Tourism and mining vital for the Banten region
Tourism and mining vital for the Banten region
JAKARTA (JP): When people talk about Banten, they usually
associate it with jawara (martial art master), debus (ritual
display of invulnerability) or black magic.
Dressed in black, with a dagger on his back, the Banten jawara
has become the region's trademark.
H. Samiri, one of Banten's community leaders, said such
perceptions are misleading.
Jawara or debus practitioners are only a small part of the
region's cultural riches.
"Banten is a very large region which boasts rich natural
resources and cultural heritage. It was once a very respected
kingdom and prominent Islamic center," he said.
If people want to understand Banten, they will have to learn
more about the Banten community, their problems and their
history.
In the current reform era, the people of Banten are demanding
a greater share of the profits, and more freedom to manage their
natural resources, long exploited during the New Order period for
the benefit of outsiders.
Banten covers more than 2 million hectares of land, half of
the West Java province. It consists of four regencies -- Serang,
Pandeglang, Lebak and Tangerang -- and two mayoralties.
The International Soekarno-Hatta Airport, giant industries PT
Krakatau Steel and Trypolta, and the controversial megaproject
Chandra Asri operate in the area.
Luxurious tourist resorts along Pulorida and Carita beach in
north Banten have lured millions of well-to-do visitors.
"Such development projects have very little impact on the
welfare of the Banten people," he said.
Banten consists of many impoverished villages where people
live under the poverty line.
Development projects forced people to move to remote villages
with poor infrastructure facilities, mainly in the southern part
of Banten.
Banten has two faces. In the northern part of Banten, such as
in Cilegon and Anyer, large-scale mining and tourism flourishes.
In the southern part, also called old Banten, economic
development is almost stagnant, despite the great potential for
growth.
The southern areas of Banten have incredible mining and agro-
industry potential, as well as tourist resources.
Before the economic crisis, several investors were interested
in developing South Banten as a modern tourist city.
PT Banten West Java Tourism Development Corporation (BWJ)
hopes to lure major international tourist operators and hotel
companies to jointly develop a massive tourist resort in Tanjung
Lesung.
A potential investor predicted that tourism was promising
here, but that many investors were reluctant to invest in this
sector because of poor infrastructure in the area.
Agriculture-based industries such as banana and coconut
plantations could be developed into thriving export commodities.
In addition, this part of the region has deposits of vast
mineral resources, including gold, coal, steel and bentonite.
Deddy Djumhana, head of the Banten regional development
office, said such potentials were yet to be developed because
poor infrastructure and inadequate human resources hampered the
process.
"An absence of potential human resources has contributed to
poor education facilities. Most Banten people are elementary
school graduates," he said.
He said the area has only a few public high schools and
Islamic boarding schools. Tirtayasa University is the only higher
learning institution in the region.
"Parents are still reluctant to send their kids to school
because of historical hatred," he asserted.
The parents considers schools to be products of the Dutch
colonial government, and therefore they prefer to send their
children to Islamic boarding schools.
Students who want to continue their schooling must go to other
cities such as Jakarta and Bandung, because Banten cannot cater
for their needs.
Compared to other regions in West Java, Banten lags behind in
providing adequate education and training facilities for its
population.
"Without proper education and technological know-how, Banten
people can hardly keep up pace of rapid development."
As a result, they can only oversee development activities that
occur in their own homes.
It is not surprising that locals can only grab a very small
portion of job opportunities offered by giant industries
operating in the region.
Filling the vacancies are immigrant workers, who have already
flooded the region. Their presence may cause social and cultural
conflicts with the locals.
Exploitation of natural resources, soaring numbers of the
poor, and an uneven distribution system between the central and
regional government have caused misery among the Banten people
and their counterparts in other rich provinces in the
archipelago.
Noted sociologist Selo Sumardjan has warned the government and
the private sector to develop just development plans, accommodate
locals' wishes and help maintain their valuable natural
resources.
The Indonesian government is expected to learn a lesson from
Irian, Aceh, Riau and other resource-rich provinces which have
been exploited for so long for the sake of the central
government, investors and the rich.
"These are the roots of people's dissatisfaction that could
possibly lead to national disintegration," Selo said.(raw)