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Temajuk Village is located in Paloh District, Sambas Regency, West Kalimantan Province. The village lies in the border area between Indonesia and Malaysia. One of the recurring issues in the area is the severe limitation of facilities and infrastructure necessary to support community life. These limitations primarily affect three major sectors, namely education, healthcare, and food security. In fact, Law Number 11 of 2005 has regulated the fulfillment of community rights encompassing Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (Ekosob).
The government’s limitations in fulfilling such economic, social, and cultural rights attracted the attention of Endri, Fardi Prabowo Jati, Rayvo Rahmatullah, and Dian Widyaningrum. Consequently, the Faculty of Law UGM students, who were members of the Student Creativity Program in Socio-Humanities Research (Program Kreativitas Mahasiswa Penelitian Sosio Humaniora / PKM-PSH), raised the issue as the subject of their PKM research proposal.
Endri explained that the selection of the topic was also inspired by his previous Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) community service program conducted in Temajuk Village. “Coincidentally, I carried out my KKN in Temajuk, and because I am a law student, I am closely connected to social issues such as these. I then discussed various border-related issues with Mrs. Mahaarum Kusuma Pertiwi, S.H., M.A., M.Phil., commonly known as Mrs. Arum. From those discussions, we eventually developed this research topic under her supervision as our academic advisor,” explained the Aceh-born student.
The 2012 cohort student further elaborated on the conditions relating to food security, healthcare, and education in the village. Based on research conducted by Endri and his team over a ten-day period, they identified three major factors contributing to the lack of welfare among the residents of Temajuk Village. These factors included poor road access, limited electricity supply available only at night, and inadequate telecommunications signals restricting access to information.
Nevertheless, when the team interviewed 50 community figures in the village, the majority considered their lives to be prosperous. Although they were able to identify the shortcomings existing in their village, they still perceived such conditions as normal and believed their lives continued adequately. This phenomenon was described as a perspective of “subjective well-being.”
When asked about national resilience, several residents of Temajuk Village stated that they were comfortable being part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia / NKRI). They also acknowledged receiving sufficient attention from the government, particularly with the construction of a Community Health Center (Puskesmas) that year. However, some residents also remarked that if governmental attention failed to improve, they would not object to joining the neighboring country.
The PKM-PSH team, chaired by Fardi Prabowo Jati, expressed hope that their research could serve as a guideline and consideration for the government in formulating development policies for Temajuk Village. (Fitri)
