Jahar (second left) presenting a prize to a winner of a competition held in conjunction with the Independence Day celebration.

18/08/2017 (Borneo Post) - The Indonesian government is looking into ways for oil palm plantation owners in Sarawak to work together to set up community learning centres (CLCs).

Indonesian consul-general to Kuching, Jahar Gultom said this has become necessary because though there are many Indonesian workers in the state, they are scattered, sometimes only five to 10 in each plantation.

“So if we (Indonesian government) were to set up a CLC in every plantation, which have different owners, it will be very costly…so we are now thinking of ways for the different plantations (oil palm plantation owners) to work together.

“For instance, children from plantation A can study in the CLC at plantation B,” he told reporters yesterday at the 72nd Indonesia Independence Day at the consulate-general at Jalan Stutong here.

According to him, there are about 2,500 Indonesian children in the state, and 981 are studying at 16 CLCs in the various oil palm plantations across the state.

He added that the Indonesian government had received applications from several plantations to set up the CLC and would develop three to four such centres this year.

On a separate matter, Jahar informed that the Indonesian and Malaysian governments had agreed to develop three border posts – Tebedu-Entikong, Biawah-Arup and Nangga Badau.

On the Biawak-Arup border post, he said it would smoothen the flow of people and goods between both regions and further strengthen the relationship between Sarawak and West Kalimantan.

“We plan to develop the facilities at the border post such as roads because many Indonesians from Sambas are using Kuching as the transit point for visiting other countries and developing Biawak-Arup border post will be an advantage to both countries,” he pointed out.

Jahar also said Indonesia and Sarawak had a long history of relationship and some Dayaks and Malays had family ties in both regions.