"We are now checking the developments in border areas. It has been the parliaments concern and in line with the aspiration of the people in the region," Deputy House Speaker Fahri Hamzah said, on the sideline of his visit to Indonesia and Malaysia bordering area of North Kalimantan, on Thursday.
Fahri has also served as the chief of border monitoring team at the House of Representatives (DPR).
He said the government should accelerate the development in border areas to allow local people to enjoy progress in the region and to catch up with the developments in the neighboring country.
Some residents in border areas admitted that they could get easy access to education and health care in the neighboring country.
"This must become a serious concern for the government," he said.
He suggested the establishment of a ministry on border areas, so that any measures taken by the government regarding the frontiers development could be more focused and under the direct control of the president.
The government has allocated Rp9.2 trillion in its 2016 budget for the development of border areas in every sector.
Fahri said the acceleration of development in border areas is important to avoid any complex problems in the future.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
