People remain poor in oil-riched Riau province

Most of the people in the natural resources-riched Riau province have yet to benefit from the province's wealth, with more than 20 percent of the province's 4.2 million people still living under poverty. More than 80 percent of the province remains unskilled despite the growing industrial activities in the region.

At the celebration of the province's 33rd anniversary on Wednesday, the provincial leaders were committed to the change the condition and pledged to demand more authority from the central government to control their own natural resources.

Riau, the country's largest oil producing province, is also abundant in other natural resources but most of the financial gains from the development of the natural resources have mostly fallen to certain groups of people. Most of the taxes and government's shares from oil for example go to the central government.

Riau governor Saleh Djasit said that the local government should take the advantage of the central government's more easing policy to give more authority to the locals to mange its own natural resources.

He said that the province's attempt to take over the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru (CPP) oil block is one of several programs which would be taken to bring back the province's wealth to the locals.

Many political analysts have warned that a failure to allow the locals to benefit from their own natural resources could lead to the escalation of the pro-independence power in the province. (*)