Bad Communication Value Triggers Rempang Conflict, Jokowi Assigns Investment Minister To Discuss With Citizens

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). (Twitter Cabinet Secretariat)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that poor communication was the cause of chaos related to the issue of land clearing on Pulau Rempang, Riau Islands (Kepri).

According to Jokowi, the conflict between security forces and Rempang residents should not have occurred if local residents were spoken to and given a solution to the plan to develop the Rempang Eco City project by the Batam Entrepreneurship Agency (BP).

"Because there has actually been an opportunity that residents will be given 500 meters of land plus 45-type buildings, but this is not communicated properly. Finally, it becomes a problem," Jokowi said when met on the sidelines of his visit to Kranggot Market, Cilegon, Banten, Tuesday, September 12, confiscated by Antara.

In order to follow up on the handling of the conflict, Jokowi assigned Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia to provide a direct explanation to the residents of Rempang regarding the implementation of the investment project.

Quoted from the BP Batam page, Rempang Eco City is one of the projects registered in the 2023 National Strategic Program whose construction is regulated in the Regulation of the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Number 7 of 2023 which was ratified on August 28.

The Rempang Eco City project is an integrated industrial, trade, and tourism area aimed at encouraging competitiveness with Singapore and Malaysia.

The project will be worked on by PT Makmur Elok Graha (MEG) with an investment target of IDR 381 trillion by 2080. PT MEG is a colleague of BP Batam and the Batam City Government.

Later, the company will help the government attract foreign and local investors in economic development on the island of Rempang.

To work on Rempang Eco City, PT MEG was given an area of around 17,000 hectares covering the entire island of Rempang and Subang Mas Island. The government is also targeting the development of Rempang Eco City to absorb around 306,000 workers by 2080.

However, the construction of the project was protested by residents of Rempang by blocking the joint apparatus which will set and measure land on Thursday 7 September.

The violent conflict resulted in injuries and even trauma to local children being triggered by residents' rejection of the project which required around 7,500 local residents to be relocated.

In addition, the project also threatens the existence of 16 traditional Malay villages on Pulau Rempang since 1834.