"Hopefully, by having North Kalimantan Province the region will be able to progress and the local residents' welfare will improve," he said here Saturday.
The formation of the new province is also expected to improve the government`s services to the public, he stated.
"Regional autonomy will help accelerate development and improve the people`s welfare," Makmur added.
East Kalimantan is expected be divided into two provinces, East Kalimantan and North Kalimantan Province.
Makmur said he hoped the cooperation established between Berau District and Bulungan District will not be affected by the creation of North Kalimantan.
The House of Representatives (DPR) endorsed North Kalimantan Province as a new autonomous region on Thursday, after separating it from the East Kalimantan Province.
In a plenary session led by the House of Representatives` Speaker Marzuki Alie, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission II Agun Gunanjar said that it also endorsed four new districts, Pangandaran (West Java Province), Pesisir Barat district (Lampung Province), South Manokwari (West Papua Province) and Pegunungan Arfak district (West Papua Province).
According to Gunanjar, with the approval of five bills on the establishment of new autonomous regions, the Parliament hopes that the regional division could be a solution to optimize public service and shorten the range of government control, allowing services to become more effective and efficient.
He also expressed hope that there will be no further annexation of Indonesian regions by Malaysia, as North Kalimantan borders the Asian neighbour. In 2002, Malaysia annexed Pulau Sipadan and Ligitan.
"Based on the principle of effectiveness, we need concrete action from the government in extending its influence over vulnerable border regions of Indonesia to keep them safe from annexation efforts," he said.
(F001/INE/KR-BSR)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
