How to cite:
Sri Murlianti, Argyo Demartoto, Merah Johansyah, Sarah Agustiorini.
(2022). The Hegemony of The Coal Mining Corporation, The
Destruction of The Kutai Rice Barn Center and The Damage to The
Living Space of Transmigrants. Journal Eduvest. Vol 2(8): 1.620-1.635
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Eduvest –Journal of Universal Studies
Volume 2 Number 8, August, 2022
p-ISSN 2775-3735-e-ISSN 2775-3727
THE HEGEMONY OF THE COAL MINING CORPORATION,
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE KUTAI RICE BARN CENTER
AND THE DAMAGE TO THE LIVING SPACE OF
TRANSMIGRANTS
Sri Murlianti
1
, Argyo Demartoto
2
, Merah Johansyah
3
, Sarah Agustiorini
4
1,5
Universitas Mulawarman Samarinda,
2
Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS)
Surakarta,
3
Dinamisator Jaringan Tambang Nasional (Jatamnas), Jakarta,
4
Jaringan Tambang Kalimantan Timur (Jatam Kaltim), Indonesia
Email: [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Kerta Buana Village, became the location for transmigrants
from Bali, Lombok (NTB) and a few local transmigrants in
1980. This village later grew to become part of the main rice
granary area of Kutai Kartanegara Regency, as well as being
known as the Bali Village of East Kalimantan. Kerta Buana is
also known as the Pancasila Village, because of the harmony
of the villagers with the background of 2 different dominant
religions, Balinese transmigrants are Hindu and Lombok
Muslim transmigrants. However, at present Kerta Buana
Village has suffered severe damage to life, has changed its face
into a village surrounded by coal mines, surrounded by 14
mining pits, agricultural productivity is low and a class of
farmers without rice fields has emerged. This article analyzes
how a transmigrant village that was once known as part of the
district's food barn has now turned into a village surrounded
by mining. Data was collected by in-depth observation, in-
depth interviews with 16 key informants from each
transmigrant group and repeated focus group interviews.
Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony is used to explain how
company power builds historical blocks, hegemony villagers
with extractive economic ideology so that villagers agree to
massive coal exploration around the village. The results show
Sri Murlianti, Argyo Demartoto, Merah Johansyah, Sarah Agustiorini
The Hegemony of The Coal Mining Corporation, The Destruction of The Kutai Rice Barn
Center and The Damage to The Living Space of Transmigrants 1.621
that companies use corporate and government institutions,
community leaders, security forces and even local
communities to lead transmigrants to obey the company's
wishes. There have been small struggles, organic intellectuals
have appeared for a while, but in the end, they lost in the face
of corporate power and the village of Kerta Buana changed its
face into a village surrounded by coal mines.
KEYWORDS
Open-pit Mining, Hegemony, Transmigration, Destruction
of Living Space
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
INTRODUCTION
Transmigration became the main political demographic during Suharto's reign
(Warganegara & Waley, 2021). In the province of East Kalimantan alone, the local
Manpower and Transmigration Office noted that as many as 299,455 household heads were
accepted in 240 transmigrant settlement units spread across the province. The biggest wave
during Suharto's New Order (1969-1996) was 277,246 families were moved to 172
transmigration settlements in this province (Purwaningsih et al., 2019). Although social
experts criticize transmigration as the colonization of local communities (Penz, 2019),
transmigration is also believed to change the face of Indonesia from islands that are
identical with the identity of certain tribes, to islands with multiethnic populations (Hoey,
2003; Sutrisno et al., 2020). The issue of transmigrants characterizes the problem of
community development in the outer islands of Java, ranging from classic problems such
as identity (Widyatmoko & Dewi, 2019), networking (Setiawan, 2018), to environmental
issues (Yuniza & Inggarwati, 2021).
In the 1980s, after the dimming of the glory of wood exports in Indonesia, the
government began to pay attention to coal to earn foreign exchange. The National Mining
Network (Jatamnas), an NGO that has long advocated for mining policies in Indonesia
reported that until 2018 there were 8588 Mining Business Permits (IUPs), clearing an area
of 17.1 million hectares in Indonesia. East Kalimantan is a province rich in coal reserves.
East Kalimantan province has the largest IUP amounting to 1,190 or 13.87%. By the end
of 2021, coal mines had produced 1735 gaping lakes that were left behind, 749 of which
were in the city of Samarinda, the capital of East Kalimantan (Korporasi-State et al. n.d.).
Many protests were carried out by civil society communities against coal mining operations
in East Kalimantan (Yunianty et al., n.d.) (Priambodo et al., 2020). This Extractive Industry
causes floods in cities in East Kalimantan, dust pollution, agricultural decline, damage to
local people's living spaces, death.
In 1980, the Tenggarong sub-district became the destination for thousands of
transmigrants from Java, DKI Jakarta, NTB, DIY and Bali. This area is a former concession
area of PT Lamiri, a timber company that exploits forest timber in this sub-district. This
region is known as the L region, extending from L-1 to L-4. Kerta Buana village is located
on L4, inhabited by transmigrants from Bali, NTB and local transmigrants. In 1983 a coal
company from Thailand named PT Kitadin began exploring coal mines with an
underground mining system just to the right of the village gate of Kerta buana village (south
of the village). Previously, the largest shareholder of PT Kitadin was Indocoal. In 1999, the
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majority of their shares were sold to the Thai Banpu Group of Companies. This giant
tamang from Thailand invaded an area of 973 ha.
Although neighboring coal mine exploration, underground mining does not have
much impact on agriculture in this village, because this mining system does not require a
very large area. In the early 1987-2000s, Kertabuana Village was known as the Bali Village
of East Kalimantan. Although the population is not only composed of transmigrants from
Bali, but in the upper villages, the typical Balinese scenery is presented very attractively.
