The Indonesian government through the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam), Mahfud MD, said that it would add three new areas in Papua so that in the future there are five provinces.
The expansion plan was revealed by Mahfud MD after holding a meeting with the Chairman of the MPR Bambang Soesatyo, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, and representatives of the TNI-Polri at the MPR / DPR RI Building.
According to Mahfud MD, the division of the region in Papua into five provinces is a "mandate of the law" 21 of 2001 concerning the Special Autonomy of Papua Province.
"Revisions will also be made, or affirmation of Article 76 concerning the expansion of the Papua region, which is planned to be divided into 5, plus 3 from the current one. Because that is the mandate of the law," Mahfud told reporters.
In realizing this plan, Mahfud said the government would involve the MPR Papua Caucus, called For Papua, to facilitate communication between the Papuan people and the government.
"Yes, to communicate differences of opinion, reconcile relations that may still be unclear on various issues with the government," Mahfud said.
On the same occasion, the Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly Bambang Soesatyo argued that the division of Papua into five provinces was for the welfare of the Papuan people.
"The issue of regional expansion which has become the mandate of Law 21 of 2001 into five regions later. This objective is to focus more on the welfare of the Papuan people, because Papua is an inseparable part of Indonesia," said Bambang Soesatyo.
The idea of expansion was brought to life when 61 Papuans were invited by President Joko Widodo to the State Palace in September 2019.
Saleh Sangadji, one of the 61 invited by the president, said that the expansion of the South Papua region is important to bring the people of the region closer to the bureaucracy.
Saleh, a resident of Mappi Regency, said that currently there is very little representation of the people of South Papua at the government level, including at the provincial level in Jayapura.
In fact, he said, there are cultural differences between people in South Papua and those living in the north.
With the division of the region, he hoped that the scholars from South Papua could occupy positions in the government and reduce the unemployment rate in the region.
Saleh added that he was sure that regional expansion would bring economic improvement, as well as the quality of education and public health services.
A month after the arrival of 61 Papuans, to be precise on 29 October 2019, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian said there were two aspirations that had entered for the expansion of the Papua region, namely in the region of South Papua and Papua Mountains.
According to him, from the two regions, South Papua is ready to become a new province.
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