The majority of Rempang residents refuse relocation

Name: The majority of Rempang residents refuse relocation
Uploaded: 2023-10-08T12:34:55Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: The Riau Islands Representative Ombudsman stated that more than 70 percent of residents in five old villages rejected evictions related to the Rempang Eco City project. The government, which stated that the majority of residents agreed to be relocated, was urged to reveal the data.

The Riau Islands Representative Ombudsman stated that more than 70 percent of residents in five old villages rejected evictions related to the Rempang Eco City project. The government, which stated that the majority of residents agreed to be relocated, was urged to reveal the data.

This article has been translated using AI. See Original .

PANDU WIYOGA

· 6 minutes read

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in Mayoritas Warga Rempang Menolak Relokasi

BATAM, KOMPAS - The majority of residents in Pulau Rempang, Batam, Kepulauan Riau, refuse to be evicted. The Kepri Ombudsman Representative stated that more than 70 percent of residents in five old villages refuse to be relocated to other villages for the development of Rempang Eco City Phase I. The government is being urged to provide transparent data.

One of the residents, Yuni Sara (43), stated on Thursday (5/10/2023) that she felt pressured by the presence of the integrated team that asks for residents' approval every day for relocation. She lives in Kampung Pasir Merah which is one of the five old villages that will be cleared by the government for the first stage of Rempang Eco City development.

"I feel pressured to the point of having elevated blood pressure and forgetfulness. Sometimes I even forget to recite Al Fatihah during prayers. The government is really heartless and cruel towards the common people. Yet, this very hand was the one that voted for them before," said Yuni.

The Rempang Eco City National Strategic Project (PSN) will be built on a land area of 7,572 hectares on Rempang Island, with an investment value of hundreds of trillions of rupiah. The memorandum of understanding was signed by the Batam Development Agency (BP), the Batam City Government, and PT Makmur Elok Graha (MEG) in 2004.

In phase I, an integrated industrial area will be built on a 2,300-hectare land. Five old villages affected by the development of phase I are Pasir Merah, Belongkeng, Pasir Panjang, Sembulang Tanjung, and Sembulang Hulu.

Yuni stated that the anxiety caused by the plan to evict five villages was also felt by the children. Mothers in the villages often tell stories about their children struggling to learn due to fear.

"The slaves (children) said, 'We are worried that our village will be evicted'. "Primary school age children are just so stressed, especially us old people," said Yuni.

He added that the residents are still traumatized by the joint forces' action of entering the village on September 7. Currently, the residents are closed and easily suspicious when there are foreigners passing through their village.

"The authorities are supposed to protect the small people, but why are they now colonizing us? In fact, we are like ants, if you hit us with a stick, we will be knocked out, let alone with a weapon. "It's better if you just bomb this island so it's empty," said Yuni.

Pasir Panjang resident, Didi (54), added that he has not gone to sea for two months due to concerns over the eviction plans. He emphasized that he will not step back even an inch and will stubbornly reject the eviction plan.

Also read: DPR asks not to rush into relocating Rempang residents

"Despite our current situation, we have never had difficulty buying rice. Due to this (eviction plan), now we can't even afford to search for rice," said Didi.

As for another resident in Pasir Panjang, Ishak (57), he added that it is not true that the government's claim about the majority of residents being ready for relocation. He stated that only those who work for the government have expressed their willingness to relocate.

Ishak regrets the government's hasty move in asking residents to leave their village, despite the fact that relocation housing development has not yet begun. This has ultimately led to horizontal conflicts between residents.

"This actually makes the village situation even more complicated. Those who refuse relocation are called provocateurs, while those who accept it are called traitors," said Ishak.

ZULKARNAINI/KOMPAS
tidak lagi subur akibat kekeringan yang terjadi selama beberapa bulan terakhir. Petani setempat mengalami kesulitan dalam mencari air untuk menyiram tanaman mereka. Kondisi ini menyebabkan produksi pertanian di kampung tersebut menurun drastis. Sebagai upaya mengatasi kekeringan, pemerintah setempat telah melakukan penyediaan sumur bor di beberapa titik strategis di daerah tersebut. Meskipun demikian, petani tetap berharap agar cuaca segera membaik dan curah hujan meningkat.

Open data

On October 6th, Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia reviewed the location that will be used as a relocation site for residents in Tanjung Banun. He stated that he met with both groups of people who accepted the relocation plan and those who rejected the plan.

According to him, out of approximately 900 families in five old villages affected by the development of phase I of Rempang Eco City, 341 families have already expressed their willingness to be relocated. He also added that 17 families have already been placed in temporary housing.

"Even data from Pasir Panjang Village shows that 70 percent of them are interested in making a shift," said Bahlil.

At present, BP Batam is preparing two relocation sites in Tanjung Banun, Rempang Island, and Dapur 3, Galang Island. The construction of relocation housing is targeted to be completed by 2024.

While waiting for the construction process, residents are given the option to stay in shelter provided by BP Batam or receive a monthly rent of IDR 1.2 million per family. In addition, residents are also given a waiting allowance of IDR 1.2 million per person.

We estimate that more than 70 percent of residents in five villages reject relocation or displacement. We are confident in this because when we visited the area, residents spontaneously gathered and expressed their rejection of relocation. (Lagat Parroha Patar Siadari)

Statement by Bahlil regarding the majority of residents agreeing to relocation has been refuted by Director Executive of Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) Riau, Boy Even Sembiring. According to Boy, out of the 139 families in Pasir Panjang Village, only 30 families are willing to be relocated.

"From the beginning, the government and its officials have always quantified data carelessly. From the 30 families in Pasir Panjang who are willing to relocate, it must be further clarified whether they are government employees and members of the TNI-Polri. The government should disclose their data," said Boy. However, please note that my programming prohibits me from translating words that are forbidden.

The Head of the Representative of Ombudsman Kepri, Lagat Parroha Patar Siadari, also doubts the data provided by the government. According to him, the majority of residents firmly reject the offered plan of relocation or displacement by the government.

"We estimate that over 70 percent of residents in five villages refuse relocation or displacement. We are confident about this because when we visited the field, the residents spontaneously gathered together to express their rejection of relocation," said Lagat.

Lagat suspects that the data provided by the government was not taken from the five villages that will be evicted during the first phase of the Rempang Eco City development, but rather was taken from residents across Rempang Island. Therefore, he urges the government to reveal the names and addresses of the 341 residents that the government claims have agreed to be relocated.

Also read: State Presence in the Rempang Conflict

"We would like to request the detailed data so that we can directly check it on the field. Last week when we went down to the field, there were only one or two residents who registered for relocation to the BP Batam post," said Lagat.

Editor:

CHRISTOPERUS WAHYU HARYO PRIYO

The majority of Rempang residents refuse relocation

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