Each house has a temple, houses with Balinese architecture, plus a row of charming village
temples. The location in the valley (behind the Village Hall) is often called Kampong
Lombok, the place where the majority of transmigrants from Lombok live. Here there is a
pesantren, and a madrasa built by the Nahdlatul Wathan Community. Kerta Buana Village
is often also called Pancasila Village, because it presents the diversity of Balinese (Hindu)
and Lombok (Muslim) cultures who live in peace.
In 2003, PT Kitadin started exploration using the Open pit mining method at the
Embalut Site, closer to Kertabuana Village, covering an area of 2,973 Ha producing sub-
bituminous coal with a calorific value of 5,850 kcal/kg and a sulfur content of 0.2%.
In 2004, PT Mahakam Sumber Jaya (MSJ) explored coal from the north side of the
village. Concession Area, PT. MSJ is 20,380 Ha. Informant H who works as an employee
of Mahakam Sumber Jaya (MSJ) contractor, PT. PCP---Mahakam Sumber Jaya (MSJ) has
2 contracting companies in charge of dredging coal in its concession area, namely Leighton
and Cipta Kridatama (CK). Apart from these 2 coal giants, there are still 3 mining
companies with exploration permits from the Regent of Kutai Kartanegara, namely CV.
Intan Bara Mandiri, CV. Sardila and Kintamani Bara Utama, the total area is 239 ha.
Until the early 2000s, entering the gate of Kertabuana Village, you will be presented
with views of verdant rice fields on either side of the village road. Entering the village area,
the scenery changes with Balinese architectural houses, complete with temples at the front,
and offering places on the roadside. After PT KItadin and MSJ explored coal from either
side of the village, Ajah Kertabuna changed drastically into a village surrounded by dozens
of mining pits, with rice fields that were not as green as before. This paper will analyze the
drastic changes in Kerta Buana Village as part of the Kutai Regency rice barn which is
famous for its 'Bali village' in East Kalimantan, changing its face into a village surrounded
by mines and experiencing extraordinary agricultural decline. The analysis will focus on
how the hegemony of coal mining companies can change agricultural areas that have been
designated as rice granaries in Kutai Regency.
RESEARCH METHOD
This research is descriptive-qualitative research. Data collection was done by
observation, in-depth interviews and Focus Group Interview (FGI). Field observations
were carried out twice before, to identify the village atmosphere and ensure the selection
of the right informants. Talks about the decline of agriculture and mining issues in
Kertabuana are heated discussions that trigger many conflicts of interest. In-depth
interviews were conducted with 16 informants from each group of transmigrants from
Lombok, Bali and later migrants (Cho & Trent, 2006) (Hayashi Jr et al., 2019). The
selection of informants was carried out by taking into account the distribution of ethnicity,
profession, position in society, age and education (Lampard & Pole, 2015). The FGD was
canceled to avoid unproductive disputes among informants. This was done after evaluating
the results of in-depth interviews which were feared to result in an unfavorable situation if
all informants were brought together in an FGD (ten Have, 2004). Instead, focus group
Sri Murlianti, Argyo Demartoto, Merah Johansyah, Sarah Agustiorini
The Hegemony of The Coal Mining Corporation, The Destruction of The Kutai Rice Barn
Center and The Damage to The Living Space of Transmigrants 1.623
interviews were conducted 3 times each for categories of groups of informants based on
common perceptions grouped from the results of previous interviews. The FGI was carried
out very thoroughly and carefully to triangulate the opinions of previous informants from
other groups of informants (Brown, 2010). The FGI was conducted to deepen and clarify
in exploring the history of village development, relations with corporations, pressures for
land release, pressures for village relocation, community attitudes and behavior towards
mining expansion and its impacts, acceptance, rejection and defense in coexistence with
coal mines.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Result
Some of the important findings in this study are:
1) There is a very striking difference in the pattern of hegemony among the residents
of Kerta Buana Village, when they were part of the center of rice farming and when they
became the center of coal mining in Kukar. The first hegemony was designed by the
government as part of the ideology of developmentism that carries the politics of food self-
sufficiency and equitable development. The 1980s and early 2000s were a time when the
government built a historical bloc, confirming the consensus of transmigrants to submit to
this ideology of developmentism. All government institutions and apparatus, down to the
village level, community leaders and local communities, are guided by various state
ideological instruments to ensure that all support the success of the transmigration program
in Kerta Buana. Since the arrival of the transmigrants, the government through the
department of transmigration, the department of information and the department of social
affairs at that time, tried its best to hegemonize the transmigrants with the ideology of food
self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, the security of residents in the new place is very tightly
protected from security disturbances, especially security disturbances or potential conflicts
with local communities due to tenure claims to the lands occupied or cultivated by
transmigrants.
2) Open pit mining marks a turning point in the transition of the hegemony power of
the political regime of developmentism with food politics and equitable development,
shifting to the power of coal corporations with extractive economic jargon and foreign
exchange heroes. The early 2000s to 2019 (when this research ends) were a period of where
the company builds and strengthens continuously a new historical block that rests on the
hegemony of extractive industry power. The company uses many strategies to create and
maintain citizen compliance so as not to become a hindrance to the company's operations.
The company uses many strategies, mobilizing village institutions, sub-district to district
bureaucrats, police, and community leaders to persuade residents to give up their land.
Many losses are borne by farmers, rice field irrigation sources are lost, soil fertility
decreases, unrecognized pests appear, rice productivity drops dramatically and depends on
rain. Apart from losses to the agricultural sector, residents also suffer from dust pollution,
cracked houses, frequent floods and the collapse of temples.
