Papuan Indigenous Youth Supports Accelerated Expansion of Papua Region

By: Alfred Jigibalom

The Papuan Indigenous Youth National Leadership Council (DPN) has met with the Government to support the acceleration of the expansion of the Papua region. The division of the region is believed to be able to advance and prosper Papua.

Currently, Indonesia has 34 provinces, including Papua and West Papua. The addition of new provinces occurred in the reform era, after previously during the new order there were only 27 provinces.

Why is there a new province? The reason is because it adjusts to the size of the island or area and makes it easier for government decentralization.

One area that will add a province is Papua. After having 2 provinces, namely Papua and West Papua, it is planned that there will be 3 new provinces, namely Central Papua, Central Highlands Papua, and South Papua. There has been a bill on the expansion of Papua which has been passed and in the Papua region it will soon have a new autonomous region.

Jan Cristian Arebo, Chairman of the National Leadership Council (DPN) of the Papuan Indigenous Youth stated that his party fully supports the government’s decision to establish a New Autonomous Region (DOB) in Papua. The reason is because the division of territory can improve the welfare of the Papuan people.

Therefore, the expansion plan should be accelerated. In a sense, the division of territory is very much supported by the indigenous Papuans (OAP) because they are aware of the benefits. First, in terms of welfare, because when there is a new province, there will automatically be a APBD and the funds can be used to develop the Cendrawasih region.

There will be a lot of infrastructure built such as roads and bridges. When there is a good road, it will let go of dependence on air transportation, because the road is already comfortable to use. As a result, the community will be more prosperous because they will save costs when they will carry out mobility.

In addition, the cost of shipping goods will be cheaper because it does not depend on the price of avtur, so the price of goods in Papua can decrease.

Regional acceleration is also beneficial for the progress of the people because it facilitates administration and also population registration, because the area is smaller. When the recording is more orderly it will be seen how much progress is made. Later when it turns out that it is not too advanced, there will be social assistance and other assistance from the government.

For administrative matters, it will also be easier because the governor’s office and the provincial government are closer to the community. For example, if in the past from Intan Jaya a resident wanted to go to the provincial government office in Jayapura, then he had to travel more than 400 kilometers. However, currently the distance to the office of the new provincial capital in Timika is only 100 kilometers.

The youths who are members of the United Tabi Youth also support the expansion of the Papua region. Tabi Youth Leader, John Robert Manggo stated that the Tabi community welcomes a golden opportunity in the form of regional expansion. The addition of new autonomous regions is a matter that must be prioritized for the central government.

From the two statements made by Papuan youth groups, it can be concluded that the people of Bumi-Cendrawasih support regional expansion. The reason is because they understand the benefits of pemekaran, namely for the progress of the Papua region.

It is a big mistake if there are parties who allege that the regional expansion is not supported by the people because in fact it is the people who directly ask President Jokowi to add a new province. This proposal is close to reality because it is just waiting for the ratification of the regional expansion bill to become a law.

The Papuan indigenous youths and the Tabi Bersatu Youth both support regional expansion. They realize that the addition of a new autonomous region will bring progress to all Papuans. With the new province, administrative arrangements will be faster and closer in distance.

)* The author is a contributor for Papuan students living in Bali

Source: Delik News