Malaysian Shiites tell President Susilo Bambang to resolve conflict

Shia residents who were driven out of their villages in Sampang regency, Madura, East Java, due to religious conflict, have demanded that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono keep his promise to allow them to return home before his term ends in a couple of months.

Internally displaced persons (IDP) coordinator Iklil Al Milal said residents from the Shia community, who are living at the Puspa Agro low-cost apartments in Jemundo, Sidoarjo regency, also in East Java, would continue to demand a solution from Yudhoyono.

“Pak Yudhoyono personally promised to send us home. The pledge is similar to a debt,” said Iklil.

Bujadien, displaced from Bluuran village, shared a similar view. He said he had had nothing to do for the past 10 months while living at the apartment complex. He expressed his hope that Yudhoyono would help them return to their home villages as soon as possible.

“We are restricted in going to different places as we are always being watched, though we need to work to support our families,” said Bujadien.

Bujadien and other male members of the Shia community have found employment at the nearby Puspa Argo market. Some of them work unloading coconuts from trucks, earning a total of Rp 600,000 (US$52.57) per truck. They usually work in groups of 10 people.

If there is nothing to unload, they are forced to work removing the outer shell from coconuts, earning Rp 200 per piece.

The fate of the 72 families, or 184 Shia IDPs, at the Puspa Argo complex remains unclear, as they do not know how long they will have to endure living at the apartments.

The IDPs also complained about the uncertainty surrounding their daily living expenses. Since seeking refuge in June last year, Iklil said the families had only received money from officers twice.

Iklil and Bujadien were also unsure if they would continue living at the apartments, or whether they would have to rent other rooms.

The families are given a daily ration of white rice and side dishes. According to Iklil, the meals provided by the local Disaster Response Team (Tagana) usually comprise white rice and a single quail egg.

“If a family has four members, then they get rice and four quail eggs. That’s it,” said Iklil.

According to Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) member Fatkhul Khoir, the issue has been discussed for a long time, but has yet to receive a response from the government.

“Until now, as an advocacy team, we have had no access at all to the reconciliation team formed by the East Java provincial administration,” Fatkhul told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The IDPs, he said, were also demanding clarity about health insurance from the Social Security Management Agency (BPJS), as they have the right to health care.

The issues regarding Yudhoyono’s promise to return the IDPs to their homes and the living allowances provided to them were conveyed to the Presidential Advisory Council’s legal and human rights affairs head Albert Hasibuan when he visited the low-cost apartments prior to the legislative election.

“I will convey every issue here to the President and hopefully the issues can be resolved before the President’s term ends,” Albert said.

Regarding the return of the IDPs to their villages, Albert promised that he would seek clarity on the latest developments from the leader of the reconciliation team, Abdul A’la, who is also a Sunan Ampel State Islamic University rector.

Albert expressed his hope that Yudhoyono would immediately take measures to return the Shia IDPs to their homes, as part of his legacy before his term as President ends.

On Aug. 26, 2012, a religious conflict broke out in Sampang between Shia and anti-Shia groups. The conflict, which claimed the lives of two people and resulted in the injury of dozens of others, caused hundreds of Shia followers to evacuate to the Sampang Sports Complex. They took refuge there for eight months until they were driven out in June 2013, and rehoused at the Puspa Agro complex.