To Avoid Wasting Trillions of Rupiah, Mentrans Transforms Transmigration into "Trans Tuntas"

Palu - The Minister of Transmigration (Mentrans), M Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara, has emphasised the government’s concerns regarding the use of substantial budgets in the transmigration programme that fail to achieve their objectives. Therefore, he stressed that the current concept of transmigration has evolved into the development of economic ecosystems based on regional areas, as proposed by President Prabowo Subianto. “Today, transmigration is no longer about relocating people. Today, transmigration is about creating economic ecosystems based on regions,” he stated during the export launch of frozen durian in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Thursday (16/4/2026). He revealed that the government is not worried about the availability of budgets or land, but rather about the effectiveness of the programme. “What we fear is that trillions of rupiah are spent, but the goals of transmigration are not achieved,” he asserted. “If they are not comfortable, there is no electricity, no water, the roads are poor, there are no facilities, no adequate jobs, they will surely leave,” he added. He further noted that such conditions lead to abandoned land and potential conflicts. To address these issues, the government is implementing the Transmigrasi Tuntas (Trans Tuntas) programme to gradually resolve around 120,000 problematic land plots. Iftitah also cited the handling of conflicts in Rempang as part of the new transmigration approach. In that area, the government is building integrated settlements complete with type-45 houses, concrete roads, educational facilities, markets, and other supporting infrastructure. Additionally, the region is beginning to attract new investments in the solar energy sector aimed at the export market to Singapore. He mentioned that this investment has the potential to create more than 20,000 jobs, far exceeding the approximately 9,800 residents of Rempang. With this approach, the government hopes that the transmigration programme will not merely operate administratively but will truly provide economic benefits and welfare for the community.