Southwest Maluku, which officially separated from West Southeast Maluku Regency in 2008, is better known by most people in Maluku as "Far Southeast", likely due to its distance - it is isolated from most methods of transportation and communication. Ten of the outer islands bordering East Timor and Australia are located in the regency.
It takes about a week to reach Southwest Maluku by boat from provincial capital Ambon; its provincial capital of Pulau Kisar is located more than 500 kilometers from Ambon. However, it is located just 25 kilometers from East Timor's capital of Dili.
"It takes only three hours by boat from Kisar to Dili," Southwest Maluku acting regent Jacob Patty told The Jakarta Post at his residence in Ambon recently.
The regency spans more than 9,000 square kilometers and is inhabited by more than 100,000 people. Its sea territory covers 89 percent of the total area. Inter-island transportation is mostly by traditional boats, but during high seas, event this mode of transportation comes to a halt.
Now, Kisar is connected with air transportation from Ambon and Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, with scheduled flights once a week. Pioneer boats which make stopovers at a number of ports on major islands are also available, but it would take days to arrive in Ambon.
Given its isolation, the area is prone to food shortages, especially during the months when the sea is rough. The shift from corn and tubers to rice as the staple food has led to rice scarcity during those times.
"Food shortages usually take place during the westerly season, or stormy season, between the months of January and March. We often face food scarcity during the time. This is due to people's diet, which is now more depended on rice. During the stormy season, the Dolog logistics agency in Tual, Southeast Maluku, encounters problem in sending rice, especially to the islands, as boats can't sail," Patty said.
In times of scarcity before harvests, or paceklik, residents depend on dried corn for sustenance. "People still cultivate corn on rain-dependent farmland. They can only grow corn once a year, usually before December. They dry their corn after harvest and consume it during paceklik," Patty, who is the former vice governor of Maluku, said.
Electricity is also a major problem for the administration and residents. Of the eight districts in Southwest Maluku, only four are linked to the local power grid - Kisar, Serwaru, Tepa and Babar Timur. However, not all villages in the districts have been connected to the power line. Moreover, power is only provided for 12 hours a day.
"Government activities and public services are certainly affected because power is only supplied 12 hours daily, and that is only during the night when the offices are idle," Patty said.
In response to the matter, Patty has made efforts to work together with state power company PLN and has introduced fuel subsidies to generate power. Unfortunately, this has not been enough.
"I wish to procure a 20-KVA power generator just to make sure administrative activities are not paralyzed, especially for public services. Without power, the telephone, the fax machine and the internet connection at the office cannot be used because they depend on electricity," Patty explained.
Besides that, he added that the poverty rate remains high, at 57 percent. To alleviate poverty, Patty is in the process of initiating a number of programs. "We are focusing on three programs - education, health and family welfare improvement, including other state-sponsored programs," he said.
Although the regency is still fairly new, its administrative infrastructure has been formed. "There are currently eight offices, three agencies and five divisions. I have proposed to the provincial administration to add one more office - the mining office - due to vast potential for mining and because it is still combined with the public works office," he said.
Despite the isolation and neglect, Southwest Maluku is rich in natural resources, including mineral, oil and gas. Patty acknowledged that he was overwhelmed by the task of managing the regency's wealth.
"The private sector is needed to manage the wealth of our regency," he said.
He added that two mining companies, which had just carried out production trial runs this year, were able to produce five tons of a projected 20 tons of pure copper, daily.
Besides copper on Wetar Island, Romang and Moa islands have potential gold deposits and Kisar and Romang islands are potentially rich in copper and iron ore. Not to mention the Marsela Sea, bordering with West Southeast Maluku, which is rich in oil and gas reserves.
Patty said the mining companies were provided with operation licenses when the regency was still part of West Southeast Maluku regency.
"I have required the companies to renew their licenses and build their offices on Kisar in order to facilitate supervision and coordination," he added.
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