Timor Leste Sudah Tak Mungkin Gabung Kembali dengan Republik Indonesia

Oleh: Yusuf Leonard Henuk*)

Ketika membaca berita pernyataan Xanana Gusmao, penulispun langsung membalas kepadanya: [1]. "@xananagusmao TL harus gabung Indonesia http://lensaindonesia.com/2014/10/07/xan… @ProfYLH:"SUDAHLAH RAKYAT TL NIKMATI KEMERDEKAAN DAN BANGUN TL SEPERTI SINGAPURA”.

Tanggapan balasan penulis pun terus berlanjut [2]. @ProfYLH: "@kompasiana:Timor Leste, KMP-Prabowo dan Jebakan Politik untuk Jokowi http://kom.ps/AFnGzS" @ProfYLH:"KAMI ORANG TIMOR TAHU XANANA BOHONG JADI JANGAN PERCAYA KARENA XANANA ANTEK BARAT JADI TAK MUNGKIN TL GABUNG RI. INI HANYA TAKTIK XANANA, KARENA DONATUR DARI BARAT SUDAH TAK ADA KE TL".

BUKTINYA: “timor leste ingin kembali ke indonesia karena tidak kuat lagi menahan lapar” (http://www.topix.com/forum/world/east-timor/TCNVAR7PEFOHART99). Bukti ini didukung laporan berikut: “Under-nutrition remains a major public health problem. Poor maternal and child health and nutrition results from many factors, including food taboos and dietary practices that lead to low consumption of nutritious food; unavailability of fortified nutritious foods; inadequate knowledge of good child feeding practices such as timely initiation of breastfeeding and appropriate complementary foods; high incidence of acute respiratory infection and diarrhoea; poor access to and uptake of health services; inadequate sanitation and hygiene practices; geographical isolation; and lack of adequate infrastructure” (https://www.wfp.org/countries/timor-leste/overview).

Bahkan semua orang Indonesiapun sudah membaca di JAKARTAPOST bahwa: “Poverty remains the most serious problem in the country of 1.1 million people, although tackling it remains at the top of the government's 2002 national development program, along with economic growth, improving health services and education. The country ranked 158th out of 179 in the latest UNDP human development index report, below other developing countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Angola. Forty-nine percent of the population lives on less than US$1 a day. According to 2008 statistics, the country's GDP was $459, and per capita income was $440.” (http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/08/31/specialreport-timor-leste-still-struggling-with-poverty.html).

Berita ADRA juga melaporkan bahwa “East Timor Poverty is primarily caused due to the non-availability of food material in this part of the world.  Every year, there is a scarcity of food grains in the country.  Another important cause of East Timor poverty is the improper allocation of the available food grains.  The IMF (2005) observed that every year, a large amount of food grains, either produced or imported to this land seem to vanish into the suspense accounts of the black marketers, leading to an utter scarcity of food grain.  Although there are many other causes that lead to East Timor poverty, yet these two above-mentioned causes are described to be the most serious ones as reported by the International Monetary Fund (2005).  Briefly, until and unless these two problems are solved in the most appropriate of manners, the East Timor Poverty problem will continue to thrive and kill hundreds of people every year” (http://adra.tl/about/abouttimor/poverty).

Oleh karena itu, “When East Timor gained its independence in 2002, the government initiated a National Development plan (NDP),to work with international communities and aid agencies in its effort to reduce poverty and develop a sustainable economy aimed at improving the health, education and well-being of its people. This was aligned with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set for 2015.10 years on, progress has only been minusculeand East Timor is still heavily dependent on foreign aid. According to World Development Index, East Timor receives approximately US$ 185 million in aid per annum, which accounts for 33% of its gross national income” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_East_Timor).

Singkatnya, [1]. “As one of Asia's poorest nations, East Timor will rely on outside help for many years. The infrastructure is poor and the country is drought-prone” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14919009); and [2]. International aid has been helping the people to rebuild and create a new economy. However, an extensive drought in 2003 and a gradual reduction in international presence have held back GDP growth. Timor-Leste is the poorest country in Asia, and the poorest country outside Africa (http://www.worldvision.com.au/Libraries/School_Resources/Timor-Leste_Country_Profile.pdf).

*) Guru Besar di Fakultas Peternakan, Universitas Nusa Cendana, Timor Barat, NTT