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View all search resultsRempang islanders side-eye govt's Galang hospital plan for injured Gazans
A village elder on Rempang Island says the local community is suspicious that the government's plan to treat Gazans on neighboring Galang Island is some kind of underhanded ploy to move forward with the controversial Rempang Eco-City project.
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Siti “Nek Hawe” Hawa, a community leader of Sembulang village on Rempang Island in Batam regency, Riau Islands, sits in a local café on Aug. 21, 2025. She has expressed concern that, as with the Rempang Eco-City development project, the government did not consult the local community on its latest plan to treat wounded Palestinians at the Galang Island Infectious Disease Hospital (RSKI). (JP/Fadli)
T
he government’s plan to treat injured Gazans at the Galang Island Infectious Disease Hospital (RSKI) in Batam regency, Riau Islands, has raised concerns among local residents.
The unease is especially evident among the people of neighboring Rempang Island, which was recently the site of community clashes over the controversial Rempang Eco-City project.
The native residents, who are ethnic Malays, say the latest plan is politically laden and disregards the social dynamics on Rempang.
Siti “Nek Hawe” Hawa, 70, a Sembulang village leader, said the government did not involve the local community in decision-making.
“Including about [the Gaza plan], there were no discussions with the public. The government suddenly decided to accommodate Gazans at RSKI Galang Island,” she said on Thursday.
The village elder, who remembers when hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees were housed on Galang Island in 1979, recalled that limited communication and transportation in the past made the situation more controllable.
“I used to sell food to the soldiers on guard around Galang Island. Residents like us could not interact with the Vietnamese there,” Nek Hawe said.
