Southeast Kalimantan Province to be Formed

By Imam Hanafi

Kotabaru, (Antaranews South Kalimantan) - The Kotabaru Administration will invite three districts, two of them from East Kalimantan, to initiate a discourse of forming

Southeast Kalimantan province.

Kotabaru Regent H Irhami Ridjani here on Tuesday said the three districts would be invited are Tanah Bumbu, Paser and Panajam in the 63rd anniversary of Kotabaru on June 1, 2013.

"First, we will hold friendship sport, as the beginning of the talks to initiate Southeast Kalimantan province. Incidentally, all three districts have historically come from Kotabaru district," he explained.

According to him, four districts, covering Kotabaru and Tanah Bumbu in South Kalimantan and Paser and Panajam in East Kalimantan, have been regarded as capable of forming East Kalimantan province.

Around 1959, Kotabaru splitted into two to form Paser, which then became part of East Kalimantan province. Then in 2002, Paser expanded to form Panajam or North Paser.

While a parent district of Kotabaru in 2003 re-divided, to form Tanah Bumbu Regency.

"It is reasonable, if the four districts that form the province of Sotheast Kalimantan," he said.

Regent claimed to have met a character who "gave birth" of Paser, ie, Ridwan Suwidi. "I've asked him back to initiate a birth of new areas, not the district, but on a large scale, the Southeast Kalimantan province," he said.

Ridwan, said the Regent, will take the time to plan.

According to Regent, with the formation of the Southeast Kalimantan province, the acceleration of equitable development in the southeastern region of Borneo will be maximal.

One of the division's goal is to make people more prosperous again.