Mining
Indonesia is rich in minerals although only less than half the country's geology has been explored. Oil and gas accounts for a major part of the nation's foreign exchange earnings. Exploration of oil dates back to 1 871 in West Java but it was not till 1883 that the first successful oil well was drilled in North Sumatra and the first commercial oil field established. Since then there have been several oil discoveries, including those off-shore. Pertamina, the state-owned oil company has the sole right in oil and gas production which is carried out mainly by a production sharing agreement with foreign oil companies. Apart from oil and gas, exploitation of geothermal reserves are being accelerated, coal production is increasing. Indonesia is the third largest producer of tin in the world. Copper is found throughout the archipelago. There are also large deposits of nickel oxide, bauxite, gold, lead, manganese, silver, titanium, uranium, zinc, etc.
Social Welfare
The Department of Social Affairs supervises all activities in the field of social welfare. Houses for the aged, orphanages and schools for the handicapped are found all over the country, operated by either the government or by private institutions. Especially well-known is the Rehabilitation Centre for the physically handicapped in Solo, Central Java. For public health-care among the masses and especially in places far removed from modern hospitals, community health centres have been set up in even the remotest areas. Through such efforts, modern medicine is gradually taking over from more traditional methods, although the practice of witch doctors and the use of herbs for curing has not entirely disappeared, especially in isolated areas. Quite well-known are the herbal medicines of Java known as "jamu", now becoming increasingly popular.
Another area which has of late received increased government attention is that of housing. More focus is aimed at providing low cost housing for the public besides improving "kampong" neighborhoods, especially in the over populated urban areas. However, in spite of all aforementioned efforts very much Is still to be done. |
