Greater Indonesia Echoes On The Piling Of The West Sumatra-Bengkulu Boundary On Berloga Island

BENGKULU - The song Indonesia Raya echoed during the erection ceremony of the West Sumatra-Bengkulu border on Sanding Island. Locals call it Berloga Sabeu Island in the Mentawai Islands Regency.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs has designated this island as belonging to West Sumatra. Today we are carrying out a border erection attended by the West Sumatra Provincial Government and Mentawai District," said Deputy Governor of West Sumatra, Audy Jainaldy in Mentawai, Antara, Monday, February 21.

The determination was based on the Minutes of Agreement on the Preparation of the Zoning Review for Coastal Areas and Small Islands in the Border Region of West Sumatra Province with Bengkulu Province Number 523/1312-DKP.3/V/2017 dated 3 May 2017 and based on the 2020 National Gazeter which stated that This island belongs to West Sumatra.

He said that with the determination of the boundaries of the area, the regional government could take policies in the maintenance and development going forward, because the Sanding Island area has great potential to be developed as an exclusive tour for surfing, diving and snorkeling.

Infrastructure facilities, especially for access, will be built in stages. Because the budget in the regions is relatively small, budget assistance is sought from the center.

"This year, Rokot Airport in Sipora has completed the addition of the runway length to 1500 M so that ATR aircraft can be landed. The Ministry of Transportation also promised this year to provide ship assistance for inter-island transportation so that access is better," said Audy.

Regarding tourism potential, he considered that efforts were needed to carry out large-scale exposure to be better known by tourists. For that he also invited a number of local and national influencers to promote the Mentawai.

Not only that, in the piling activities that were packaged in the Berloga Sabeu Island expedition, Audy deliberately used a jet ski, not a boat.

"This is to show that Mentawai is actually not difficult to visit. Even with a jet ski, you can reach it from Padang," he said.

Sanding Island or Berloga Sabeu is about 150 miles from Padang City which must be taken for 6 hours by fast boat.

The island is the southern part of West Sumatra bordering Bengkulu. The island is part of the Mentawai Regency.