Land of The People

Indonesian Presidential election have just passed, rather uneventful, no commotions, everyone seems content. But there are problems left unsolved, some seems to be buried out there, kept some layers under the surface, never meant to be found. Here on the surface of West Borneo, roads have been built, buildings raised to complement the economy and the ever growing human population. What was once considered the jungle of the earth now looks like any other crowded and unmanageable region in the developing world. Whatever graces of nature that were once provided in abundance, now have become scarcer.

Human numbers have multiplied, each and everyone seems to have their own agenda. The problem is, presently, the resources are nowhere near enough to fulfill, not the needs, but the desire of everyone, whoever they are. It separates them into factions that seems to corrupt each other: The government, the entrepreneurs, and the people. And the people are left feeling abandoned.

Like the people in RT 5, sub district of Sungai Ambawang, Kubu Raya regency. It is inadvisable for anyone to bring their camera around here, indulging in photo sessions and probing the area without the accompaniment of at least one local inhabitant, therefore indicating the approval of the local leader about being there in the first place.

A woman yelled at me from afar, in her voice I sensed rage and I was glued to where I stood. It wasn't long before she and some other people surrounded me. I thought there must be something wrong with photographing dead trees. I was mistaken.

Soon I was sitting with some of the locals, the head of RT (abbreviation or Rukun Tetangga, collection of neighbors, the smallest administrative level of a region in Indonesia) and his assistant. They asked for my identification and asked some questions before they decided that I was not a threat. Most of these people are quite sensitive about cameras, and they were certainly quite sensitive with strangers. I was not in a convenient position where I could ask for their names.

They said that there were some similar instances where one or two people would come with cameras, taking pictures of their land and jump in to their vehicles as they were approached by the locals. Not long after, some other people came and brought some maps and proof of land ownership with them. The head of the RT said to me that nobody there, ever recalled selling that piece of land.

On different days there were “envoys” claimed to be sent by the owners of some hectares of land, to oversee the situation, to prepare it.
“That's funny” said the vice chief of the RT 5 “because as far as we know it, we own the land.”
“We have been here for generations” said the head of the the RT 5 “I have been on duty for at least 20 years, I know when somebody sells their land or when they don't.”

This all started in 1998. The locals realized that to protect their land they can't simply rely on the dubious indigenous land status, theoretically recognized by the national agrarian regulation. While they live on it, they lost it, hectares of land each year. So they decided to take advantage of the adjudication program founded by Australia (they can't recall whether it was the state or a certain body or NGO originating from that country) in corroboration with local government and then went to the BPN – a state body that handles land affairs – only to be rejected.
“They gave us various explanations, funny ones” said the vice chief of the RT “they even said that those lands had been enlisted by others, some other people possess the certificate, people we have never known or seen.”

When I mentioned about the half finished road project that goes through their front door, and whether they have problems with it, they said no. They are glad about the road, new opportunities await, it will be easier to go to the market, and electricity is bound to follow.
“We have no problem with the road project, nor the contractor” said a local, going by the name of Mr. Sengseng, “yes, it halted, but maybe it is because they have some financial problems.”
“There were times when nobody knew about this place” said the chief of RT “we have to go kilometers away just to buy some basic needs, when we buy sago flour we have to submerge it underwater, to keep it damp, so it wont get blown by the wind, and put it under sunlight when the day is bright to make it usable.
“People who live in this place know one another, we were actually one family” he continued “but life is hard when it takes the whole day for you just to go shopping, so some moved away to other places, leaving about four families here.”
“Now there are other people living with us here,” said Mr. Sengseng “most of the Dayaknese are the original residents, but we also have other tribes, like Malay, Chinese and Bugis, also Bataknese.” He also pointed out that a local representative, a Bugis, owns hectares of land there “Perhaps he doesn't know yet that parts of his land have been taken by someone else.”

They told me that hectares of land from kilometer 48 to kilometer 60 are problematic.
“The other funny thing is, the government claimed that these lands are reserved for an industrial zone, up beyond where the new roads are. We are not stupid, if it is an industrial zone then that road shouldn't have been there in the first place” said the chief of RT.
“people are taking our land, people with money, and the government is not helping. We will fight. They use money and buy the government officials, that's their way, we'll fight our own way, we will file complaints.” said Mr. Sengseng.
“we will fight through the head of the village, through the newly elected local board of representatives. Once the road is done, we will,” said the vice chief of RT, “but for now we will not go there to the city, let them come here, 5th party, 10th party, I don't care, as long as it is clear who buys the land.” he added.

This is just one of the many disputes over land on West Kalimantan. Each side has their own view about it. The Government said that problems lie in people's understanding about land regulations, the investors said there is simply lack of socialization about land status, and if government doen't do anything about it, the people would mob against them and it would scare the investors away. The people said that the government officials are greedy.

But we will lose much more than any amount of money in the world if the government can't act wisely. For the Dayaknese and any other indigenous people in Indonesia, land is their soul and identity, when they lose it, they don't know what they'll have left.