The development process thus far has involved very little of our indigenous people. We may even ignore the existence of indigenous people, especially their human resource development
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR), Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, has urged the government to involve indigenous people more in the process of national development, especially human resource development.

"The development process thus far has involved very little of our indigenous people. We may even ignore the existence of indigenous people, especially their human resource development," Iskandar said in a statement received here on Wednesday.

The history of the indigenous people and the history of the development of the Indonesian people is inseparable, he noted.

Without the indigenous people, the existence of Indonesia as a nation will not be resilient and the nation will be splintered due to the heavy pressure of globalization, he remarked.

"Unfortunately, the important role that the indigenous people have is not yet proportionate to their contribution in nurturing and protecting our nation, nature, and culture," the deputy chairman explained.

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Meanwhile, he welcomed the initiative taken by the Alliance for Indigenous People of the Archipelago (AMAN) to propose the Indigenous People Bill (RUU MAL) despite it failing to get approval repeatedly.

He declared that they will try again as well as determine the factor that led the bill to be rejected by the DPR.

Meanwhile, secretary general of AMAN, Rukka Sombolinggi, said that the contribution of the indigenous people is never considered despite the fact their existence is acknowledged within the Indonesian Constitution, UUD 1945.

Unfortunately, existing laws have instead been used to legalize the plunder of indigenous land, Sombolinggi remarked.

The plundering of indigenous land is done through violence, intimidation, criminalization, and even through pitting indigenous people against one another, he added.

There were around two million indigenous people who were eligible to vote during the 2019 General Election, he claimed.

However, since they do not possess an identity card (KTP), they could not participate in the election, he added.


Related news: Indonesia needs Nagoya Protocol to protect indigenous people`s rights



Translator: Fransiska N, Fadhli R
Editor: Suharto
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