During the New Order, the transmigration program continued after it was initiated by the Dutch East Indies government in the early nineteenth century. The intention was to move millions of people from overcrowded and populated Java, Bali and Madura to less populated regions, such as Ambon, Lesser Sunda Islands and Papua. It has received much criticism, being described as a type of colonisation by the Javanese and Madurese who also brought Islam to non-Muslim areas. Citizens in western Indonesia are mostly Muslims with Christians a small minority, while in eastern regions, the Christian populations are similar in size or larger than the Muslim population. This more even population distribution has led to more religious conflicts in the eastern regions, including Poso riots and the Maluku sectarian conflict communal violence since the resignation of President Suharto.