Identifying the Impact of Transmigration Policy on Local Community: A Case Study of Sigulai Village, Simeulue Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

The transmigration program was an initiative of the Dutch colonial government and later continued by the Indonesian government to move landless people from densely populated areas of Indonesia to less populous areas of the country. Forced migration due to climate change, natural disasters, and conflict are among the most important policy challenges of the 21st century. The purpose of this research was to identify the impact of the Transmigration policy on the utilization of the local socio-economic and cultural environment for the Sigulai village community, Simeulue Regency, Aceh province, Indonesia. The Simeulue Government’s policy to bring in 1000 transmigrant families aims to develop the area of potential economic, but in reality, the policy does not comply with the policy that has been conveyed by the local government to provide facilities for 2 hectares of land, decent housing, life support, clean water facilities, educational facilities and transportation This study was a qualitative approach by using the triangulation data, namely observation, interviews and literature study. The results of this study indicated that the transmigration policy by the Simeulue district government does not yet have any clear goals and standards for economic inequality. Also, this study identified that there is a positive impact of the transmigration policy on the socioeconomic and cultural environment of the local community, including gardening skills. This study concluded that the transmigration policy does not yet have any clear goals and standards, especially for economic inequality and is a positive impact on the transmigration policy on the socioeconomic and cultural environment of the local community.