PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – Agrarian conflicts in Indonesia remain unresolved, particularly concerning indigenous land rights and the exploitation of natural resources by large companies. One such conflict occurred in Pasir Mayang Village, East Kalimantan, where indigenous communities have been fighting to reclaim their ancestral land, which was taken over by a palm oil company for plantation use.
According to the research journal “Resolusi Konflik Antara Perusahaan Perkebunan Sawit dengan Masyarakat Adat di Village of Pasir Mayang” (Rahmi & Murlianti, 2024), as cited by Palmoilmagazine.com from the *Ejournal Pembangunan Sosial*, Volume 12, Number 3, 2024, Universitas Mulawarman, on Sunday (September 22, 2024), the indigenous people of Pasir Mayang have faced significant challenges in defending their land.
The conflict arose when the boundaries of their indigenous land were altered to overlap with the business rights of the palm oil company, PTPN XIII. The land was taken over without compensation, and the indigenous people were subjected to threats, stripping them of their livelihood.
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Data from the Agrarian Reform Consortium (Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria, KPA) shows that during the Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla administration (2014-2019), 1,769 agrarian conflicts occurred across Indonesia, including on the island of Kalimantan.
Villages such as Pasir Mayang and Modang were particularly affected by PTPN XIII’s expansion. Additionally, the plasma smallholders, who were promised improved conditions through their involvement with the plantations, were left disappointed as the promises went unfulfilled.
In 1980s, palm oil plantations started developing in the Regency of Paser, East Kalimantan Province with the support of the government through PTPN XIII. But the indigenous people negatively got the impacts from the new planting, such as, the environmental damages and the changes of borders of their ancestors’ land. The villagers of Pasir Mayang now claim the company to give back their land with force.
The land use change from agriculture and livings to be palm oil plantation and mine, raised impacts, not only for the environment but also for the local people’s life style. As time goes by, the land takeover without permits or fair compensation, created deeper unsatisfaction to the indigenous people.
Besides agrarian conflicts, the local conflicts got worse by the local elites and new comers that were considered to take andvantages on the situation to approve the company’s area expansion. This made worse to maintain their land.
Until now, the villagers of Pasir Mayang keep trying to take back their ancestors’ land. The conflict also reflected deeper issue in natural resource cultivation in this country where the indigenous people would always be the victims for the corporate’s interests and the government’s policies that did not take partnership for them (indigenous people).
In this context, it would need deeper understanding to solve every agrarian conflicts. It would need more comprehensive and fairer approach so every same conflict would not happen in the future. It needs to maintain social and environmental sustainability in the regions where they got the impacts. (P2)
