A four-wheel-drive pickup truck rumbles as it drives,dust rising, down the bumpy dirt road in Long Bawan village, Krayan district, Nunukan regency, North Kalimantan. However, inside the car, the driver stays calm, listening to classic Malaysian songs.
Johnny, 39, a Krayan resident, was driving a pickup truck carrying 16 empty 16-kilogram gas cylinders belonging toMalaysia’s Petronas on Tuesday morning (25/7). The truck also carried 5 kilograms of Adan rice, a local rice variety to be sold in Lawas, the city closest to Indonesia in Sarawak state, Malaysia.
Johnny, who works as a seller and transporter of goods, goes to Lawas every day or once every two days to fill the orders of shop owners in Krayan. “The stores can order anything. I bring them the orders after buying them in Lawas,” said the father of two while listening a song by Malaysian group Search, who was popular back in the 1990s.
That day, on his journey to Lawas, Johnny repeatedly pressed the button on his handy talkie (HT) that was hanging on the left side of his driver’s seat. “Bos Tai Long, Bos Tai Long. Where are you, Bos Tai Long,” he asked through his HT.
“Yes, Bos Tau Ko (boss of thugs). You talk too much,” was the response from the other end. Johnny laughed. “You are blessed, Bos Tai Long,” he teased back.
The damaged clay road in Long Bawan was a daily “meal” for Johnny and about 50 of his fellow Malaysia-Krayan goods traders. The colleague he referred to as Bos Tai Long, meaning “boss of gangsters”, was A Yu, 43, a goods transporter from Lawas, Malaysia.
A Yu and Johnnymet in Ba’kelalan, a Malaysian village. They drove side by side towards Lawas. On this journey, the more company a driver has, the safer itis. Relying solely on one’s own strength in the Indonesia-Malaysia border area is asking for death. The terrain they must pass is extremely tough.
The dirt road, which is full of turns and climbs up and downa hill, is a daring test for every goods trader. In some parts, the dirt road collapses along the side of the cliff. “If the driver is not skillful, he could go,flip! Seven months ago, a car flipped over on the uphill slope. If it rains, it becomes even harder to get through this road,” Johnny said.
Isolated
Krayan is located in a valley surrounded by the forests of Kayan Mentaran National Park (TNKM). The total area of the district is 769.03 square kilometers. Krayan has a population of 18,000 people, about 13,000 of which live in Krayan, while the remaining 5,000 make their living in Malaysia.
At present, Krayan can only be reached from Indonesia on light aircraft. There are no roads from Krayan to the nearest Indonesian regency of Malinau.The only road available is the dirt road that is severely damaged from Krayan to Ba’kelalan, and all the way to Lawas in Malaysia.
A journey from Krayan to Lawas, a distance ofabout 120 kilometers, takes seven hours for a one-way trip and 14 hours for a return trip. There are no other options, because buying goods in Indonesia will be ineffective and more expensive, as they would need to be transported by plane.
Upon arrival in Lawas, Johnny spends the night at a relative’s house.The next day, he goes shopping. He visits several shops and pays in ringgit.
After around three hours of shopping, Johnny comes back with 16 gas cylinders, 25 sacks of cement, three cartons of mineral water and one ice chest. He covers the goods with tarpaulin in the back of his truck. “It needs to be fully covered so that it is not seen by customs,” he said.
In Lawas, Johnny bought the cement for RM 50 (around Rp 150,000) per sack and the 16 kilogram cylinder of gas for RM 60 (Rp 180,000). In Krayan, the cement will sell for around Rp 200,000 per sack and one gas cylinder for Rp 210,000 each. Meanwhile, the eggs will sell for Rp 45,000 for 30 eggs.
The people of Krayandi not have any other options of ways to fulfill their needs other than to rely on Malaysia. “Where are we supposed to buy things, if not from Malaysia? We have to fly to Nunukan and Tarakan to get to the nearest market. Even then, the goods are not always available. It is impossible to go through the land route,” said Yoseph from Long Apih village.
Locals strongly hope for the construction of roads from Malinau to Krayan to put an end to their reliance on Malaysia.