3) Villagers are left to face the devastating destruction of their living space without
strict law enforcement, even though on paper this village has been designated as an
agricultural area. In terms of facing the threat of tenurial conflicts due to the unilateral
claims of local communities, the government and security forces do not stand tall on the
side of transmigrants even though transmigration is clearly the government's legal policy.
The government and security forces allowed the conflict to end with great pressure on the
part of the transmigrants for fear of being evicted because their land was claimed by local
residents. In several incidents of citizen protests, the identity idiom of local residents was
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actually used to beat back the struggle of the citizens under the pretext of disturbing
security.
4) Civil society resistance has emerged since the beginning of the open pit mining
operation, in every damage that causes losses to residents, spontaneous demonstrations
always arise to demand compensation. Organic intellectuals only emerged in 2015/2016,
when there were children of the second generation of transmigrants who had become
students and were aware of legal injustice. There was resistance organized by this
generation of organic intellectuals, but it was soon extinguished because it was collided
with the local community. Although Balinese transmigrants have stronger resilience in
terms of asset management for land compensation, both Balinese and Lombok
transmigrants have suffered severe damage to living space due to mining.
Discussion
Hegemony of Government Power: Politics of Food Self-Sufficiency and the Hegemony
of Agriculture in Kerta Buana
Suharto's hegemonic power was reflected in the organization of the transmigrants
down to the village level, since their arrival. The strategy of hegemony is carried out in
various ways, to ensure that transmigrants become part of the success of this development
(Supadi, 1980; Tsujino et al., 2016). This period was a period when ABRI's role was very
dominant, the government producing citizen compliance under the control and supervision
of the military. The hegemonic strategy is carried out in various ways, involving all
government institutions to the village level and transmigrant community leaders. The years
1980 to 2000 marked the processes in which the government built and strengthened
consensus with transmigrants to succeed in food politics with these jargons of food self-
sufficiency and equitable development.
The Department of Transmigration, the Department of Information, the BKKBN, the
ABRI Department of Agriculture were deployed to oversee the success of this program. At
the village level, development extension officers from the Ministry of Information at that
time were tasked with educating the community with development jargons such as food
self-sufficiency, equitable development and insight into Bhineka Tunggal Ika. Agricultural
extension officers are tasked with assisting residents in starting agricultural businesses.
Seeds and fertilizers get subsidies from the government, logistical rations for the whole
family for 1.5 years. Family planning extension officers are tasked with providing
counseling about family planning, the success of the program for 2 children is enough.
Babinsa officers, an army unit at the sub-district level, are ready to maintain public
order and sterilize this new area from various kinds of security disturbances. The
informants recalled that the soldiers did not only play a role in securing residents from
security disturbances. If there are local residents who are actually members of the local
transmigration program, triggering a tenure conflict, it will be quickly resolved by the
soldiers who are on standby around the village. Some of the informants remember very
well how swiftly the soldiers guarded the security there at that time. There is not the
slightest tolerance for those who trigger riots in the village, both from the transmigrants
and the indigenous people. On the other hand, the soldiers who served in the village also
often worked together to make ditches and repair village roads.
The rumors that Kertabuana is a mining area have been heard by the transmigrants
when they were gathered at the village mosque. A transmigrant assistance soldier said that
this area was a mining area, the transmigrants were advised to seek as much land as
possible. But at that time, the transmigrants did not understand what a mine was. Talks
among Babinsa soldiers, village officials and agricultural extension workers that their
village is the best coal area are often heard, but they just pass. For those who did not own
Sri Murlianti, Argyo Demartoto, Merah Johansyah, Sarah Agustiorini
The Hegemony of The Coal Mining Corporation, The Destruction of The Kutai Rice Barn
Center and The Damage to The Living Space of Transmigrants 1.625
land in their area of origin, the 2 hectares of land from the government was considered very
large at the time and it was exhausting to start farming in a new area. At the beginning of
their arrival, it was very difficult for the transmigrants to start an agricultural business.
Although the land provided had been cleared, when they arrived the land had returned to
being a thicket, with the remains of large pieces of wood. Forest rats and golden snails are
pests of mountain rice that are foreign to those who are accustomed to rice farming systems
in their area of origin.
In 1982, PT Kitadin started coal exploration using the underground mining method.
The difficulty of pioneering agriculture in the early days led many male transmigrants to
become unskilled underground mining workers. Others become timber company workers
and construction workers to get capital to develop agriculture. Meanwhile, women take
care of the household and continue to work as farmers. The transmigrants who work as
miners in the field, they can still work on the fields before entering work and after work.
The working hours of deep miners are 098.00-16.00 WITA. At that time to become a miner
did not require special skills. Anyone who comes with an ID card can go straight to work.
In other words, the transmigrants become providers of cheap labor for PT
In the late 1980s Kertabuana grew to become part of the largest rice supply center
along with other villages in Tenggarong Seberang. This success was marked by the
emergence of dry grain storage geblek in people's homes, the emergence of rice milling
businesses, and the entry of public transportation into the village. The Balinese
transmigrants began repairing the canangs where the offerings were placed, pretending that
they were starting to be repaired using more kayaking materials. Kertabuana village is
known as the 'Bali Village of East Kalimantan. Balinese culture is brought to life by
transmigrants from Bali, marked by the adaptation of the Subak system, the growth of Pure-
Pure and Balinese rituals.
Until 2000, residents were still only cultivating land-1, land-2 was still a forest in
hilly areas with no ownership boundaries, even though the transmigrants has pocketed land
certificate 2. This location used to be known as Mount Malang, now it has turned into a
former mining valley.
