21 years of special autonomy have produced a solid foundation for the future of Papua

The implementation of the Special Autonomy for Papua 21 years ago has laid a strong foundation for this province to continue development in various fields in the future.

Otsus Papua is now even 21 years old, referring to Law no. 21 of 2001, which was later refined by Law no. 2 of 2021 concerning the Special Autonomy for Papua.

During the more than 2 decades of Special Autonomy or Special Autonomy for Papua, the freedom granted by the Central Government to Papua Province is considered to have brought about various changes, both in the social, political, economic, socio-cultural, defense and security, law and human rights fields.

The Papua Special Autonomy Law is the granting of broad authority to the province and the people of Papua to regulate and manage themselves within the framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Wider authority also means greater responsibility for the province and the people of Papua to administer the government and regulate the utilization of natural resources for the greatest possible prosperity for the people of Papua.

As for the Papua Special Autonomy Law No. 2 of 2021 aims to accelerate the pace of development and increase the distribution of development for the welfare of the people in the Land of Papua.

The amendment to the Papua Special Autonomy Law aims to reduce inter-regional disparities in Papua by opening new autonomous regions through a bottom-up and top-down regional structuring approach while still prioritizing the principles of democracy and efficiency.

Special autonomy, which aims to improve people's welfare, is also intended to address the social problems of the Papuan people.

The granting of the Papua Special Autonomy Law can be seen as a middle way or the result of a political compromise over social turmoil in Papuan society after the reformation or after the New Order regime fell in 1998.

Along the way, it has not been easy to realize the Special Autonomy Law for Papua because there were many initial problems that had arisen when the discussion on the special autonomy was carried out by the Indonesian Parliament together with the government.

However, after running for 21 years, the granting of Special Autonomy for Papua has affected social change and development in Papua.

Special Autonomy changes

Since the return of the Province of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya) to joining the Unitary Republic of Indonesia on May 1, 1963, the most basic thing the Papuan people have faced is the difficulty in establishing relations between regions because the only access is by air or plane transportation.

Likewise, the availability of road infrastructure that connects between villages, districts and regencies is still very limited so that people in Tanah Papua when going to meet relatives or for other purposes have to travel overland with days to a week to reach their destination.

Before the Special Autonomy for Papua was enacted, indigenous Papuans did not receive priority in increasing human resources through education. This condition continued until the beginning of the 1999 Reformation.

However, after the implementation of Special Autonomy, native Papuans have the opportunity to enjoy education easily, cheaply and evenly. This facility is enjoyed by urban communities and has touched remote villages and districts.

The problem with health services was that before Papua's Special Autonomy, residents in remote areas had to travel days to get treatment at health service facilities from health centers or auxiliary health centers or pustu to government hospitals. Now the people of Papua can get better health services than before.

In the DPRP political institution before the implementation of the Special Autonomy for Papua, native Papuans when they wanted to become representatives of the people had to first register as candidates for a particular party and be elected through general elections.

However, the current situation has changed after the enactment of the Papua Special Autonomy Law. To become a people's representative in the DPRP institution for indigenous Papuans, they can get a special ration for legislative members through the appointment of Otsus Papua to the district/city DPRK level.

The cultural institution of the Papuan People's Council, with the provisions of the Papua Special Autonomy Law, is a place for community service for indigenous Papuans through election routes according to customary territories with representation of adat, women and religion.

In fact, in 2022 the Government of the Republic of Indonesia together with the Indonesian Parliament have created four new autonomous regions in the Land of Papua through the implementation of Law no. 2 of 2021 concerning the Special Autonomy for Papua.

The four new autonomous regions in the Land of Papua that have been divided, namely the Provinces of the Highlands of Papua, Central Papua, South Papua, and most recently the Province of Southwest Papua.

Meanwhile in the TNI/Polri organizational units, the portion of recruitment for TNI/Polri soldiers for native Papuans has received special attention from the institutions concerned. The TNI/Polri provide quotas for appointing native Papuans, varying up to 70 percent for native Papuans.

In fact, in 2021, the Papua Regional Police have carried out a special recruitment of 2,000 Polri personnel for indigenous Papuans.

As for airport transportation facilities, before the implementation of Special Autonomy, many airports in a number of areas could only be served by pilot flights of the small Twin Otter aircraft, Cesna.

However, after the implementation of the Special Autonomy for Papua, a number of airports in Papua, including the airport near Yahukimo, Moses Kilanggin Airport, Timika, Nabire Airport, Theys Hiyo Eluay Sentani Airport, began to be renovated by the government through the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation, increasing the length of the runway so that large Boeing type aircraft can be accommodated. 737 NG to Airbus 320 wide body aircraft.

Likewise seaport facilities, port supporting infrastructure facilities have also begun to be improved up to the renovation of ship passenger terminal buildings in districts/cities.

Leader commitment

The Central Government under the leadership of President Joko Widodo for the first period from 2014-2019 and continued for the second period from 2019-2024 has changed the face of Papua in a more hopeful direction.

Since President Jokowi was elected President of the Republic of Indonesia, until now the concern and concern for the development of the Province of Papua has been enormous in an effort to improve the welfare of the people in the Land of Papua.

Since the beginning of the Special Autonomy for Papua, until now, the government has disbursed large funds of up to IDR 1,000 trillion for the development of basic community infrastructure facilities, such as education, health, livable houses, electricity, and clean water.

This includes building internet network communication facilities to staple food needs, which get a large portion of the policies and budget allocations.

During the 21 years since the implementation of special autonomy, the government and the Papuan people have succeeded in laying a solid foundation to build a brighter future for the Papuan people.

"It takes commitment and firmness from regents, mayors, and governors in implementing the Papua Special Autonomy Law, in order to achieve its goals," said the Head of the Administration and Special Autonomy Sub-Sector of the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Papua Province, Edy Wai.

The Papua Special Autonomy Fund, which is fully managed and utilized by the district/city, should be able to accelerate the increase in the welfare of indigenous Papuans.

Papua's Special Autonomy fund support for regional development has so far made a major contribution to increasing the welfare of the people in the Land of Papua.

The Papua Special Autonomy Fund is disbursed in large amounts in each district/city with the aim of increasing the welfare of the indigenous Papuan people, among other things, for education, health, basic citizen infrastructure, roads, healthy homes, and family economic empowerment.

Deputy Chairman of the Biak DPRD Andrianus Mambobo acknowledged that changes to the Papua Special Autonomy Law had an impact on all aspects of the lives of indigenous Papuans.

The Special Autonomy Fund will be even more efficient when the managers of the government's budget have a conscience and honestly realize this budget solely for the welfare of the people of Papua.

SOURCE : https://papua.antaranews.com/berita/695029/21-tahun-otsus-hasilkan-fondasi-kokoh-untuk-masa-depan-papua