Trends in Southeast Asia 2018 no.15

The formation of the Riau Islands Province (RIP) in 2002 is argued  to be part of a broader trend of pemekaran (blossoming) that saw  the creation of seven new provinces and more than 100 new districts  throughout Indonesia after the fall of the New Order.  

This article argues that the main motivation for these subnational  movements was a combination of rational interests and cultural  sentiments.  

In the case of RIP, rational interests involved struggles over unfair  distribution of power and resources, including the way development  under the control of (mainland) Riau Province had been detrimental  to the peripheral and archipelagic people of Riau Islands.  

Cultural sentiments also played an important role, as the people of  the Riau Islands considered themselves as “archipelagic Malays”  and heirs of the great Malay-maritime empires of the past, as  opposed to “mainland Malays” who were mostly farmers.  

Since becoming its own province, RIP has been performing well  and has surpassed Riau, the “parent” province, in multiple aspects  including human development, poverty alleviation, and government  administration.  

Ultimately, the formation of RIP is argued to be a natural process in  a large, diverse, and decentralizing country like Indonesia, where  cultural identities are being reasserted and local autonomies re negotiated.  

Despite the usual hiccups such as capacity gaps and corruption,  the formation of the Province has been positive in achieving a  balance between keeping the country intact while allowing local  stakeholders a substantial level of autonomy.