By : Ones Yikwa )*
When Joko Widodo (Jokowi) served as President of the Republic of Indonesia, it was recorded that he was the one who visited Papua the most often, Jokowi even visited Nduga Regency, an area the president had never visited at all. Of course, it is not an exaggeration if the Papuan people call Jokowi the best president.
Edo Kondologit, who is a singer from Papua, said that Jokowi was the best president the Indonesian nation had. It has been proven that during the 9 years of Jokowi’s leadership, development in Papua has accelerated. Not only physical development but human resource development is also being accelerated for the progress of Papua.
This is confirmed based on the results of a survey conducted by the Indonesian Voter Institute (LPI), the majority of Papuan youth are satisfied with President Jokowi’s performance regarding the development carried out in Papua. The survey aims to measure the performance of the Jokowi government regarding policies towards Papuan youth.
One of the things that makes Papuan youth proud is the existence of the Papua Youth Creative Hub (PYCH), this development is proof of the great attention of the government in the Jokowi era in accommodating Papuan youth. This is of course proof of Jokowi’s commitment to encouraging the welfare and progress of young Papuans.
The PYCH building, which was built on two floors with a total area of 5,392 m2 and 3,000 m2 of green space, is equipped with sports facilities such as futsal and basketball courts. It is of course hoped that these facilities will be able to capture the talents and interests of young Papuans in the field of sports.
It should be noted that President Jokowi has firmly stated that the development carried out by the current government is Indonesia-centric and Papua is one of the development priorities.
In development in the education sector, the government has also disbursed Special Autonomy (Otsus) funds to make it happen. The Special Autonomy budget is not only in the form of physical buildings, but also in the form of scholarships for Papuan sons and daughters who excel. The Special Autonomy Scholarship is given so that Papuan children can receive education at school from elementary to high school, even to university.
Thanks to this development in the education sector, young Papuan people have emerged who can achieve their dreams of becoming members of the TNI or Police. Even those who have graduated from college certainly have a greater chance of getting a job with a high salary. Moreover, education is a long-term investment and human resource improvement programs can change the mindset of the Papuan people about the importance of education.
A number of developments have also been carried out in Papua, starting from the construction of the Trans Papua Road and border roads, the construction and revitalization of airports, to the construction of border areas and state border crossing posts (PLBN).
On the previous occasion, the President’s special staff who is also a native Papuan from the Saireri traditional region, Billy Mambrasar, gave a firm response to people who doubted President Jokowi’s commitment to developing the Easternmost Archipelago. During his reign, Jokowi has prioritized the development of superior infrastructure and Human Resources (HR) as part of a large framework for solving problems in Papua.
Apart from infrastructure, Jokowi also implemented policies such as “One Price Fuel”, as a concrete manifestation of energy distribution in Indonesia. Because it was previously thought that there was a difference in fuel prices between Papua and outside Papua, underdeveloped, frontier and outermost (3T) areas became the government’s focus in implementing the One Price Fuel program. The presence of one price fuel is something that people in Papua have been waiting for. This is what ultimately allows the Papuan people to buy subsidized fuel at cheaper and more affordable prices.
Public Policy Observer Imron Cotan sees something extraordinary about the massive infrastructure development in Papua. This infrastructure development makes the distribution and marketing chain of goods and agricultural products faster and distribution costs can be reduced.
He also explained the condition of Papua several decades ago. Where at that time the price of fuel was expensive, now the price of fuel in Papua is the same price as fuel on the island of Java. Medan, which was initially only accessible by air transportation, can now be accessed by road thanks to the long roads built by the government. Like the Trans-West Papua Road for example, since it was built in 2018, its length has now reached 1,071 km. It’s all connected.
The rapid development carried out by the Jokowi era government shows that the government’s commitment to developing Papua is no joke. Development in Papua is a concrete effort by the government to advance Papua. This is what makes the Papuan people think that Jokowi is the best President for the Papuan people.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Makassar
