Bonifasius Belawan Geh (born ), also known popularly as "Mr. Boni", is an Indonesian businessman and politician who is currently serving as the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of Mahakam Ulu. He is the first elected to the regency since its creation, after the separation of the regency from West Kutai, having previously been led by two acting regents. As regent, he initiated several infrastructure programs in the region, including the first

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

-sealed road in the regency to alleviate the region's remoteness.

Biography

Early life and education

Bonifasius was born in the small Dayak village of Mahamak Besar, Long Bagun District, inside the

Heart of Borneo The Heart of Borneo is a conservation agreement initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature to protect a 220,000 km² forested region on Borneo island. The agreement was signed by the governments of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia in Bali on 1 ...

on 17 September 1962. He is native Dayak descent from a small farmer family. He enrolled in primary school in his village until from 1974 to 1980 when he moved to town of Tering in West Kutai for junior high-school. He then moved again to the city of

Samarinda Samarinda is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The city lies on the banks of the Mahakam River with a land area of . Samarinda ranks first on East Kalimantan Human dev ...

to pursue vocational education until graduating in 1986. Afterward, he enrolled in

Mulawarman University The Universitas Mulawarman is a public university located in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was established on September 27, 1962, making it the oldest tertiary education institution in East Kalimantan. With more than 35,000 students, Un ...

and studied in the teaching faculty. However, due to his mother's illness, he came back to the village and worked on a plantation instead of pursuing higher education, dropping out from the college. He also collected swiftlet nest in the jungle for additional money to support his family.

Early career

Bonifasius soon became involved in a

swiftlet Swiftlets are birds contained within the four genera ''Aerodramus'', ''Hydrochous'', ''Schoutedenapus'' and ''Collocalia''. They form the Collocaliini tribe within the swift family Apodidae. The group contains around thirty species mostly confine ...

nest business and rented a cave inside the jungle, from which he harvested bird's nests. After accumulating money from selling bird's nest, he founded a logging company in 1999. His company obtained a permit to manage around 13,000 hectares of jungle in

Kutai Kartanegara Regency Kutai Kartanegara Regency (abbreviated as ''Kukar'') is a regency of East Kalimantan province, Indonesia. It has a land area of 27,263.10 km2 and a water area of 4,097 km2, geographically located between 1°18′40″S and 116°31′36 ...

and he also expanded his business to heavy equipments. He later became in charge of a cooperative, and then pursued a law degree at "17th August University." He also became the director of a coal trading company based in Samarinda, PT Cahaya Belawan Sejahtera until 2013.

Political career

He became a representative in the newly formed Mahakam Ulu Regency's parliament in 2014 and became vice speaker of the parliament. In 2015, he became speaker of the parliament but resigned not long after to run as regent in the

2015 Indonesian local elections Local elections were held in Indonesia on 9 December 2015. Eligible voters went to the polls to determine 9 gubernatorial, 224 regent and 36 mayoral races across the country. This election marks the first time since Indonesia's transition to democ ...

. He was elected as the first regent of Mahakam Ulu that was previously led by the acting regent. He was then re-elected in 2020. He is also the chief of

Great Indonesia Movement Party The Gerindra Party (acronym for , ) is a political party in Indonesia. Formed in 2008, Gerindra serves as the political vehicle of former general Prabowo Subianto. It is presently the third-largest party in the House of Representatives, where it ...

regional branch in the regency. During his tenure, the regency built its first asphalt-sealed road in Ujoh Bilang which is the regency's administrative center in 2018. The road was planned to be constructed connecting the village of Long Bagun and also the town of Tering. As of 2021, the road's construction has been ongoing with another section connecting the villages of Mahamak Besar and Long Melaham. He plans to also upgrade the recently-built road connecting the villages of Ujoh Bilang and Mahamak Besar, expanding it to a two-lane road, the first of its kind in the region. He stated that road constructions are needed in the regency to remove the region's remoteness and make transportation easier than previously, which consistent mostly of using boats on the river. He also stated that the road construction would make the price of goods in the region cheaper. His plan, however, was criticized by environmentalists due to fear of destruction of Heart of Borneo's jungles. His program included construction of office complex for regency's government in Ujoh Bilang due to previously the regency has no definitive office building. He also initiated telecommunication infrastructure in small villages in the regency, as well as stating that food sufficiency is also his top priority.

Personal life

Bonifasius is married to Yovita Bulan Bonifasius, and they have five children.

References

{{reflist, 32em Indonesian politicians Dayak people Indonesian businesspeople 1962 births Living people Mulawarman University alumni