Krisantus Kurniawan, Deputy Governor of West Kalimantan, Demands Justice for Local Communities
Krisantus criticized companies operating in West Kalimantan for making minimal contributions to the local communities and regional development. Screenshot from JAK video.
🌍 DAYAK TODAY | PONTIANAK: Krisantus Kurniawan, the Deputy Governor of West Kalimantan, is calling for justice for the people of his province.
Often referred to as the “heir to Cornelis,” Krisantus unleashed a fiery critique of companies operating in West Kalimantan, accusing them of contributing little to the region’s development.
His pointed remarks came during the opening of the Dayak Cultural Festival (Pekan Gawai Dayak) in Pontianak on May 20, 2025.
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In a passionate speech, he addressed head-on the ongoing exploitation of the Dayak people—an exploitation, he argued, that has persisted through generations.
Corporate Critique Echoes Academic Forum
Krisantus’s comments drew widespread attention for their alignment with a keynote presentation delivered the previous day at the National Congress II of the Ikatan Cendekiawan Dayak Nasional - National - Association of Dayak Intellectuals (ICDN).
The joint paper by Dr. (H.C.) Cornelis and Masri Sareb Putra, M.A., titled “Dayak Exploitation Through the Ages: Erased Origins, Extractive Colonialism, and the Hijacking of Borneo by the New Order for Java’s Interests,” laid out a sweeping historical account of the marginalization of the Dayak people.
History Rewritten, Voices Silenced
Krisantus’s speech was grounded in the long arc of Dayak history—one marked by erasure and exclusion. “We’ve been treated as objects of development, not participants. Our land has been seized, our forests looted, and our culture exoticized—not recognized as knowledge,” he declared to an audience of traditional leaders and guests gathered at the Radakng longhouse.
His remarks held extra weight given his attentive presence at the ICDN congress held the day before at the Mercure Hotel in Pontianak.
The academic forum traced a throughline of dispossession, from colonial extraction to the New Order’s centralist policies, and now to the post-reform era, dominated by oil palm expansion, mining, and large-scale infrastructure projects.
Krisantus absorbed these insights—and reframed them for a broader cultural audience.
"They Make Billions Here, Yet Give Back Nothing"
His presence at both events underscored a growing synergy between cultural advocacy and policy activism in Dayak leadership. Krisantus is no ceremonial figurehead. He is actively shaping the narrative and awakening collective memory.
His criticism, he stressed, is not just reactive—it is part of an intellectual resistance aimed at challenging ongoing forms of exploitation.
“They make their money here. But they contribute nothing,” he exclaimed, drawing applause from the audience.
According to Krisantus, no fewer than 400 palm oil companies currently operate in West Kalimantan. He added that in addition to these 400 palm oil companies, there are still 600 mining companies actively operating in the region. “They are extracting West Kalimantan’s natural resources on an unbelievable scale— hundreds of trillions of rupiah— but their contribution to local communities and development is zero,” he said.
Minimal Contributions Despite Massive Profits
Krisantus lamented the lack of meaningful corporate support for local cultural and social initiatives. When he asked the organizing committee of the Dayak Cultural Festival about contributions from major companies, he was outraged by the answer.
“I asked them, how much did these companies donate? They said, one million rupiah. Just one million? They make trillions here, and they can’t even show up?” he said, raising his voice.
The figure, he argued, reflects a staggering lack of corporate responsibility—especially from firms profiting immensely from West Kalimantan’s lands and resources.
“Where You Stand, Honor the Sky Above”
In response, Krisantus said the provincial government will begin enforcing stronger regulations on large corporations operating in the region. One such measure: requiring companies to open and maintain local bank accounts.
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“Where you stand, honor the sky above,” he said, invoking a local proverb. “Any company operating in West Kalimantan must have—and must use—a bank account in West Kalimantan.”
The move, he said, aims to ensure that the economic activity in the region does not benefit only outside interests, but creates tangible impacts for the local population.
“We’re not anti-investment. But don’t treat West Kalimantan as a place to extract wealth without responsibility,” he concluded.
Toward Corporate Accountability
Krisantus expressed hope that companies will begin to prioritize not only profits, but also the social, cultural, and environmental well-being of the communities in which they operate.
-- Rangkaya Bada