Prof. Sutan Nasomal: Ahead of the 80th Indonesian Independence Day, the Poverty of the Poor Is Still Visible
BOGOR-JAYA NEWS.COM – “This is a portrait of the lives of the people of Indonesia today, everywhere,” said Prof. Dr. Sutan Nasomal, SH, MH, an international law expert and economist, answering questions from editors-in-chief of print and online media at his office, the headquarters of the Merdeka Opposition Party, in Jakarta, Thursday (August 14, 2025).
He said,
A sad story: Andri and his family from Surade, Sukabumi Regency, slept on a shop veranda for four years near the Ciawi traffic light in Bogor.
He and his wife, who patiently endured the bitter life they lived with their husband, who could only work as a scavenger for a very minimal income. They slept with their children, a 4-year-old toddler and a 2-month-old, on the shop veranda, covered with cardboard.
Mrs. Eli, from Cikajang, Garut, has two children: Ikbal, 4 years old, and Refan, 2 months old. As a baby, he slept on the shop veranda.
Andri, who used to work as a laborer on plantations or in the fields, is now unemployed due to the scarcity of employment in Surade.
Andri was forced to migrate to Bogor Ciawi, where he worked as a scavenger for over four years. It was very difficult to find work in the village, even though he earned 30,000 or 50,000 rupiah per day.
Living in poverty and unable to rent a tenement house, with a daily income of only 30,000 rupiah, he and his family survived on what they had.
During their marriage, they never received any assistance from the government.
Once a year, Andri returned to Cikajang, Garut, for Ramadan (the fasting month) with his wife and children.
Much of the community’s plantation land has been converted into oil palm plantations, controlled by companies. Therefore, the local community has been unable to find work while in Surade, Sukabumi Regency.
Prof. Dr. KH. Sutan Nasomal, SH, MH, a prominent observer of the poor, is deeply concerned about the current situation. 80 years after Indonesia’s independence, people are starving and growing poorer. Community plantations have been a source of livelihood for hundreds of years in many regions, even before Indonesia existed. They improved the welfare of village communities and provided a livelihood for them. Now, plantations have been replaced by thousands of hectares of oil palm plantations, no longer providing jobs for the communities of old, who farmed and protected the forests.
Prof. Dr. KH. Sutan Nasomal, SH, MH, asked Indonesian President General Haji Prabowo Subiyanto and the Indonesian government to pay attention to the people in these regions who have lost their jobs and are facing increasing hardship because oil palm plantations cannot absorb the unemployed.
“Rural plantations and rice fields have been converted. Many rural communities have been forced to become scavengers and live in poverty, without income,” he said.
Prof. Dr. KH. Sutan Nasomal, SH, MH, told the media that millions of poor families are becoming increasingly impoverished, leaving their villages. There are even tens of millions of unemployed. The state must help rural communities earn incomes to survive in Indonesia and their homeland.
Andri, a scavenger, spoke about the condition of children who often get sick. When children are sick, they are usually taken home to their villages because they have no family in Bogor and no money.
Prof. KH. DR. Sutan Nasomal, SH, MH, said, “Hopefully, high-ranking officials in Indonesia, including Regents, Mayors, and Governors, will directly help rural communities and create jobs. There should be no more land grabbing.
The extraordinary strength of patience that the people have given to the Indonesian nation will ultimately pay off.”**
Source:
Prof. DR. KH. Sutan Nasomal, SH, MH, International Law Expert, Economist, President of the Merdeka Opposition Party, General of the Company, and Founder/Chairman of the ASS SAQWA PLUS Islamic Boarding School, Jakarta 08118419260**
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