Ciddis.co, JAKARTA – Public Policy Observer, Saiful said that currently in Papua there are two provinces, namely Papua and West Papua. Even though the area of Papua is very large, which is approximately 312,221 km2.
According to Saiful, if there are only two provinces, of course, many development problems will arise, including the complexity of the geographical conditions of road access, health, education which are not proportional to the population, resulting in the problem of infrastructure distribution.
“So it is very appropriate if the expansion of the Papua region is a solution to accelerate development that we must all work together,” said Saiful in the ICF Live Talkshow on Radio Muara, East Jakarta, Friday, June 25, 2021.
Saiful explained that the legal basis for the division was clear in Article 26 of Law 21/2001 that the division of Papua into a province was carried out with the approval of the MRP and the DPRP after paying close attention to the socio-cultural unity of human and economic readiness and development in the future.
“The benefits of regional expansion, first with the new province, are clear. Public facilities will increase for the welfare of the local people. Two will have a positive impact on children because educational facilities will be built. Third, access to administrative management is closer, such as ID cards, family cards, etc.,” he explained.
Bonny Mandolang, Chairman of JPKP, added that the government could expand provincial regions into autonomous regions to accelerate equitable development, increase public services, and improve community welfare, by paying attention to socio-cultural unity, readiness of human resources, and future developments.
“I agree with Pa Saiful that the regional expansion aims to accelerate development and improve people’s welfare,” he said.