https://westpapuatabloid.org/papuas-new-autonomous-region-dob-is-a-means-of-accelerating-development.html

Vice President K.H. Ma’ruf Amin again chaired a follow-up meeting to discuss the acceleration of the development of the welfare of the Papua region, at the Vice President’s Palace, Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan No. 6 Central Jakarta, Tuesday (02/08/2022).

Quoting https://www.menpan.go.id/, the spokesperson for the Vice President, Masduki Baidlowi, in his press statement said that the agenda of the meeting discussed the evaluation and implementation plans of Law Number 2 of 2021 concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 21 of 2021 in relation to the Special Autonomy for Papua Province.

“The first agenda of today’s meeting was an evaluation of the welfare development process in Papua. Secondly, the Vice President emphasized that the Law (UU) regarding the expansion has been passed and this law will come into effect after six months, so that next year it must be done at least, “he explained.

When asked by the media about the existence of Papua’s New Autonomous Region (DOB), which will automatically have an influence on welfare development, both infrastructure and budget, Masduki said that the whole thing was still in the planning stage of the related parties. “It’s all still in planning and drafting. All of that has not been finalized and everything is still dissemination of information, “explained Masduki. The spokesman and staff of the Vice President realized that with the expansion of the region in Papua, the community will be divided into two sides, both pro and contra. However, this is a challenge that must be resolved in order to produce an agreement between the parties concerned.

“The public there also has various aspirations, things like that must be integrated so that there are no different perceptions that will create new conflicts,” Masduki said. “Those are things that the Vice President anticipated and reminded him of. Therefore, the expansion of Papua can really become an integral part of the welfare of the Papuan people,” he added.

On the other hand, regarding the Person in Charge (Pj.) for the DOB area, Masduki said that there has been no in depth discussion until now. However, the vice president is currently focused on infrastructure development and maintaining the security of the Papua region so that it can be maintained in a conducive manner. “Nothing is final yet because everything is just input. The Vice President is more concerned with preparatory efforts in the field, especially in building infrastructure and regulations so that there will be no conflict in the area. That’s what the Vice President prioritizes,” said Masduki.

Meanwhile, when he was asked about preparations for the 2024 General Election, Masduki emphasized that there would be plans for further discussions, but so far the government is still focusing on infrastructure preparation for the expansion of regions in Papua. “Until now, it has been more about infrastructure readiness and facing challenges that are not easy,” he concluded.

Development Acceleration

Indonesian House of Representatives Commission II member, Guspardi Gaus, quoting https://carapandang. com/, said that the expansion of the three new autonomous regions in Papua is part of Government efforts to accelerate development and fulfill the welfare of the people of the Land of Cenderawasih. “It is hoped that the expansion of the new provinces will provide great benefits for the Papuan people and provide the government with the political will to achieve a more focused, integrated and sustainable community welfare,” Guspardi said in his statement in Jakarta, Monday.

So far, Guspardi assessed that public services and bureaucratic obstacles were constrained by the vast territory of Papua and inadequate infrastructure. Therefore, he said, with the addition of three new autonomous regions in Papua, it will open access to development that will have an impact on the welfare of the Papuan people.

Guspardi said that the expansion of the territory in Papua is a mandate and implementation of Article 76 of Law Number 2 of 2021 concerning Special Autonomy (Otsus) for Papua. “Law Number 2 of 2021 is a lex specialis. When a moratorium on expansion is carried out in other provinces, Papua Province gets special treatment with the expansion of three new autonomous regions,” he said.

The PAN politician explained that the expansion of the three Papuan new autonomous regions gave a special affirmation to the indigenous Papuans (OAP) by including special rules in the field of the state apparatus. The ASN filling formation will be around 80 percent OAP.

In addition, according to him, the expansion of the three new autonomous regions will for the first time fill the ASN with OAPs who are 48 years old for ASN candidates, and 50 years old for temporary workers. Previously, said Guspardi that the age limits for the two groups was 35 years. Furthermore, the government had also compiled a roadmap in implementing the government administration’s operation in the three new autonomous regions.

“This starts from the inauguration of the acting governor, the inauguration of the province, the management of the ASN, to the formation of the Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP) and so on. This is proof of the government’s partiality in uplifting the dignity of indigenous Papuans (OAP),” he said.

In addition, he said, another form of special attention is that Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives and the Government also agreed that the entire budget for the three Papua New Guineans will be sourced from the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN). Previously, there is an article which reads “if the APBD budget from the parent province is not disbursed to the new autonomous regions, there will be sanctions, namely the Minister of Finance (Menkeu) may cut the regional budget”.

“After considering various things, it was finally decided to remove the sanctions. So, it can be said that the realization of these three Papua DOBs will entirely get its budget from the APBN and will not depend on the APBD,” he said.