Optimization of Special Attention by the Government of Indonesia to Papua through Special Autonomy Volume II

 

The government is considered to have given great attention to development in the Papua and West Papua regions. This can be seen from the amount of SpecialAutonomy (Otsus) funds for the two regions.

Chairman of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) La Nyalla Mahmud Mattalitti said the total autonomy funds for the two regions reached Rp. 138.65 trillion.

 

"The government is very siding with the development of Papua and West Papua and pays special attention"

 

To optimize this attention, good communication and cooperation between the Central Government and Local Governments is needed. This is indicated by the desire of the Papua Provincial Government and the Papua Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD) that they hope that the evaluation of special autonomy will not be carried out partially because it has no impact on society. A number of main aspects expected by regions in the regulation have not been realized.

Papua Provincial Government Assistant II Muhammad Musaad said the 2001 Special Autonomy Law (UU Otsus) should be revised as a solution to solving problems, not the other way around. Therefore, Musaad said, his party hopes that the revision of the Special Autonomy Law will not be very shallow in substance.

He is of the opinion that the draft revision of the Special Autonomy Law prepared by the central government and the DPR is currently ineffective in resolving the Papua problem and is biased. It is known that there are three important points in the Papua Special Autonomy Bill proposed by the government.

First, the government will increase the Papua's special autonomy fund, from the original 2 percent of the general allocation fund (DAU) to 2.25 percent.

Second, the government regulates the guidance and supervision of Papua's special autonomy funds into government regulations (PP). Third, the government can divide regions in Papua without going through the preparatory stages as regulated in the Regional Government Law.

There are only three articles amended in the Papua Special Autonomy Bill, namely Article 1 concerning general definitions, Article 34 concerning sources of regional revenues and balancing funds, and Article 76 concerning regional expansion.

Musaad said that the Papua Provincial Government hopes that there are five main frameworks in the Papua Special Autonomy Bill, namely the existence of authority, institutional structure, finance, policy and politics, law, and human rights (HAM).

He revealed that the Papua Provincial Government has provided these five main frameworks in the draft of the Special Autonomy Plus Law since 2014. However, until now, the draft regulation has not been included in the priority of the National Legislation Program at the DPR.

The chairman of the Special Autonomy Special Committee for the DPRD Papua, Thomas Sondegau, said that his party deeply regretted the attitude of the central government which only revised a few articles in the draft Special Autonomy Law. In fact, the people of Papua are waiting for changes with the revised regulation.

The existence of different views in responding to the revision of Otsus indicates that good communication has not been carried out between the Central Government and the Regional Government. Therefore, it is hoped that the two parties will jointly carry out the discussion along with the involvement of the Papuan community in order to create a good and long-term useful evaluation.

 

Jeffery Sahak

Papuan Observer