The Strategy of Hegemony of Power of Mining Companies, Destruction of
Agriculture and Living Space of Kerta Buana Villagers
Open pit mining marks the collapse of the government's hegemony of power over
food politics in Kerta Buana. The fall of the Suharto government has shifted the political
dominance of food self-sufficiency towards an extractive economy. When regional
autonomy was mandated to manage natural resources, the government of Kutai
Kartanegara Regency also granted coal mining exploration permits to local companies.
Kutai Kartanegara soon became the largest coal producing district in East Kalimantan
Province. East Kalimantan Distamben data 2017. Kutai Kartanegara has 60 coal
companies, with a total production of 65.11 million tons (78.57%) of the total coal
production in East Kalimantan of 82.87 million tons.
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Table. 1: Corporate hegemony strategies and the impact on Kerta Buana Village
No
MECANISM
APPARATUS
EFFECT
1
- Massive
socialization in
the village field
- Exhibition of the
new village
master plan at the
Village office
- Door to door
pressure
- Corporate
Public
Relations
- Village
officials
- Public figure
- The division of
fellow citizens
- Failed to reach an
agreement
- Relocation failed
2
- Clash with locals
and immigrants
- Ward
- Corporate
Public
Relations
- Public
figure
- Compensation is very
cheap
- The source of irrigation
water and clean water
is lost
- Rice fields depend on
rainfall
- Chaos due to lack of
clean water Difficulty in
clean water
3
- Door-to-door
approach
- Community/religi
ous leaders are
pressured to
persuade citizens
- The lure of Hajj
and social
attributes
- -
Corporate
public
relations
- Realtor
- Village
officials
- NTB transmigrants lose
arable rice fields, the
phenomenon of 'evicted
pilgrimage', & the rise
of 'walking gold shops'
- Rinjani Indah farmer
group goes bankrupt
and dies
4
- Claims of local residents
and terror smelling sara
- local
residents
- the
company
behind the
scenes
- Land owners are scared
- Land acquisition in
Blocks A and C
- Compensation is shared
with local residents
- Threats are shrunk
- Thugs disguised
as local residents
against anti-
mining farmers
- Reduced demonstration
time
- Land owner releases
land
5
- Active land is given high
compensation, inactive
land because it is polluted
is not / less approachable
Realtor, public
relations
company
- A lot of fertile land is
released
- Land that is not fertile
is released at a low
price
Sri Murlianti, Argyo Demartoto, Merah Johansyah, Sarah Agustiorini
The Hegemony of The Coal Mining Corporation, The Destruction of The Kutai Rice Barn
Center and The Damage to The Living Space of Transmigrants 1.627
In Kerta Buana village, open pit mining began when the Jakarta Mining and Energy
Department's Amdal Commission passed the revision of PT Kitadin's Amdal dated
December 22, 2000. This Amdal revision approved the expansion of PT Kitadin's
concession area of 2000 ha, previously only had a concession area of 973 ha, to 2973 Ha.
In PT Kitadin's new Amdal, it is stated that the operational area will also penetrate
Kertabuana village.
In 2003, PT Kitadin began exploring coal using the open pit mining method at the
concession expansion site, besieging Kertabuana from the south side. In 2004, PT MSJ
explored coal from the north side of the village. Over the past 20 years, Kertabuana has
continued to face land release pressures. Jatam Kaltim notes, currently there are 14 gaping
ex-mining holes around the village, the smallest measuring 1 ha and the largest measuring
30 ha. The monograph of Kerta Buana village currently shows only 25% of rice fields, I5%
is non-productive rice fields. Of the total paddy fields that exist, 80% has become the
property of the company which will be explored at any time. Villages are surrounded by
mines, soil fertility is declining, rice productivity has plummeted, houses and temples are
cracked and peppers are falling. Open pit mining has completely changed the face of Kerta
Buana from a village with a dominant view of green rice fields and forests to a village
surrounded by mining with ex-mining pools.
Open pit mining is the turning point of the government's hegemony over food politics
to the hegemony of coal mining companies over the extractive economy. The company
started a new historical block with a hegemonic strategy that was completely different from
what the government did when it carried out a historical block to maintain the political
hegemony of food self-sufficiency. The most striking difference in the company's
hegemony strategy is the change in the role of the security forces (formerly the Babinsa
army. In the past, Babinsa has always been the protector of transmigrants from interference
with local community tenure claims, but after the open pit mining period, all informants
agreed that they were deliberately left face to face. directly with local communities. In
several cases of demonstrations, according to informants, the company deliberately used
thugs from local communities to dispel community demonstrations, with the alibi of local
people supporting the mine. The company's hegemonic strategies to ensure exploration
activities do not get people's resistance are shown in the table. 1
Socialization of Massive Village Relocation (2003)
The informants remember well the massive socialization of village relocation after
PT Kitadin's Amdal revision. Talks about relocation began to spread in crowded places.
The company, using village officials and community leaders, began to discuss the
relocation of the residents of Kerta Buana Village to the southwest of the village. The
villagers were immediately divided into groups for and against relocation. The peak of
socialization occurred on August 28, 2003, residents were gathered at the village hall to get
an explanation about this relocation. Each KK is promised to build a new dwelling along
with arable land of the same size. At the village hall, a picture of the village relocation
master plan is attached, the design of the house to be built and a plan for the village location
plus arable land. This village relocation master plan exhibition is installed at the village
hall for a week, residents are welcome to look around while listening to explanations from
company employees and village officials.
The group of transmigrants from NTB tended to accept this relocation. Meanwhile,
the Balinese transmigrant group objected to several things. First, the houses and land are
the same, while the housing conditions and land ownership of each household are different.
