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)