East Kalimantan students called not to take extreme measure

East Kalimantan senior leaders called on the local students not to take extreme measures against giant companies exploiting the natural resources of the province, the local Kaltim Post daily reported.

Former East Kalimantan governor HM Ardans said that it's better for the students to talk peacefully with the companies to ask them to contribute more to the province.

"Please don't take extreme measure. We have to protect our image. Kaltim is a strategic area for investment," Ardans said.

He admitted that the giant companies had been providing more benefits to the central government in Jakarta than to the local people of East Kalimantan province. He said that this was because of the centralistic government in the past.

But with a more democratic environment and the implementation of the new autonomy law, there's more opportunities for the province to force the giant companies to provide more compensation for the resource they exploited from the province.

Local parliament legislator HM Rusli conceded. He said that the best approach would be a renegotiation at the local level.

He disagreed on the suggestion that students should take to the street to hold a massive protest against the companies.

The two senior citizens of the province was responding to earlier calls by students to boycott the giant companies including by occupying their headquarters or blockading the road just like in the case of the Kelian Equatorial Mining. (*)