Second, the issue of places of worship. The Balinese transmigrant group has several
temples that are affiliated with the ritual culture of their respective home villages, outside
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the big village temples. Meanwhile, the company will only build I Pura Desa only. The
Balinese transmigrant group, represented by the head of Parisada Hindu Dharma Kerta
Buana, IBP, stated that they refused to relocate the village. The socialization and
deliberation on village relocation took place without a decision at that time.
The community leaders' rejection of the village relocation was highlighted by the
national newspaper Kompas on 12, 15 and 16 September 2003. However, not long ago the
company announced the results of the IPB opinion poll in collaboration with a foreign
consulting agency named Moores Roland. The results of this opinion poll are completely
different from those presented by representatives of Balinese transmigrant figures. The
results of this study stated that 44% of households agreed to the relocation, 11% accepted
it with conditions, 7% were unsure, 13% did not comment and 22% did not agree with the
relocation. The transmigrants, especially the Balinese transmigrant group, who did not
agree with the relocation, suspected that this study was part of a company trick.
Opening of Mount Malang, a source of irrigation for rice fields and clean water for
residents (2003-2005)
Mount Malang, land with mountainous topography which is the location of land-2
for transmigrants in Kerta Buana. Until 2000 this land was still in the form of forest, there
were no ownership boundaries. The second former village head, who is also a leader of the
Nahdlatul Wathan community of transmigrants from NTB, AW, when he was just a village
head once brought several people to see the location of land II belonging to all the
transmigrants of Kertabuana which had not been cultivated. At that time, the condition of
the land was still in the wilderness, there were no boundaries for residents' property rights.
This situation makes it difficult for them to recognize where their land is and are hesitant
to start working on it. Three years later they visited the same place again, but they found
that several locations had been opened by other ethnic migrants who were not from among
the transmigrants in Kerta Buana. The testimonies of several informants from Balinese
transmigrants were similar. When checking land II, they found that several locations had
been cleared by other settlers.
The local government did not take any significant prevention against this activity,
instead it seemed to allow it. At the same time, another issue arose that this area was
claimed by local residents as their land which was taken for granted for the transmigration
program. The government's attitude is not in favor of the transmigrants. Even though in the
early days of the arrival of transmigrants, the authorities closely guarded against possible
disturbances from local residents who claimed the lands of the transmigrants. On the other
hand, the processing of land titles for these 2 lands is also protracted. Bali transmigrant
information, the former village secretary told how he experienced a complicated and
lengthy bureaucratic process in the struggle to get this land title-2. The informants admitted
that at that time there was a feeling of helplessness, as migrants, facing fears of clashing
with local residents and other immigrants.
For five failed relocation efforts, there has been no agreement between the company
and the villagers. Community leaders tried to offer other solutions to the calculation of land
compensation prices. There is no agreement yet, but the company through the company has
started to persuade the farmers to sell the land to the company. Residents are convinced by
the many troublesome problems surrounding land ownership. In the end the choice of
releasing the land into the mine seemed to be the best solution, to avoid other problems that
residents are more worried about. At that time the land area was only valued at IDR 5
million / ha, a very cheap price at that time.
Sri Murlianti, Argyo Demartoto, Merah Johansyah, Sarah Agustiorini
The Hegemony of The Coal Mining Corporation, The Destruction of The Kutai Rice Barn
Center and The Damage to The Living Space of Transmigrants 1.629
The loss of land-2 is the starting point for the population to lose water sources for
their agricultural irrigation. The position of land II, which is on a hill with still dense forest,
will soon be peeled off for mining exploration. Residents who used to liven up the Balinese
Subak culture by building simple dams around the hills on these lands, now they can no
longer use them. The release of these 2 lands also marks the beginning of the entry of
mining mud waste into agricultural land, especially in the Block B area, which belongs to
the Lombok ethnic transmigrants. Mud waste flows into the rice fields because the stripping
occurs in the hills while the residents' rice fields are in the valley. Residents remember it
as a land tragedy-2 which marked a time when both ethnic Balinese and Lombok
transmigrants had the same attitude. They released their land on the basis of their common
concerns as immigrants, the fear of friction with local residents as well as their
powerlessness towards the administration of paperwork which they felt inaccessible to
them at the time.
The Lure of High Compensation, Racial Threats (2003-2020)
Along with the failed relocation pressure, the transmigrants also experienced the
pressure to release their rice fields. Nahdlatul Wathan community leader, Kmd, said that
along with the failed village relocation efforts, land brokers began to appear in the village.
These brokers come from company employees, village officials, several community leaders
and ordinary people as well. Some of the famous land brokers at this time were Kh
(transmigration NTB), IWA (Bali) and Mkm (Bali). Company people began to diligently
visit residents both at home and in the fields. The most common mode they use is the threat
of land damage because it is close to a mine, the threat of conflict due to local residents'
claims, the lure of high prices, until some get threats of violence. The informants recalled
that at that time there were rumors of racial threats that were quite frightening, that they
would be suppressed if they did not want to release the land to the company.
Differences between Bali and Lombok Transmigrants Responding to Pressure for
Land Acquisition
There is a stark difference in the attitude of Transmigrants from Bali and Lombok in
viewing the value of land and their attitude towards the bombardment of the issue of
releasing land to companies. Differences in views on land, attitudes towards the urge to
release land and the use of land compensation money are as shown in Table 2. The Balinese
transmigrant group is thick with the values of Balinese local wisdom which are summarized
in the teachings of Tri Hita Karana (Brown, 2010; Lahiri-Dutt, 2016) (Three causes
happiness of life) namely maintaining good relations with God, good relations with fellow
human beings and good relations with nature. These three are the harmony of life that must
be maintained in balance. Land for Balinese transmigrants is part of Dewi Sri, the life-
giving mother of the earth. It is a big sin for Balinese transmigrants to sell their land for no
good reason.
