East Timor, migrants often decide to leave the province in
order to avoid harsh treatment by the East Timorese. The exodus
of migrants, many of them BBM, from East Timor gained force after
the Habibie government raised the possibility of independence for
the province.

After the downfall of Soeharto, the power equation between the
central government and the regions was shattered as various
groups protesting the central government's domination began to
flourish. Demands for independence have been most clearly
articulated by the East Timorese and the Irianese. The calls for
referendum which were strongly suppressed during the Soeharto
regime are now being loudly expressed. At the same time, demand
for autonomy also is increasing in Irian Jaya.

Another recent development has occurred in the western-most
province of Aceh, which has long experienced political repression
from the central government due to accusations that the Gerakan
Aceh Merdeka (Free Acehnese Movement) was still operating in the
province.

The situation in Aceh perhaps is different from those in East
Timor and Irian Jaya, in that the issue is more a matter of human
rights violations, particularly by the military, than a
secessionist movement.

Migration in east Indonesia during the New Order regime
reflected regional responses to wider economic and political
changes, particularly the centralistic character of the New
Order's economic development.

Similar to the national migration pattern, in-migration has
been declining since the mid-1980s. Since that time, migration to
urban areas has been increasing. This is partly because the
number of transmigrants, who mostly are resettled in rural areas,
is declining as the government's capacity to finance the
transmigration program has diminished. The migrants to urban
areas in eastern provinces mostly take part in small-scale trade
and informal sectors. Because the brightest local people have
migrated to Java or other areas in western Indonesia, the
majority of locals who are left are less educated and less
skilled than the migrants.

The centralistic character of the national government, both
civilian and military, in which regional level bureaucracies are
merely subordinates of the central government, resulted in a
recruiting process for public servants which is heavily dictated
by the central government. This centralistic recruitment process
resulted in the appointment of bureaucrats who were viewed as
outsiders by the local population. The unofficially declared
military operation areas which led to the excessive presence of
military personnel in Irian Jaya and East Timor further
exacerbated the local populations' feeling of being colonized by
the New Order regime. The feeling of being economically
marginalized and politically suppressed is latent in eastern
Indonesia, particularly in Irian Jaya and East Timor. The feeling
also is present, though not as strong, in Maluku.

In the New Order era, given the political histories of Irian
Jaya and East Timor, migration became politicized. It would be
misleading if migration was perceived merely as being demographic
or economic in nature.

In the currently heated political climate, the issue of
regional development clearly can no longer be isolated from the
debate surrounding regional political autonomy and the demand for
the reformulation of the existing nation-state equation.

In this context, it is not surprising that federalism is
becoming an appealing political option. The emergence of various
political parties and the demand for a free and democratic
general election is likely to be interconnected with demands for
more autonomy and independence from provinces like East Timor and
Irian Jaya.

Regional development planning in the future, therefore, should
take a more comprehensive approach in which the achievement of
economic welfare is accompanied by the fulfillment of the
political aspirations and human rights of local people.

Window: The resentment of the local population toward the
transmigrants, who mostly originated from Java, partly was due to
the local people's perception of unfair treatment at the hands of
the government.