By : Timotius Gobay )*
The Indigenous Papuan People (OAP) have become the subject of development in Cenderawasih Earth. They are not mere objects. This is increasingly being realized with the division of regions or New Autonomous Regions (DOB) in Papua, so that the development process can be adjusted according to the needs of the local community.
Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the Republic of Indonesia House of Representatives (DPR RI) from the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction, Luqman Hakim, claims that the existence of a new autonomous region in Papua is intended to prosper the people of Cenderawasih Earth.
In fact, it was the initial plan proclaimed by the Government of Indonesia that the formation of the new autonomous region had the aim of accelerating the achievement of the prosperity and welfare of the people in Papua. according to him, with the expansion of the area it will make development in Cenderawasih Earth more even.
Of course, with the existence of the new autonomous region, services, facilitation and also development that places the Papuan people as the subject of development will become more evenly distributed and be able to reach all the Papuan people more broadly. What’s more, the presence of the new autonomous region has also opened up more space for OAP community participation in many ways.
In the same vein, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Wamendagri), John Wempi Wetipo also really wants to be able to create a platform and also create so that strong encouragement can be achieved for OAP so that they can become subjects of development in Papua Province and not just mere objects, which seem to exist. not considered important.
Unlike the case with development where the community is positioned as the subject, the community also automatically has a stake in how to determine the direction of policy and also the direction of development that will be carried out in the area to become more appropriate and in line with what is really needed by the community itself.
The existence of a new autonomous region that implements Special Autonomy (Otsus), ideally the government is able to continue to increase the active role of all elements of society and is able to create conditions in which society is not used as an object of development, but rather as a whole subject and the development itself really requires an active role. from the local community.
Because one of the main objectives of the existence of special autonomy is to be able to further accelerate the increase in welfare in society. Because with this special autonomy, it can encourage local communities to become far more independent, by giving them their own authority to be able to fully manage and manage their territory according to how the community participates.
In this case, the new autonomous regions and special autonomy in Papua Province are very appropriate because with that, all the development that is taking place in Cenderawasih Earth can really accommodate the voices of the OAP people.
Participation and the active role of the community is very important because in the entire process of implementing development, they themselves know what the social and cultural conditions are like in the local environment so that the development programs launched by the government can really be carried out properly and are far more targeted. , not only using a top-down paradigm, but bottom-up.
With the existence of special autonomy and the Papua New Guinea, the community is no longer an object for regional development and national development carried out by the central government or local regional government, but now the community can understand very well that there is a demand that must be met, namely the right to development. society, where rights are entirely in the hands of the people themselves.
In this case, the government actually only acts as a facilitator for the implementation of development, in fact the participation of the local community in the entire development planning process is the main point, so that OAP is expected and continues to be encouraged so that they can play an active role in providing input, space and space. to the government to carry out development as they wish.
Papuan youth leader Charles Kosay said that the government had evaluated the implementation of special autonomy with the passing of Law (UU) Number 2 of 2021 concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for the Province of Papua. The changes to the Special Autonomy Law have made education, health, governance as well as the development of human resources and infrastructure better.
Through the existence of a new autonomous region or regional expansion in Papua Province, this has been very effective in changing the paradigm of development carried out by the government to increasingly accommodate all voices and aspirations expressed by the community, especially OAP themselves. They have now become the subject of development and not just an object, so that all designs can be adapted to the real needs of society.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Gorontalo
