Understand Well !! Here Are the True Facts About the Long History of the Rempang Island Batam Agreement
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| Source; commons.wikimedia.org |
The development plan for Rempang Island has a lengthy
history. Several national media outlets have previously covered articles
discussing the history of investor involvement on the island since 2004.
However, there were no further developments until 2008.
A letter from the Batam City DPRD dated May 17, 2004, reopened the records of investment into the Rempang Island area. This letter was signed by the then Chairman of the Batam DPRD, Taba Iskandar, and contained recommendations from six factions in the Batam DPRD.
In broad terms, the Batam DPRD at that time approved the steps taken by the Batam City Government to develop Rempang Island into a trade, service, industrial, and tourism area with the concept of an Integrated Executive Tourism Zone or KWTE.
On August 26, 2004, entrepreneur Tommy Winata, the owner of PT Makmur Elok Graha (MEG), signed a memorandum of understanding with the Batam City Government. This signing was also witnessed by Ismeth Abdullah, who was serving as the acting Governor of the Riau Islands Province at the time. The agreement also included the development study of Rempang Island.
Tommy explained that after the memorandum of understanding was signed, they were never asked to continue the cooperation. Since the signing of the memorandum of understanding, Tommy stated that there were no further discussions until Batam became a free trade zone. "I don't know what happened, and it's been a long time; I leave it to Batam to do whatever they want. I never went back there, no activities were carried out," he said in the article.
Initially, the Batam City Government came to Jakarta in 2001 to offer development prospects in the Rempang area based on Batam City Regulation No. 17 of 2001 on Batam City Tourism.
Subsequently, the Batam City Government attempted to invite several national entrepreneurs, including the Artha Graha Group (parent company of PT MEG), as well as investors from Malaysia and Singapore to play an active role in the Rempang project.
Finally, PT MEG was selected to manage and develop the approximately 17,000-hectare Rempang area and the buffer areas of Setokok Island (approximately 300 hectares) and Galang Island (approximately 300 hectares).
Based on the agreements in 2004, the Batam City Government and BP Batam were responsible for providing land and issuing all necessary permits for PT MEG.
PT MEG is a subsidiary of the Artha Graha Group owned by Tommy Winata. In the land-use rights agreement on Rempang Island between the Batam City Government, Batam Authority, and Makmur Elok Graha, MEG received a concession for 30 years, extendable up to 20 and 30 years, potentially totaling up to 80 years. The total land area under cooperation was 16,583 hectares.
At that time, Tempo reported that the agreement was considered disadvantageous to the state because it was made without compensating the state.
In the agreement, MEG obtained exclusive rights to manage and develop the KWTE project. According to Batam City Regulation No. 17 of 2001 on Batam City Tourism, later updated with Regulation No. 3 of 2003, business permits in KWTE included skillball courts and mechanical/electronic gaming courts.
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| Recommendation Letter from the Batam Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD), May 17, 2004. |
In 2007, the investment plan faced obstacles due to
complaints from the public claiming that they had caused Rp3.6 trillion in
losses to the state through the cooperation.
In 2008, Tommy Winata was questioned by the Indonesian National Police Headquarters (Mabes Polri) regarding this issue. The project also did not materialize due to land acquisition problems.
Now, after 19 years, the development cooperation for Rempang Island has been revived. In July 2023, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with Xinyi Group, a Chinese company. This new agreement was signed by the Minister of Investment/Head of BKPM Bahlil Lahadalia in Chengdu, China, and witnessed by President Joko Widodo.
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| Presiden Joko Widodo saksikan penandatanganan sejumlah dokumen kerja sama dalam membangun ekosistem hilirisasi industri kaca dan panel surya di Indonesia yang dilaksanakan di Hotel Shangri-La, Chengdu, Republik Rakyat Tiongkok (RRT), pada Jumat, 28 Juli 2023. Foto: BPMI Setpres/Laily Rachev |
Xinyi will invest USD 11.5 billion, equivalent to Rp172
trillion. Xinyi will build glass and solar panel factories. This investment is
expected to create 30,000 jobs. The project is scheduled to begin in September
2023.
