Harlas Buana from the Batam Business Agency (BP Batam) said that the initial cause of the conflict was misinformation. “There is a lot of misinformation as if we are going to carry out a forces takeover, then we improve communication to be more humane, if there is still unrest then that is dynamic,” he said.
On the other hand, WALHI Representative, Even Sembiring, conveyed facts on the ground which showed that there were evictions and repression. He even called the eviction process a systematic crime committed by the state. This is because there has been confiscation of land rights, incomplete outreach, and information, as well as repression both directly by the force of the authorities and indirectly by cutting off various access to community needs.
This is supported by the findings of the Indonesian Ombudsman which stated that there was repression by the authorities. This repression then actually gave rise to public distrust of the government. Apart from that, regulations and information are still not clearly and completely conveyed to the public, thus adding to the tension. Siti Uswatun Hasanah, the representative of the Indonesian Ombudsman, believes that this project feels like it was carried out in a hurry. “In 3 months, many products (administration, regulations) came out, even though the product preparation process in this country is not easy because you have to pay attention to many interests,” she said.
LHKP PP Muhammadiyah, Wahyu Perdana, also said the same thing. According to him, two things that need to be considered, namely regulations and the approach to society. He said that with the term PSN, the state was able to mobilize large forces to fulfill national interests. “The regulations allow the force, in the end, the approach is often just called socialization, the question is, is socialization meaningful or not?” he said.
Sahat Siantri, the representative of Riau Island DPRD, also regretted the lack of clarity in the information conveyed to the public. Apart from that, he also realized that there was inadequate coordination and planning.
The discussion then became heated after Rempang residents who were present also expressed their opinions. They did not agree with the relocation. Aside from that, they also asked for data transparency regarding relocated residents. Unfortunately, many times asked in discussion forums, people still only get verbal questions without any data displayed.
With this discussion, it is hoped that in the future there will be concrete solutions, especially related to information disclosure, as well as policy clarity and communication.