Papua New Guinea Bill is Ready to be Ratified

The DPR RI claims that it will soon ratify the Three Draft Laws (RUU) for the New Autonomous Region (DOB) for Papua which have been compiled and synchronized. The three bills are the bill for the provinces of South Papua, Central Papua and the Central Highlands of Papua. "On June 28, 2022, it will be decided in a plenary meeting, while on June 30, 2022 it will become a law," said Chairman of Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives Ahmad Doli Kurnia Tandjung to reporters, after holding a meeting with Forkopimda Papua and the Regents and Mayors throughout Central Papua. and Central Highlands Papua at the Horison Hotel, Kotaraja, Jayapura City, Saturday (25/06).

Previously, Commission II of the DPR RI had also held the same meeting to capture the aspirations of the people in Merauke, Friday (24/06) with the Regents throughout the South Papua region. Even though it is ready to be legalized, Doli admits that there are still two problems that currently arise. First, regarding the issue of the capital city of Central Papua Province, which in the draft bill is in Nabire Regency. However, later, there was a rejection from the community and the regional head who asked for the capital to be in Mimika Regency. Second, the issue of the Bintang Mountains Regency where the Regent and the community asked to remain in the mother province of Papua and not to join South Papua or the Central Highlands of Papua.

"We hope not to be divided. So, for example, the regents who represent their respective communities can negotiate and then seek an agreement,” hoped Doli. He explained that the expansion of the Papua province had been discussed and prepared for a long time. "Especially the division of the South Papua Province was 20 years ago," he said. Over the past few years, I Doli, the DPR RI has also absorbed the aspiration that the desire to accelerate development is one of the most effective ways to expand Papua, not only in the province, but also in districts and cities. According to him, the intensity of the division of Papua was concrete during the discussion of the Special Autonomy Law for Papua Volume II, which later resulted in the Special Autonomy Law No. 2 of 2021. Commission II of the DPR RI then communicated with the government and finally handed over the initiative right to Commission II of the DPR RI.

Prepare 5 bills

Doli admitted, even before that his party had prepared 5 academic texts and 5 complementary bills, so that the land in Papua was divided into 7 regions or 7 provinces. "But then because we really have limited fiscal capacity, it was agreed that the government should encourage 3 provinces first, maybe in the near future there will be one more and the next stage will be a complete 5 provinces," he explained. The Deputy Chairperson of the Golkar Party emphasized that Commission II has followed the legal and political administrative process until June 21, 2022, already has an official draft related to the Papua New Guinea Bill which must be discussed with the government and DPD RI.

"In principle, the discussion of this law is almost finished, but of course we have to enrich the principles that we have agreed on in the bill by absorbing the aspirations of the people," he said. In order to capture people's aspirations, said Doli, some time ago he invited the Governor of Papua, the leadership of the Papuan DPR, the leadership of the MRP to Jakarta. "There are also many inputs related to the new autonomous regions that they convey the aspirations of the community, such as about ASN, protection of Papuan Indigenous People (OAP), maintaining customs, accelerating the development process, the effects of expansion, do not let this expansion marginalize OAP and then there will be large-scale migration. and others. But this will continue even though there will be division later on,” he said. He added that the division in Papua was based on specificity with the legal basis being the Special Autonomy Law for Papua. This is different from the expansion in other regions that use Law No. 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government.

After the law on the division of Papua was passed, Doli asked the local government to prepare a road map or work plan for the division of these 3 provinces, until the province was independent, and had an established government, then supported by good office facilities. "So even if we decide that it will become a law on the division of Papua, the problem is not over yet, because there is still a long way to go. This is still early, so Commission II of the DPR RI is committed to continuing to oversee it," concluded Doli.

SOURCE: https://time.online/7902-2/