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Rabu, 10 Agustus 2016

Behind the Post-'Mudik' Migration



In the era of President Joko Widodo, we hear a number of interesting slogans, such as the maritime axis, Nawa Cita, Trisakti and building from the suburbs.

After Lebaran (the celebration of Idul Fitri, which is marked by mudik, an annual exodus by Jakartans to their hometowns), this last topic is relevant. Moreover, in this newspaper on Monday (11/6), we read that the program to build from the suburbs, from regions and villages, has not shown positive results. This is demonstrated by the high rate of migration from rural to urban areas.

The discouraging thing is that the government has poured a lot of funds into driving regional development. Regional transfer funds and village funds total Rp770 trillion (US$58.8 billion) of the total state budget of Rp2 quadrillion.

This year, the number of residents migrating to Jakarta and its surrounding cities, namely Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, is forecast to reach in excess of 181,000 people. Specifically for Jakarta, this will amount to 70,000 people. This is an increase over the previous five years, for which the average annual number of newcomers was 58,000 people.

The migration option is taken because people want to get jobs. A resident of Kediri, East Java, who works as a construction worker, chose to move to Jakarta because incomes in the regions were very small. Another resident from Muara Enim, South Sumatra, wanted to move to Jakarta because it was difficult to find work in his own region. Jakarta, which is frequently stated as the place where 60 percent of economy and finance circulates in the country, still exudes charm, calling like a magnet, following the maxim "when there is sugar, there are ants".

As stated by an expert in population economics from the economy and business faculty of the University of Indonesia, Sonny HB Harmadi, the rate of migration to the capital gives Greater Jakarta an increasingly heavy burden to bear. Apart from having to provide more jobs, other burdens are providing shelter and public facilities. Looking at the general economic condition, which has not yet improved, there is a risk that the dream of work in Jakarta will not materialize, while a negative impact is the rise in crimes. Another risk is the growth of unregulated settlement areas.

Related to this topic, there are at least two matters worth considering. We hear, along with mudik, there is also a flow of funds from the travelers to their hometowns. We need to encourage them not to spend all their money for consumptive purposes. Some of this should be used for investment, developing a spirit of entrepreneurship in the regions.

Second, executive director of the monitoring committee for the implementation of regional autonomy, Robert Endi Jaweng, drew attention to the fact that despite funds being channeled to the regions, there was no accompanying mechanism for control and assessment. There were no sanctions if regional governments failed to utilize the funds properly, or their economic growth targets were not reached.

The success of building from the suburbs will help reduce the rate of the migration and reduce the burden on Greater Jakarta.

Source Kompas, Tuesday, July 12, 2016

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