Representatives of the Melayu indigenous community protest on Sept 18, 2023, in Dumai, Riau Islands, against the government's plan to relocate residents of Rempang island. - Antara
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): In the last few weeks, residents of Rempang, an island that is part of Batam, Riau Islands province, have been evicted to make way for a government megaproject, leading to protests.
The rushed project, which is funded by Chinese investment that President Joko 'Jokow' Widodo secured during his trip to Beijing in July, has forced thousands of islanders to leave the place that they have called home for decades.
The conflict has been worsened by the fact that most of the islanders do not possess land certificates to prove ownership.
Where is Rempang Island?
Rempang is a 17,000-hectare island located about 44km from Singapore. The island is part of the Batam municipality, which includes Batam, Rempang, Galang (Barelang) as well as several small islands.
As a special economic zone, the development of Batam has been managed under the Batam Development Authority (BP Batam).
Rempang is connected to the nearby islands in the municipality through the Barelang bridges and is considered strategic as part of an exclusive zone. However, while Batam is an urban and industrial zone, Rempang is still underdeveloped with most parts of the island still covered by forest.
About 7,500 people live on the island, including the indigenous Malay, Orang Laut and Orang Darat people who reportedly have been inhabiting the island since the 1800s.
What is the government project?
The government is seeking to remove all inhabitants from Rempang Island before the end of the month to build an economic hub called Rempang Eco-City. The project is expected to turn the island into an industrial, commercial and tourism centre.
The new city will also house an integrated glass and solar panel manufacturing facility with investment from China’s Xinyi Group, one of the world's largest glass and solar panel manufacturing companies.
According to the project's proposal, around 7,000 hectares of the island will be designated for development while the remaining 10,000 ha will be protected forest area. Investment in the development of the island is targeted at US$11.5 billion.
The project is being spearheaded by PT Makmur Elok Graha (MEG) which has partnered with Xinyi Group.
PT MEG is a subsidiary of the Artha Graha Group, owned by politically wired tycoon Tomy Winata from Jakarta. Tomy, who supported Jokowi during his second run as president in 2019, was once listed among the top 40 richest people in Indonesia.
The Rempang project is set to create the second-largest glass factory in the world and is expected to bring a total investment value of Rp 381 trillion (US$25 billion) and create roughly 306,000 jobs until 2080.
2021 data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry revealed that the Riau Islands have 190 million tonnes of potential quartz sand or silica sand reserves, the main raw material for making glass and solar panels.
PT MEG has been planning the development of Rempang Island since 2004. In its early days, the company planned to build an Exclusive Tourism Resort (KWTE) on the island to house massage parlours, night clubs and karaoke bars.
The project’s development, however, was sluggish because of various reasons, including a corruption case. The development plan only gained traction after President Jokowi visited Beijing, and Rempang became one of the government’s national strategic projects (PSN).
Why are the residents being relocated?
Despite locals having inhabited Rempang Island since before Indonesia's Independence in 1945, most islanders don't have land certificates to prove their property ownership. In 1973, then president Suharto issued a regulation declaring that no private entity could own land in Batam municipality because of its strategic location.
The regulation also handed the right of management (HPL) of all land in the municipality to BP Batam, which was then known as the Batam Authority. There have been several changes to Batam’s administrative structure, including the separation of the municipality administration and the Batam authority.
Since 2019, the government has appointed Batam Mayor Muhammad Rudi as BP Batam head. In 2004, the authority granted PT MEG the right to manage the entire island for 80 years.
Because of the residents' lack of legal entitlement to their property, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD labeled the government effort to remove the island’s inhabitants "land clearance" rather than "eviction", deeming locals squatters instead of landowners.
What is the government offering to residents
The government is planning to relocate Rempang residents to a soon to be built modern fishing village in nearby Galang Island, offering up to 500sq m of land and a 45-sq m house worth Rp 120 million to each family.
On top of that, the government will provide Rp 1.2 million per person to compensate them for the time spent waiting for their new houses to be built and further funding to help them pay for temporary rent.
Authorities said that public assessors will come to evaluate the price of property items, and if anyone owns property with a value exceeding a certain amount, such as cages, plants or canoes, BP Batam will fill in the gap between the assessed price and the compensation provided by the central government.
Although a handful of residents have agreed to accept the government offer, the majority have refused to leave the island. Some have expressed concerns about the continuity of their livelihood as fishermen during and after the eviction while the rest said that their villages are historically important to the indigenous community and the relocation will eliminate their traditions.
The Rempang indigenous communities have stated that they did not oppose the development of the new eco-city, but they want to remain in the island, arguing that they only occupied about 10 per cent of the island.
Protests against the plan turned violent when clashes between residents and security forces broke out at the Barelang Bridge on Sept 7 and the office of the BP Batam on Sept 11. The police have arrested and named as suspects a total of 43 people for alleged violent offences during both clashes.
The detainees have reportedly been refused their rights to visitation by attorneys and relatives. Civil society organisations and religious groups have criticised authorities for their handling of the protests, accusing the government of prioritising investment over the interests of the people.
The government is currently considering a proposal from residents to relocate them to different areas within the island. Officials are also seeking to extend the eviction deadline although they have not removed the security forces from the island.
