The sea toll program will facilitate people to move from one region to another."Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - A researcher of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has urged the government to anticipate inter-island migration as one of the after-effects of the sea toll development program.
"The sea toll program will facilitate people to move from one region to another," Riwanto stated while discussing a book titled "On the Politics of Migration: Indonesia and Beyond" at the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) here, recently.
Therefore, Riwanto believes that the sea toll development program should also incorporate programs or efforts to facilitate healthy migration.
Migration can turn unhealthy if the indigenous people feel that the new settlers are dominating the utilization of local natural resources, he explained.
"Moreover, the migrants are usually more educated and have greater financial resources than the indigenous people," he pointed out.
To anticipate such a problem, the government should issue regulations on the mechanism of utilization of natural resources in each region.
The government should also organize training courses for the indigenous people, so that their skills will be at par with the newcomers.
In fact, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will boost not only migrations among Indonesias islanders but also the people from neighboring countries keen to utilize Indonesias economic potential, he emphasized.
Muhammad Najib Azca, a sociologist at the UGM, noted that the government should anticipate conflicts triggered by migration due to economic, racial, ideological, or religious factors.
Therefore, the government should ensure that the regional development policies guarantee justice for the local people, he stated.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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