SUMMARY

The Madurese of Kalimantan are an ethnic group formed mainly by migrants from Madura that moved to Kalimantan in the 1970s and 1980s as part of the Indonesian Government’s Transmigration Program, a voluntary resettlement system encouraging the even spreading of population around the country. Most Madurese settlers found employment in urban areas, engaging in activities such as low-scale mining, construction and trade that made them somewhat more economically affluent when compared to other ethnic groups in the area. Most Madurese are Muslim, in some cases choosing to construct their own mosques, separate from those already existing in their new communities.

At its peak in the mid-1990s, the population of Madurese settlers in Central and Western Kalimantan was of approximately 200.000, constituting approximately 5% of the total population of both provinces, and amounting to a sizable part of the total urban population. However, as a result of violence, by 2001, over 100.000 Madurese left Kalimantan for other parts of Indonesia, primarily choosing to return to Madura or move to Java. In Central Kalimantan, out of nearly 150.000 inhabitants, only a few thousand remain.

The presence of the Madurese in Kalimantan was never accepted by the natives - as the Madurese were claimed to encroach on the existing economic and social systems (such as traditional land rights). Further, the Madurese were associated with actions of the central Government of Indonesia – typically perceived as an intentional marginalization of the traditional groups of Kalimantan both politically and economically. As such, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, a strong negative stereotype developed against the Madurese, both within the native Dayak communities and within the Chinese communities. The Madurese were accused of engaging in crime (especially theft), not wanting to adjust to local customs or integrate in the local society, with small scale disputes frequently turning violent.

Further, the Madurese had very limited formal organization in Kalimantan, and what organization existed was mainly structured around mosques and religious centers. Even in the wake of the 1997 violence in Western Kalimantan, no Madurese advocacy organizations surfaced.

The Madurese have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.