I am Intan Permata Sari, a PhD student at LUCAS. I am working under the supervision of Prof Pieter ter Keurs and Prof Gerard Persoon. I am researching on the identity of the Engganese in Enggano Island, Bengkulu Province, Indonesia. As Indonesia's outermost community, the Engganese are vulnerable to change, especially when it comes to changes in government policies and programmes. More specifically, this research examines how Engganese identity has changed from the colonial period, through the arrival of the state, to the current era of modernisation.

More information about Intan Sari

Research

My research focuses on changes in the identity of the Enggano people caused by changes in government policies and programs. One of these is the transmigration program that has been in place since the colonial era, the New Order, and the Reformation. During the colonial period, the Dutch East Indies government sent thousands of people from Banten to Enggano because of the drastic decline in the Enggano population. The policy resulted in mixed marriages between locals and migrants. The transmigration program continued under the Indonesian government (New Order and Reformation), moving Javanese and people from Bengkulu who wanted to live in Enggano. The transmigration policy for decades did not have a significant impact on the development of Enggano Island and could be said to have failed, but it did have an impact on the number of migrants who outnumbered the indigenous population. Therefore, the chiefs in Enggano agreed to add 1 tribe for migrants, called Kaamay.
After COVID-19, the Indonesian government made Enggano one of the priorities in the National Strategic Programme, building a 32km trans-Enggano road, a 4G internet tower and 24-hour electricity. However, these programs have had the effect of changing the identity and lifestyle of the Enggano people.

Curriculum Vitae

I completed my undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Anthropology at Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. I am currently a lecturer at Fatmawati Sukarno Bengkulu State Islamic University since 2016.