Indonesia: Defense leader’s “economic security” is using school funding to destroy heart of Borneo

Indonesia’s Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono is pushing a proposal to
develop economic zones along the border between Malaysia and
Kalimantan “as soon as possible” for national security reasons,
reports the Jakarta Globe.

Click link for full text/increase funding for writer/producer of these
words: http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0204-borneo.html

He added that economic development would act as “a nonmilitary
deterrent to any encroachment on Indonesian territory” — presumably by
Malaysia or the tiny sultanate of Brunei. The last battle on the
Malay-Indonesian border in Borneo was in 1966 when Indonesia was
emerging as a nation.

Juwono has already drawn up a draft of the plan, which calls for plantations, new roads, and “economic zones” along the border, and is now looking for support from other government departments. Theo L. Sambuaga, the chairman of House Defense Commission I, which oversees defense, said the plan could be funded by reallocation of state funds from the ministries of people’s welfare and public works.

“The government has allotted money for the Ministry of Education to build new schools. If it merged with the border establishment program, the school could be built there,” he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe. “We have to guarantee the welfare of our citizens living near borders, so they will never think to favor or move to the neighboring countries.”

Click link for full text/increase funding for writer/producer of these
words: http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0204-borneo.html

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