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Ombudsman flags state maladministration in Rempang project
The government should have done more to issue land certificates for residents of traditional villages on Rempang Island in Batam, Riau Islands, while preventing incitement of fear when handling protests against the eco-city project, the Indonesian Ombudsman has warned.
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This aerial photo taken on Sept. 18, 2023, shows Sebulang village on Rempang Island in Batam, Riau Islands. The government told Rempang island's 7,500 residents, including members of the Malay and Orang Darat ethnic groups, to pack their bags and make way for a quartz sand processing plant that experts have said will leave them jobless and potentially erase their way of life from the island forever. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
T
he Indonesian Ombudsman has found indications that the government’s handling of the Rempang Eco-City, a national strategic project on Rempang Island in Riau Islands which saw stiff resistance from locals against their removal from their ancestral ground, has been marred by maladministration.
The mishandling was committed by the National Police, the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry and project developer the Batam Development Authority (BP Batam), as well as the Batam city and Riau Islands administrations, said Indonesian Ombudsman member Johanes Widijantoro on Monday.
The finding came to light after the state agency conducted a probe into the project in September last year.
“The Ombudsman found instances of maladministration related to negligence, protracted delays and nonprocedural steps in developing Rempang,” Johanes said, adding that each agency and ministry had received notes on what they need to do to follow up on the findings.
Among the main issues highlighted by the Ombudsman was how the government handled the traditional villages in Rempang, particularly the relocation of the villages’ residents to make way for a new industrial hub on the island.
The project is planned to house an integrated glass and solar panel factory thanks to the investment of China-based Xinyi Group, one of the largest glass and solar panel manufacturers in the world.
Johanes said the government had made inadequate efforts to issue land certificates for those traditional villages, highlighting it as a lack of consistency in preserving traditional history and culture and a failure to protect the villagers.
