Investors asked to understand local culture

The Kapuas regency administration in Central Kalimantan asked investors, who planned to invest in the area, to understand the local social and cultural system, and meet their environmental obligations to avoid conflicts with local people in the future.

Burhanuddin Ali made the statement Tuesday during a presentation meeting with coal mining company PT Asmin Bara Bronang.

According to Pertamina. Com's data, Asmin Bara is owned by the Swabhara Group, controlled by Graeme Robertson, an Indonesian businessman of the Australian origin.

Burhanuddin assured investors would find no problems in their operations as long as they understood the local social and cultural system and cared for the locals.

For instance, he said, the social-cultural system in Kapuas allowed a family to claim ownership over a plot of land, which they had cultivated ten years ago, despite the fact they had abandoned the land and moved elsewhere.

"If someone wants to use the abandoned land, they (the family who once cultivated the land) will insist the land belongs to them. That is a culture here," the regent was quoted by Kapos daily as saying.

Burhanuddin welcome the investment plan of Asmin Bara, airing expectations that the investment would create job opportunities for the local people.

According to Kapos, Asmin Bara controls a contract area covering 86,540 hectares in Permata Intan, Murung districts in North Barito regency and Kapuas Hulu district, in Kapuas regency. Some 30,000 hectares of the contract area are situated in Kapuas.

The company carried out field survey from August 1999 to March 2000 during which it had made geological mapping on 75 percent of the contract area.

During the survey, the paper said, the company had discovered coal reserves on 38,600 hectares around Bekonan, Kotor and Mampu villages. (*)