NTT governor to name 719 unnamed islands

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Governor Frans Lebu Raya on Monday said around 719 of the total 1,192 islands in his province were unnamed, adding that naming them was important for the islands to gain attention from concerned parties.

“We have officially named 472 islands, but the rest remain nameless,” Frans said during a meeting with 290 district heads on Monday, as quoted by Antara state newswire.

The governor also called for support from the local military and National Land Agency (BPN) to help to identify the islands and update records of them.

During the meeting, officials from the Coordinating Agency for Land Surveying and Mapping (Bakosurtanal) also gave a technical and normative presentation.

The naming of islands has been a distinct problem for the province because of its geographical characteristics, comprising largely of water and small islets.

Officially, NTT has 290 districts, 2,650 villages and 316 subdistricts.

In 2002, Indonesia lost two islands northeast of Borneo, Sipadan and Ligitan, to Malaysia. (rpt)