Waiting for Jakarta's quick action

By Hyginus Hardoyo

Today, the people of Lampung celebrate the province's 37th anniversary. Prior to government regulation number 3/1964 issued on March 18, 1964, Lampung was a karesidenan (regency) under the province of South Sumatra. Here The Jakarta Post presents the trials and triumphs of this province.

JAKARTA (JP): All 31 provinces of the country are currently grappling with the implementation of regional autonomy, an ambitious scheme launched early this year with the aim of defusing discontent of the people in the regions and the threat of national disintegration.

The government insists the regions are capable of implementing the plan, even though critics claim only regions rich in natural resources are ready for it.

However, the lack of preparedness in its implementation has caused confusion.

The unpreparedness is mainly due to inadequate information on how to execute the regional autonomy in the regions.

Many regulations on decentralization were also late in reaching local officials, thereby hindering them from making decisions.

Despite the setbacks, all regions, including Lampung, are eager to make the scheme a success because autonomy will give them a greater say in the exploitation of natural resources in their regions.

"For Lampung, autonomy does not constitute a gift, but a challenge," H.R. Mochtar Sany F. Badrie, head of the Lampung office of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told The Jakarta Post.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with regents and officials of Lampung province on Sunday, Mochtar said, as there will no longer be subsidies from the central government, local officials are required to use their talents in tapping existing resources as effectively as possible.

With a total area of 35,300 square kilometers and with a population of nearly 7.25 million people, Lampung is strategically located in the middle of the Java-Sumatra line.

The province is accessible from Java by ferry or ship via the Sunda Strait, or by airplane to Radin Inten Airport, which is about 25 kilometers from Bandar Lampung, the province's capital.

Data on the utilization of natural resources, released by the Lampung Central Bureau of Statistic's office (BPS Lampung), shows that the province's economy depends heavily on agriculture. As of March 1999, about 64 percent of its population is making a living from this sector.

The province, which consists of eight regencies and two mayoralties, is a major producer of agricultural commodities such as palm oil, rubber, coffee, pepper, manioc, molasses, maize and cloves.

It is home to large-scale oil palm, rubber and sugarcane plantations operated by private and state-owned companies.

The central and southern parts of Lampung such as Pekalongan, Metro, Talangpadang, Trimurjo, Palas, Pringsewu and Sidomulyo, have fertile lands, making them the province's agricultural center.

The province is also the third largest livestock supplier in the country, after East and Central Java. It is one of the major meat suppliers in Jakarta and West Java.

The eastern part of the region is suitable for breeding shrimps and fishes in brackish water ponds.

Lampung is also rich of minerals such as coal, iron, gold, silver, tin, manganese and uranium. In addition to the mining sector, the province also has abundant marine resources. Most of them have not been fully exploited.

It is worthwhile to note that Lampung has a large rainforest rich in flora and fauna. Elephants, tigers and rhinoceroses are some of its renowned fauna.

Elephants, tigers and rhinoceroses are successfully bred at the Way Kambas National Park, which is also famous for its elephant training school.

Despite its abundant resources, Lampung is classified as one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia. BPS Lampung's data shows that the per capita income in the province was only Rp 3.01 million (US$300 at the current rate) in 1999, up from Rp 1.37 million in 1996. By comparison the per capita income in Jakarta reached Rp 14.5 million in 1999, up from Rp 9.07 million in 1997.

"Even though our province is not as rich as the others, I'm proud to be a native of Lampung," Mochtar said.

"What we need now is accurate data compilation to utilize the untapped resources. Without accuracy (of data), investors will not be interested in entering our province," he said.

"Therefore we have to change our bureaucrats into entrepreneurs. Everything has to be clear-cut and transparent for the sake of meeting the principle of trade," he said.

A. Sjariffuddin Effendi, head of Lampung investment, culture and tourism promotion, told the Post that the economic growth of the province was projected to reach about 3 percent this year. It reached 4.12 percent in 1997, but plunged to minus 8 percent during the economic crisis in 1998.

"To meet the target, we need investments amounting to Rp 475 billion," he said.

He expressed confidence that the target could be realized because in the first two months of this year alone his office had approved several domestic investment projects with combined commitments of about Rp 400 billion.

"The implementation of the investment projects depends mainly on the political condition in the country," he said, acknowledging that the current situation is not conducive to doing business.

Both Mochtar and Sjariffuddin expressed concern over the inability of the central government to contain the political bickering among the elite as it greatly affected nearly all aspects of live in the regions.

"How can businessmen invest if there is no security guarantee?" Mochtar asked.

Lampung was too ambitious during the sixth Five-Year Development Plan (1994/1995-1998/1999), declaring that it wants to become an industrial development area. The industrial sector, despite its growth, contributed only about 15 percent to the local gross domestic product, far below the 31.29 percent from the agricultural sector in 1997.

The province's exports were dominated by coffee (with foreign exchange earnings of US$228.44 million in 1999), followed by shrimps ($103.59 million), vegetables ($71.16 million) and pepper ($45.77 million).

The industrial development plan managed to attract conglomerates from Jakarta to begin capital-intensive agroindustry and agribusiness projects.

Initially it was believed such investments would benefit and save marginal local farmers, but it did not live up to its expectations. The Lampung resources were arbitrarily tapped with profits sent to Jakarta, leaving only problems and wastes behind.

Ali Ibrahim, dean of the Agriculture School at Lampung University, was quoted as saying in 1999: "Neglecting agriculture is suicide. Those involved in the industrial development are only laborers whose numbers are very limited. Farmers act only as spectators."

His statement was backed by the fact that only a handful of local people were employed in the agroindustrial estate in Bakungudik and Gunungbatin villages. Others, who had "sacrificed" their land to make way for the project, could only watch.

This imbalance ended in conflict. Disappointed locals frequently destroyed and looted the estate, for example about 500 hectares of sugarcane plantation ready for harvest in the Bakungudik village was burned down.

Until today, there are disputes over land ownership between investors and local residents, prompting investors to relocate their businesses to other regions.

Many large-scale companies, which created jobs and foreign exchange earnings, have reportedly halted their operations here due to security concerns.

"Investors were also disappointed that the local government did not do anything to stop the disputes," an investor was quoted by Antara as saying early this month.

Mochtar said such disputes could be settled if the central government ended the political bickering among the elite. "Political stability and security in Jakarta can influence the regions," he said.

"Just maintain security in the country and investors will automatically return to the regions," he reiterated.