Lombok transmigrants, from the Nahdlatul Wathan community, an Islamic splinter
community from Nahdlatul Ulama that adheres to Islamic values. This group of
transmigrants performs 'community bedol', becoming a group of transmigrants who move
from the old land complete with well-respected community leaders. In contrast to the values
of Balinese Hindu local wisdom brought by Balinese transmigrants, the Lombok
transmigrant community lives up to very strong Islamic values. The ultimate goal of this
life is the hereafter (heaven), whatever is in this world is borrowed and temporary. Land
and any assets for them are only temporary deposits, can be taken at any time. The
pilgrimage to the holy land (Arabic) is considered far more important and the dream of all
Muslims. Hajj is their opportunity to visit God's house, which was previously impossible
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to achieve. When there is an opportunity to get a lot of money to go for Hajj, they become
very easy to let go of the land.
Table 2. Different views on Land and Attitudes in releasing arable land
Transmigrant Bali
Transmigration Lombok
Views of
life
Tri Hita Karana (balance
relationship with God,
Humans and Nature)
True happiness in the afterlife, the
main preparation for the afterlife
View of
the land
Dewi Sri, Mother Earth, a gift
from God that must be
guarded with all her soul
God's loan, can be there and taken at
any time, the best use for worship
Ground
Release
Reason
Polluted, decreased fertility,
can no longer be planted,
under pressure and threats
Price is right, others also sell land,
polluted land
Use of
compensati
on money
Land money must return to the
land. Land investment outside
Kertabuana (oil palm
plantations)
Going on hajj, buying trucks for
business, opening shops and other
business ventures
The current
situation
- Agricultural land is very
narrow, but what can still be
cultivated is maintained
- Those who no longer own
arable land in Kerta Buana,
own land elsewhere
- Almost all residents no longer own
their own land, working on land that
already belongs to the company
(became laborers on their own
former land)
- Only 1 family still has their own
land, and even then 1 is already in
the process of being sold to the
company
Differences in cultural values lead to very striking differences in views of the land.
For Balinese transmigrants, land is the heirloom of Dewi Sri, the mother of the earth, the
Goddess of life. The sale of land for non-urgent reasons is considered a grave sin. It is
forbidden for the Balinese to let go of the land for an easy reason. Moreover, this land for
the transmigrants is considered an infinite gift, considering that in their original area they
do not have land as large as Kerta Buana.
They just let go of the ground with a very forced reason. If the land is already too
close to the mine, it is heavily polluted by mine waste and it is very difficult to cultivate
again, then the land has to be released to the company. Another reason that is considered
important is if the land in question is in dispute with local residents, it is claimed that it
used to be owned by local residents so that there is a potential for conflict which is
considered to endanger their safety. It is very rare for Balinese transmigrants to release land
outside of these two reasons. They used the compensation money to buy oil palm
plantations outside Kertabuana. Currently, many Balinese transmigrants have small
agricultural land in Kerta Buana, but have large oil palm plantations outside Kertabuana.
Sri Murlianti, Argyo Demartoto, Merah Johansyah, Sarah Agustiorini
The Hegemony of The Coal Mining Corporation, The Destruction of The Kutai Rice Barn
Center and The Damage to The Living Space of Transmigrants 1.631
In contrast to the Balinese transmigrants, the Lombok transmigrants appear to lack
strong ties to land. Their asceticism towards the afterlife, and a very high regard for the
Hajj makes it easier for them to sway their land to the company. For them at that time the
pilgrimage was everyone's dream. With the title of Hajj, a Muslim automatically has a
higher position than other Muslims who have not performed this worship. The dream of
going on a pilgrimage became one of the strong motivators for them to give up their land.
Phenomenon of the 'eviction pilgrimage' and the emergence of a class of landless
farmers in the transmigrant group from Lombok
The year 2003 was a record for Kerta Buana Village to dispatch 40 hajj candidates
for a village with less than half the Muslim population. Even at that time there was a family
who lived together with 4-5 people going on Hajj together. In addition to going to Hajj,
most ethnic Lombok transmigrants use compensation money for business ventures. In the
mid-2000s, many entrepreneurs in the transportation of goods and shop owners emerged
among the Lombok ethnic transmigrants. But unfortunately, the lack of experience and
business competence makes these emerging businesses go bankrupt. Several informants
said that many residents could afford to buy trucks for rent to transport goods, but had no
knowledge of machine maintenance. As a result, once damaged it cannot be operated again.
The alarming situation began to appear prominently among the Lombok ethnic
transmigrants. Most of them no longer own their own land, fail in business ventures. They
return to their profession as farmers but work on land that has been owned by a company
that has not been explored.
According to HA, who lives in Block B, Dusun Rinjani (the majority is inhabited
by the Lombok Transmigrants), this year 100% of the paddy fields in Block B are owned
by the company. In the beginning, the land was valued at 60 million Rupiah for I Ha of
paddy fields, a very large amount for the residents at that time. Land prices are rising,
reaching 300 million/ha. In 2005, there were only 2 people in the Lombok transmigrant
group who were still defending their land. Informant AW had released his land in 2002 in
blocks A and B, he sold 0.75 rice field land for Rp. 70 million, and 0.75 million dry land
for 35 million. Just like HA, AW uses the compensation money to go to Hajj and return
home. Currently WA only has a yard the size of a 4x5 m house. According to AH and WA,
half of the residents of Block A and Block B are hajjis from land compensation money in
2002-2003, they call it an eviction pilgrimage. Most of them are tempted by the
compensation money or decide to let go of their land because they are afraid of rumors of
sara issues, fearing that they will be expelled with violence like the case of the Sara conflict
in Sampit, West Kalimantan.
