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View all search resultsRempang dispute escalates after BP Batam claims land for Sekolah Rakyat
Villager challenged Batam Free Trade Zone Authority's (BP Batam) unilateral claim that land in Pantai Melayu is managed by the authority and is intended for the ambitious lighthouse Sekolah Rakyat Project.
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A signpost stands onn July 15, 2026, before Pantai Melayu village on Rempang Island, Riau Islands, announcing that the Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam) has the rights to manage (HPL) for the land, reportedly to be used as a Sekolah Rakyat. BP Batam's unilateral claim is heatedly challenged by villagers who claim ownership. (JP/Fadli)
T
ensions over a land dispute flared again on Rempang Island, Batam, after the Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam) installed a signpost claiming ownership of the land on Tuesday morning
The action, carried out under heavy police escort, ignited a new wave of protests from the local customary community, who said the installation was a form of structured intimidation disguised as the Sekolah Rakyat construction project.
Personnel from BP Batam’s Security Directorate and plain-clothed police officers arrived at the access road leading to Pantai Melayu in Kalat village at about 8 a.m. Without notification or coordination with village officials, the security personnel immediately installed a signpost claiming land ownership and fixed it with concrete pour.
Verbal confrontations erupted as villagers demanded the signpost be removed, saying it had been installed on their tilled plots of land, far from the planned site of the school for underprivileged students, one of President Prabowo Subianto's flagship projects.
One of the villagers in Pantai Melayu, Kamsiah, said their living space had been disturbed after the Sekolah Rakyat project plan was tabled. Villagers often found unilateral actions, such topography mapping, coordinates taking and intrusions of unknown people installing pegs on top of a hill.
“We, Pantai Melayu villagers, no longer have tranquility since Sekolah Rakyat is planned,” she said.
“Authorities always intimidate us, make us afraid. The land is ours from the past, we have the proof.”
