Government Establishes Dialogue with the Papuan and West Papuan People’s Assembly

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Deputy V of the Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Jaleswari Pramodhawardani said the government was continuing to build a dialogue with the Papuan People’s Assembly and the West Papuan People’s Assembly regarding regional expansion or the formation of new autonomous regions (DOB). This is shown by the meeting of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) with the Papuan and West Papuan People’s Assembly, at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Monday (25/4/2022).

“The presence of the two cultural institutions at the Presidential Palace is a manifestation of President Joko Widodo’s commitment to continue to build discussions and dialogues in developing Indonesia, including West Papua Province and Papua Province,” said Jaleswari Pramodhawardani after accompanying President Joko Widodo to the Papuan and West Papuan People’s Assembly.

Jaleswari emphasized that the formation of new autonomous regions is a strategic government issue that aims to answer the problem of poverty, accelerate the development of people’s welfare, and development in the regions.

She added that the new autonomous region’s policy was also to shorten the reach of public services, accelerate development, cut costs and resolve difficulties in accessing public services from the district to the provincial level.

In the context of the development of Papua and West Papua, said Jaleswari, this policy is to ensure equitable distribution of welfare and development in Papua by considering geographical conditions.

“For example, people in mountainous areas with difficult and expensive air transportation routes do not need to go to Jayapura to get administrative services that are only available at the provincial capital level,” said Jaleswari Pramodhawardani.

According to Jaleswari, new systems and designs are needed to develop Papua in a holistic and sustainable way. Moreover, she said, Jokowi’s commitment to creating Indonesia-centric development has focused on development in Papua, which is stated in Presidential Instruction No. 9 of 2020 concerning the Acceleration of Welfare Development for Papuans, and Law No. 2/2021 on Special Autonomy (Otsus) for Papua.

“The President really asks for a new spirit, a new paradigm, a new way of working for development in Papua,” said Jaleswari.

In addition, the Legislative Body (Baleg) of the DPR has determined three drafts of the Law (RUU) on the Establishment of New Autonomous Regions (DOB) in Papua Province as a bill proposed by the DPR. The three bills are the Bill for the Establishment of the South Papua Province, the Bill for the Establishment of the Central Papua Province, and the Bill for the Establishment of the Central Mountains Province.

Previously, based on the proposal from Commission II of the DPR, there were six proposed bills including the Papua Province, South Papua Province, Central Papua Province, and Central Mountains Papua Province. Then, West Papua Province and Southwest Papua Province.

Source: BeritaSatu.com