Migration to South Sumatra and some of its implications

Abstract

The regional disparities within a country are one of the main causes of internal migration. At the same time, it has been recognised that the movement of people plays an important role in the development process of the nation as a whole. In Indonesia, regional differences as well as the importance of internal migration are among many reasons for the government to carry out the movement of people from Java to the outer islands under colonisation and then transmigration schemes. This study attempts to observe the facts related to the voluntary (unguided) movement on the one hand, and the extensive implementation of the guided movement by the government on the other. Some of the effects of migration on the receiving area (South Sumatra province) are also presented. Migration to South Sumatra has mostly been directed and concentrated in only two major areas, i.e. the rural areas of OKU (Ogan Komering Ulu) regency and Palembang municipality. The movement to OKU regency cannot be separated from the colonisation and later the transmigration schemes, and was mainly the result of these two programs. At the present time, the rural to rural movement which is undertaken by the government in moving these people, is directed toward the purpose of rural development in the receiving areas, in addition to improving the living standard of the transmigrants. The movement to Palembang (urban area) broadly reflects the spatial incidence of economic development. The status of Palembang as an industrial city, capital city and the centre of activities could be the major attraction for people. More recently, there has been a tendency for a high proportion of migrants to South Sumatra to prefer living in urban areas, particularly in Palembang. This study revealed that, at the present time, the transmigration contributed a low proportion of the total inmigrants annually. This proposition was based on two facts: firstly, about fifty per cent of the migrants in this province arrived within the last ten years preceding the 1971 census, the period in which transmigration was decreased in number; secondly, a high percentage of migrants in the nontransmigrant areas lived in the urban areas. The impact of these findings is that the voluntary (unguided) movement occurred extensively towards the centre of economic activities. In conformity with migration theory, this study found that the distance factor influenced the volume of migration - either guided or unguided movement. Economic motives emerged as the main reason for people to move or be moved. Analysis of characteristics of the migrants found that most migrants came from Java, particularly those who settled in the rural areas. Most migrants were young in age and possibly had already a relatively large family size when they moved. Although it is recognised that migrants had a very low level of education, in general, however, the educational level of the migrants was rather high compared with the population as a whole, both in urban and rural areas. Migrants not only had a great influence on the growth rate of the population of the receiving areas in this province, but also had a high contribution in each sector of economic activity. The findings on migration to Palembang and OKU indicated that migrants, whether residing in the rural or urban areas, had an improved standard of living, compared with in the previous place of residence. Show more