This investment is part of the Rempang Island development under MEG's leadership. The concept is a green industrial area called Rempang Eco-City. Rempang Island will become an industrial, service, and tourism area. The project is expected to attract investments of up to Rp318 trillion by 2080.
However, this plan is facing opposition from some members of the community. Rempang residents reject relocation and the demolition of 16 old villages. They are urging the government to carry out development without displacing the original residents and the 16 old villages.
Rempang Island has 16 traditional villages or old villages that are home to indigenous people. The indigenous people are believed to have lived on Rempang Island since at least 1834.
Development of the Rempang Island Area
Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia personally visited the site where the integrated glass factory will be built on Sunday afternoon in the Rempang area, Batam (August 13, 2023). This visit is a follow-up to President Joko Widodo's directive to expedite the development of the Rempang area after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian government and Xinyi Group regarding the integrated glass industry development in Rempang in the previous July.
"Last month in Chengdu, China, I myself represented the Indonesian government, witnessed by President Jokowi, in signing the cooperation commitment for the investment process in the Rempang area. We were given only two months to immediately implement the investment. This is not an easy task. But investment is an instrument to boost job opportunities and our country's economy," Bahlil said.
Xinyi Group is a Chinese company engaged in glass and solar panel manufacturing. The company already has the world's largest integrated glass factory located in China, and Indonesia will be the location for its second-largest factory. The total investment allocated for the Rempang area project is approximately USD 11.5 billion, with a total workforce of 35,000 people.
In addition to inspecting the readiness of the Rempang area, Minister Bahlil also held discussions with the affected community to explain that the glass industry development project must proceed, with the fulfillment of the rights of the affected community.
"Earlier, I had discussions with the Governor of the Riau Islands, the Mayor of Batam, the Head of the Batam Authority, local officials, and community representatives. We will fence off the graves, but we will still relocate the residents because the area is part of the master plan for this industrial development. Relocation sites have also been provided by BP Batam, and we will provide appropriate infrastructure for the community, such as roads to the beach and fishing ports," Bahlil said.
Minister Bahlil also added that each affected community member would receive a type 45 housing unit on a 200 square meter plot of land. As a form of government support for the future of the Rempang area community, the children of the affected community will receive vocational school scholarships. Moreover, for those with greater potential, the government will encourage BP Batam to facilitate scholarships for studying abroad.
Batam Mayor Muhammad Rudi expressed gratitude to Minister Bahlil for resolving the Rempang area issue by providing a good solution for all parties.
"Minister Bahlil has stated that he will help resolve this according to the higher decision of President. Once the President's decision is issued, we can start working," Rudi explained.
Listening to Aspirations
The development plan for Rempang Island as a new economic zone or The New Engine of Indonesian's Economic Growth remains a hot topic in the city of Batam.
The central government envisions Rempang Island as a new city with a "Green and Sustainable City" concept.
Responding to this discourse, Batam Mayor and Head of BP Batam H Muhammad Rudi directly conveyed the strategic development plan for Rempang Island to representatives of the Sembulang and Rempang Cate neighborhoods on August 22, 2023.
"Today, I have come to meet with community representatives. Alhamdulillah, this socialization activity went smoothly. Regarding the Rempang development plan, I have also conveyed to the central government to continue paying attention to the rights of the community," Rudi said in front of the community.
In the meeting, Rudi also explained the relocation plan for residents affected by the development.
Following the directive from Minister of Investment/Head of BKPM Bahlil Lahadalia, Rudi mentioned that they had prepared plots of land measuring 500 square meters for residents with houses on Other Land Use (APL) areas who are willing to relocate to the designated area. Houses with type 45 specifications will be built on these plots.
The size of these plots will also be increased from the previous 200 square meters.
Additionally, the community will be granted Building Rights (Hak Guna Bangunan or HGB) for the land and houses they own and will be exempted from the Annual Obligatory Fees (Uang Wajib Tahunan or UWT/UWTO) for 30 years.
The government will also provide assistance to fishermen and build a port or pier to facilitate the activities of the community in the future.
Rudi urged the entire community not to be provoked by negative issues related to the development plan for Rempang Island.
Source; presidenri.go.id, kepri.nu.or.id,
