Ridwan Max Sijabat, Mataram – The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) warned the government that agrarian conflicts could turn into a conflagration that could foster social unrest in the next few years.
The deputy speaker for the MPR, Hajriyanto Y. Thohari, said that the recent clashes in Mesuji, Lampung and Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, were proof that land disputes could turn deadly.
"We've received reports that many local governments have handed over and sold lands controlled by indigenous people to corporations. These people were not given enough compensation and the land was sold cheaply to the companies. This will end up in tragedies similar to the one in Mesuji or Bima if no action is taken," he said in his keynote speech to open a seminar on agrarian conflict over the weekend.
Hajriyanto of the Golkar Party said the House of Representatives had received reports on 1,760 land conflicts, most of which were filed in 2011 with no resolution being reached. He said that bloody clashes in Mesuji and Bima were an indication that people were disappointed with the way the government handled the land dispute.
"The people's ownership of land has been limited to 2 hectares per family while corporations are allowed to occupy land with no limits at least for 90 years according to the 2008 Investment Law. Moreover, it is easy for the government to deploy security personnel to guard the interests of business people," he said.
Hajriyanto said the MPR had sent an official letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, asking the government to implement the MPR Decree No. IX/2001 on land reform and natural resources management and amend the 1960 AgrarianLaw.
Lawmakers Akhmad Muqowwam and M. Nurdin, respectively of the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said agrarian conflicts were triggered by 36 land-related laws, all of which stood for the interests of the business community.
Muqowwam said that the government has been reluctant to amend the agrarian law simply because the land issue had become more complicated in recent years.
"The 36 laws, which include regulations on the environment, forestry, investment, mineral resources, water resources and mining in protected forests, are overlapping and also conflict with each other because land has been treated as commodity while its social function has been ignored," he said.
Nurdin called for what he termed a revolution in agrarian law. He said that the government should immediately amend a number of laws, including Agrarian Law No. 5/1960. Nurdin also called for limiting the size of land controlled by private companies.