Latest Conditions on Rempang Island, 70 Percent of Pasir Panjang Residents Agree to Be Relocated

Minister of Investment and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia reported that around 70 percent of all residents in Pasir Panjang on Rempang Island, Batam, Riau Islands stated that they were very ready to be relocated to Tanjung Banun.

This success cannot be separated from how optimal and effective the Government’s efforts have been because it has absorbed or accepted the aspirations of all levels of society in Pasir Panjang so that in the end they agreed to be relocated.

For information, Pasir Panjang is one of the 5 (five) villages prioritized for relocation in connection with the Rempang Eco-City development project. There are 150 heads of families (KK) who live in the village.

Of the 150 families, 70 percent of them are willing to be relocated. This is because of the Government’s efforts so far, including the Minister of Investment himself, namely Bahlil, who always makes direct visits to residents’ homes and receives aspirations from the people of Rempang.

Several points of requests or aspirations that have been put forward by the people of Rempang Island are the first regarding their request for a shift in Kitchen 3. Then the second is regarding the certainty of replacing a house whose value is more expensive than that provided by the Government.

Regarding the first request submitted by the public, the government itself has also absorbed it all and will continue to consider it. It turns out that the government’s initial plan was to relocate to Dapur 3 first.

However, the initial plan changed because it turned out that there were also several other community groups who actually wanted the relocation to be carried out near the beach, so in the end the government made a policy to change the relocation location to Tanjung Banun.

Moreover, several points are actually owned by the government because it is trying to prioritize the safety and comfort of the community itself due to several considerations such as the very high incline in Dapur 3, which means that fishermen’s boats also have very long distances. For this reason, relocation is focused near the coast.

Then regarding the certainty of housing replacement, the government is trying to convince all people to no longer doubt the very strong commitment that the government has and has made. In fact, if for example the value of the house provided by the government turns out to be cheaper, then the government will compensate the difference.

Previously, the Government had determined 5 (five) priority locations that would be relocated in the first stage of the development of the Rempang Eco-City project. These locations include the villages of Pasir Panjang, Blongkeng, Sembulang Hulu, Sembulang Tanjung and also Pasir Merah.

From these five villages there are 961 families. Then, with the excellent approach taken by the government so far, it has succeeded in making residents who previously refused to be relocated, some of them have stated that they agree to be relocated and will occupy temporary housing as soon as possible.

Several residents on Rempang Island, specifically in Galang District, Batam City, Riau Islands Province are indeed willing to be relocated. Now they have temporary housing and some even choose to live in shophouses and some are looking for their own rental house.

One of the residents, namely Ramadan, is a resident of Pasir Panjang who chose to live in a shophouse that had been prepared by the Batam Concession Agency (BP) in the Buana Central Park area. He admitted that everything had been provided by the government without paying any rent at all and everything had been borne by the government.

Those who have lived in the places provided by the Government admit that they are much more comfortable living in these temporary places, because the environment provided is much more spacious. So far, all relocation efforts carried out by the government have been very dignified in accordance with the agreement between the two parties and the community and still prioritize the interests of the people. The existence of investment does not in any way eliminate the indigenous Rempang people who are subjects and an integral part of the integrity of the state. The Indonesian Government continues to seek relocation of residents on Rempang Island to facilitate the smooth development of the Rempang Eco-City project. Thanks to efforts that never know the word tired and also an excellent approach used,