By: Moses Waker ) *
The people of Papua strongly support special autonomy because it has provided many benefits. Among them are scholarships for students and university students and funds to build infrastructure in Bumi Cendrawasih. Therefore , Papuan civilians agreed to extend the special autonomy in 2021, because they already felt the benefits.
2021 is a crucial time because there is an extension of special autonomy. This program will continue to be extended for the next 20 years, because the Papuan people have experienced many benefits, namely the construction of the Trans Papua Road and other infrastructure. In addition, they support the special autonomy because there is a rule that the governor and his deputy must be native Papuans, so that they can develop their own regions.
Arkaleus Dowansiba, one of the youth leaders in Manokwari, supports the extension of special autonomy because every government program has a good purpose. It is impossible for the government to make a program that is detrimental to society. In that sense, he represents the voice of the Papuan people about autonomy and benefits from this program.
Archaleus continued, rejecting any provocation that would disturb security, tranquility, and peace. In that sense, otsus should not be disturbed by those who want to harass it. Do not let provocations occur , so that civil society will join in in rejecting the Special Autonomy Volume 2, because they are the ones who will suffer their own losses.
When Otsus volume 1, the government disbursed funds reached 1.2 trillion (per 20 years) and it is predicted that it will be even greater for Special Autonomy Volume 2. So when this program is stopped, development in Papua can be disrupted. Do not let this cause Papua’s condition to be left behind with other regions, because of a lack of funds.
Otsus has provided many benefits and the most viral of which is Jalan Trans Papua . This road makes community mobility faster, so they can save travel time when going to other districts. When mobility is smooth, automatic distribution will also run smoothly, so that it will help the business of Papuan entrepreneurs.
Imagine if the special autonomy was stopped just like that, the construction of the Trans Papua road would be hampered. Because this road is only 95% complete. A project will be very bearable when it is just stopped, only because of a halt in funding problems. Because Otsus is no longer extended.
If the special autonomy is not extended, what will the fate of the Papuan children be? They cannot continue their studies and study because there are no more special autonomy scholarships. Schools and libraries that need to be renovated can also be neglected due to absence and autonomy. So that the special autonomy must be continued, so that they can become smart children.
Otsus is indeed beneficial and Papuans support its extension, but it is hoped that there will be an evaluation so that this program will run even better. Hendrik Krisifu, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Cendrawasih stated that if the special autonomy has shortcomings, then all parties should improve together. In that sense, don’t just blame the government.
All parties, from the local government, traditional elders, to civil society should work together to improve special autonomy. For example, if there is fraud, residents can immediately report it. Or when people need new facilities, they can ask to build them with special autonomy funds. This openness will make the evaluation of otsus successful.
If there is collaboration, then the Special Autonomy Volume 2 will run smoothly. So that in Papua it will be more advanced and no longer synonymous with poverty and underdevelopment. Papua has enormous potential, so development there should be carried out as well as possible.
Special Autonomy for Papua has provided many benefits for the people of Cendrawasih Earth. The extension of the special autonomy was welcomed, and this program had to be re-evaluated so that it could run smoothly. The community is very grateful for the special autonomy funds so that the Papua region can progress further.
) * The author is a Papuan student living in Gorontalo
