Enggano Island is located about 145 km off the west coast of Sumatra Island precisely in Bengkulu Province. In the middle of this year, Enggano island attracted national attention, due to the disruption of access to the island, which resulted in about 4,300 of its residents not receiving shipments of basic goods from Bengkulu. Instead Enggano residents could not send their farm produce to sell as a splicer for their lives.
The President of the Republic of Indonesia has issued a Presidential Instruction (Inpres) specifically to address this issue.
Winarto Rudi Setiawan is one of the community leaders as well as staff in the district office of Enggano, Bengkulu Province.
Winarto Rudi Setiawan, tokoh masyarakat sekaligus staf di kantor Kecamatan Enggano. Credit: Supplied/Winarto Rudi Setiawan
Rudi said the island where he currently lives can be reached by pioneering aircraft or boats. Aircraft serve passengers four times in one week, while ships come twice a week.
Pesawat perintis yang melayani penerbangan Bengkulu-Enggano. Credit: Supplied/Winarto Rudi Setiawan
Indonesian media reported that as a result of the silting, the pioneer ship and the main crossing ship could not operate normally. In addition, Enggano was also isolated due to weather and high waves that caused the ship to be unable to dock. As a result, stocks of staples and petroleum materials were limited, which seeped into the difficulty of meeting fuel for electricity and vehicles, to the point that commodity prices soared. Meanwhile, Enggano residents also could not ship the fruits of their business such as bananas, cocoa, fish, and other crops, so many were rotted or thrown away. This caused considerable economic losses to farmers.
For this reason, Rudi said the people of Enggano then demanded an acceleration of development. Residents hope the ferry will soon be able to recover and carry passengers and goods to from Enggano.
In fact, until now Rudi called the situation not recovered true. Until now, he said, the problem that exists in the inlet of Baai Island Port, namely silting, has not been resolved. Even after President Prabowo Subiyanto issued Inpress No. 12 of 2025, the problem was not finished either. Rudi recounted that the ferry had to depend on the tide in order to get into the harbor.
Pelabuhan kapal feri di Kahyapu, Enggano. Credit: Supplied/Winarto Rudi Setiawan
The area is indeed not completely safe, as it is located in the area of the Ring of Fire, which stretches along the west coast of Sumatra. Rudi recalled that in 2007 there was a massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake.
Rudi argued that the agricultural products produced by Enggano have better quality than from other regions in Sumatra.
The silting of the port that has occurred and impacted since about six months ago, has brought to light how important transportation facilities are for Enggano. People's lives were shaken simply because sand filled the harbour.
That is why, according to Rudi the central government in this case the president needs to issue a second Inpres, to ensure that efforts to improve the condition of the port do not stop. The Government must realise that it takes continuous action to guarantee the harbour is free from silting, and the crossing ships are well maintained in order to optimally serve the community.
Recent media reports stated that stocks of basic materials and energy were declared to be sufficient. The Bengkulu provincial government has allocated an emergency fund of IDR 5 billion for urgent needs in Enggano, including food aid, free boat transportation, and operational support.