In addition to the booming pilgrimage phenomenon, in these years what they call a
'walking gold shop.' The mothers from block B in this land clearing season display a change
of appearance by wearing very flashy gold jewelry. According to AW's memory, the most
severe phenomenon was that many transmigrants from Lombok were forced to return to
their hometowns because they ran out of assets. Informant F, a former ticket seller who
lives in Manunggal Jaya Village, said that in recent years, nearly 50 percent of airline ticket
consumers came from Lombok transmigrants in Kerta Buana who returned home.
Data from PPL in Kertabuana Village in 2003 showed that the members of the
Rinjani Indah group in Block B were 41 farmers with a land area of 45.7 ha. In 2007 this
farmer group lived with estranged 34 people, they are cultivators of 30 ha of company land
which used to be their lands. This farmer group had died in 2004 because the land had been
transferred to the company. In 2007, through village government negotiations, this farmer
group was allowed to work on unexplored land. The area of arable land becomes narrower,
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less than 1 ha/person, the land is no longer as fertile as it used to be. If there is contamination
of the flow of waste or company oil into the fields, they can no longer protest because the
land no longer belongs to them.
The emergence of classes of oil palm plantation owners from transmigrant groups
from Bali outside Kerta Buana Village
Balinese transmigrant groups have many considerations for releasing land. In 2007-
2008, 13 Balinese transmigrants who owned land in Block D released land to PT MSJ
because their efforts to defend the land with demonstrations collided with a group of local
people who were allegedly ordered by the company. With very tough negotiations and
constant intimidation, the company finally paid for field D for 1 billion rupiah. The
compensation money was used to buy rice fields 500 meters from the village office, to
build 2 houses in the village and a rented house in Samarinda.
The release of the IWD family's land in Block C was carried out after being visited
by several local residents who previously claimed to own this land. They keep threatening
to release the land themselves to the company, that means the land is lost without getting
any compensation. Finally, the land was released with a compensation of 3 billion rupiah,
but divided by 2 with the local residents. The compensation of up to 1.5 billion was used
to buy a yard in the village, build a bigger house and open a laying hens business. Except
for reasons of intimidation which were very uncomfortable and clashed with people who
claimed to be natives, the Balinese transmigrant group sold a lot of land to companies
because the land was no longer fertile. Lands that are directly adjacent to mining
exploration, they finally let go.
Negotiations for Balinese transmigrants are stronger and more resilient when faced
with the choice of having to relinquish residential land to the company. They have detailed
calculations of the temples where they worship, both those that stand in every house and
temples belonging to the village. Each family has a temple in their own house, and
considers the value of the temple to be much more expensive if it has to be converted to
nominal rupiah. To build a temple in people's homes, residents have to bring in sculptors
from Bali to produce delicate Balinese paintings. It is calculated that temple construction
is often more expensive than a house, because some materials for temple ornaments must
be imported from Bali. Included in it is the calculation of the total cost of the ritual
ceremonies they have performed during the construction of the temple. The company also
has to pay the cost of a series of rituals that must be used for the transfer of temples, both
family temples and village and hamlet temples. These calculations will fall no less than the
price offered for houses and yards.
Balinese transmigrant groups tend to use compensation money to buy back land
elsewhere. Most of them bought oil palm plantations in Kerta Buana, in the districts of
Paser and East Kutai. This oil palm plantation is managed by relatives who are
transmigrants there. Some of them bought land in their hometown and rented out the rest
of the money to use for small businesses in Kerta Buana.
Match from below
Slowly but surely, the destructive power of the mine began to change the people's
living space. Villagers began to feel the impact of drastic environmental changes. TL, a
local PPL officer said that he had been a witness in the trial of environmental pollution
cases that were demanded by the residents. In 2003, shortly after the start of exploration,
the Kitadin waste flooded the residents' land. Since Mount Malang turned into a valley due
to mining, floods occur in almost every rainy season and flow into the people's rice fields.
In the early years neighboring the mine, residents only blamed each other for this loss.
Sri Murlianti, Argyo Demartoto, Merah Johansyah, Sarah Agustiorini
The Hegemony of The Coal Mining Corporation, The Destruction of The Kutai Rice Barn
Center and The Damage to The Living Space of Transmigrants 1.633
However, several years later, spontaneous protests took place, because the losses to the
residents were getting bigger day by day.
In 2005, farmers in Sidakarya and Cultivation Hamlets failed to harvest because the
land was contaminated with mining waste and heavy equipment oil. The farmers protested
this incident to the kelurahan. The PPL in Kerta Buana Village helps to calculate the
farmers' losses, including the cost of seeds, tractor rental, and the purchase of fertilizers
and anti-pest drugs. According to PL, the farmer's loss for one rice production is around
Rp. 5 million at the time. However, the company only replaced 1 million rupiah/ha for total
damage, and up to 50% damaged was only replaced with 750 thousand rupiah.
In 2006, PT MSJ's embankment collapsed. The flood again inundated the residents'
rice fields, this time the flood entered people's homes. The former headmaster of SDN 011
Tenggarong Seberang in Kerta Buana recounted that at that time there was a massive
demonstration from the residents of the rice fields and the residents of Blocks A and B. The
demonstration occurred spontaneously because the flood suddenly entered houses. Mrs. D
said that at that time she lost Rp. Rp. 6 million because the rice fields failed to harvest. The
rice fields where the long bean, cassava, corn and taro vegetables are grown were also
damaged due to the flood. Though the plant is very meaningful to save cash outlay. This
incident again makes women marginalized. This condition is getting tougher, for farmers
as well as single parents like salmiah's mother.
In 2006 the residents of Blocks C1 and C2, which are the closest neighbors to the PT
Kitadin operation site, are only 50 m from the settlement. Behind the house of NKB, the
wife of the first village head of DEsa Kertabuana (deceased), when the mine started
operating, this block felt a very loud blasting vibration, when the mine detonated, it
produced a very strong vibration, making the houses of nearby residents crack, rumbling
sounds very loud, uncontrolled dust and the disappearance of groundwater sources for the
daily consumption of residents. Many residents' plants in the yard have died from mining
waste. Mining operations day and night are very disturbing for residents during their
working hours and during their resting hours.
After the residents protested, the company distributed water barrels with a capacity
of 1200 liters. This very limited water supply has created a new problem. Long queues
waiting for the water supply created an uncomfortable atmosphere for the neighbors
because the water was not evenly distributed. The women protested to the local village and
RT officials, but they were unable to change the company's decision to increase its water
supply capacity. The water jars only lasted 1 year, after which the women became dizzy
again with water issues. In the past, people's wells were able to get water at a depth of 15
meters, but this year they dig at a depth of 40 to 50 meters and only get water. The cost of
constructing a well has increased almost 4 times. Finally, most of the residents chose to
subscribe to PDAM. Water is not free anymore, they end up having to pay Rp 75 thousand
- Rp 100 thousand per month.
A longer protest took place in 2007, by 13 farmers who own rice fields in Block D,
led by IND. The demo lasted for about a week, on the 3rd day only 7 people were left and
only IND were left in the last seconds. At that time, PT MSJ's operation blocked the
irrigation channel for their rice fields. They made a fence of raffia rope, surrounding the
affected rice fields. On Day 7, IWD suspected that the company had deliberately hired
thugs claiming to be Kutai people, who intimidated them with their alibis, sons of the
mining area. This intimidation discouraged 6 demonstrators, causing them to release land
to the company from what was originally only 30 million/ha on the first day of the
demonstration, to 80 million/ha on the 7th day. The only thing left for IND is to demonstrate
alone in the same way, in the middle of the entrance to the rice fields, a red and white flag
is attached.
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The company repeatedly persuaded IND to give up its land, but was always refused.
Various kinds of inducements with the lure of far higher prices than their previous
counterparts. Intimidation by using thugs again under the guise of local men was again
carried out, but they were still bravely resisted. The commotion with these thugs made IWD
arrested by the police and sent to prison for 3 months without trial. Luckily, an empathetic
local official managed to help IND got out of prison and put pressure on the company. With
very tough negotiations, IND finally released the land to the company at a price of 1 billion
rupiah, 10 times more than the land price of its previous partners.
In 2015-2015, a youth and student group of Kerta Buana initiated by a student of the
Faculty of Law, Mulawarman University demonstrated several times demanding the
termination of all mining operations around this village. According to the former initiator,
this demonstration was then also clashed with local community groups who claimed to
fully support the existence of the company. This strategy was allegedly chosen by the
company so that the demonstration would cause a commotion among the residents, so that
later there was a reason for the security forces to disperse it. The demonstration was finally
dispersed by the security forces without any response from the company to the demands of
the protesters. From now on, residents tend to avoid demonstrations because according to
informants, demonstrations will only happen.
In 2017, Jatam Kaltim noted that there were 39 cracked houses in RT 16 Dusun Sida
Karya. At that time almost one RT was affected. The company compensated and bought
the damaged houses. In mid-June 2019, Prajapati Temple collapsed, after several times it
was cracked. This temple is only 450 m from the PT Kitadin mine site, less than 500 m, the
minimum allowed operation limit according to the Minister of Environment Regulation no
4/2012. Many opinions from the public and the mass media suspected that the collapse of
this temple was caused by mining activities that were quite close. But this time there was
no serious citizen protest to the company.
CONCLUSION
The government is two-faced in treating transmigrants in Kerta Buana village. On
the one hand, the government appears with the face of an angel, so kind, it gives new hope
to hundreds of poor people from Bali and NTB. they were given arable land, housing,
logistical assistance in the early days, and assistance in farming businesses by agricultural
extension workers, assistance in family planning and protection from jealousy from local
communities. On the other hand, the government puts on an evil face, granting concessions
to mining companies to encircle villages, allowing residents to fight against the urge to
release land and suffer tremendous damage to living spaces.
In the era of open pit mining, companies, government institutions, local residents,
become part of the 'political society' which hegemony transmigrants in Kerta Buana to
approve coal mining exploration that destroys their living space. Hegemony is carried out
by building historical blocks with knowledge, institutions and apparatus deployed to
support extractive economic ideology.
Meanwhile, transmigrants become civil society which is hegemonized by the
company's power. With their meager strength they held small but poorly organized protests,
making it difficult for the negotiations to produce a favorable outcome for the
transmigrants. An organic intellectual group had appeared, trying to expel the mine from
around the village, but was soon broken because it was collided with other civilians who
supported the mine by using racial issues. Although Balinese transmigrants have a stronger
resilience strategy, both Balinese and Lombok transmigrants have suffered severe damage
to living spaces due to coal mining
Sri Murlianti, Argyo Demartoto, Merah Johansyah, Sarah Agustiorini
The Hegemony of The Coal Mining Corporation, The Destruction of The Kutai Rice Barn
Center and The Damage to The Living Space of Transmigrants 1.635
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