The government is building Papua massively so that there is equity from Sabang to Merauke. To make the development of Cendrawasih Earth successful, traditional leaders and religious leaders play an important role. When they support the government, development in Papua will run smoothly, and they will also receive support from local residents.
The intensive development in Papua since the reign of President Jokowi has made the people very satisfied. Leaders in Bumi Cendrawasih also agreed that development should continue. The goal is that development in Papua will be more equitable and people’s incomes will increase.
In developing Papua, religious leaders and traditional leaders play a major role in making it successful. Acting Governor of Southwest Papua Muhammad Musa’ad asked religious leaders and traditional leaders in his area to take an active role in supporting and succeeding every development policy implemented by the government.
Musa’ad continued, religious and traditional leaders have an important role in every development, every realization of development policies by the local government is inseparable from the support and participation of religious and traditional leaders to ensure the optimization of this development.
The government, religious leaders and traditional leaders are an inseparable part. These three components must work together to develop the region and ensure that every government policy is properly and optimally realized for the welfare of the community.
Religious figures play a role in the spiritual and spiritual life of the people. Meanwhile, traditional leaders are more concerned with how to instill noble cultural values. The government will look holistically through various development programs in one direction, namely the well-maintained welfare of the community.
Pastor Nekies Kogoya, a religious leader from the Dani tribe, expressed his support for development in Papua. According to him, development will bring many positive changes, namely development in all fields on the Earth of Cendrawasih. As a result, people will be more advanced and prosperous. He also declared loyalty and obedience to Indonesia.
Support from religious leaders is very influential because they are important people in society. If a religious leader approves of regional expansion, then his congregation will automatically follow suit. The entire Papuan people will support the plan to add a new autonomous region.
Meanwhile, Papuan community leaders agreed to extend the special autonomy. Ondoafi (traditional village head) Enggros Tobati City of Jayapura Herman Hamadi stated that development in Papua must be supported, because it has proven to bring prosperity to the people of Papua. This can be done by extending the special autonomy program. This program is also useful for development in Cendrawasih Earth to progress.
Meanwhile, the traditional leader of Bagia Pir Village 3, Keerom Regency, Francis Keerom, is of the opinion that Papuans should not reject massive development. Because this program boosts the progress of society. Development also includes the central government’s concern for the Cendrawasih Land.
Traditional leaders support the development of Papua by means of extending the special autonomy because they see it as the concern of the central government. Since Indonesia’s independence, new developments have been carried out in western Indonesia. After the existence of the special autonomy program, Papua as the eastern part of Indonesia was also massively developed, so that its infrastructure would be more advanced and its people intelligent.
Even though the development of Papua by way of extending the special autonomy is widely supported, it still needs evaluation. The goal is for this program to be perfected, so that the funds can be absorbed directly into the community. So there are no more stories of an area in Papua where the people go hungry when their crops fail. Because the special autonomy funds are given not only for development, but also agriculture education to farmers.
According to the Indigenous Leader of Skori Village, Jayapura Regency, Demianus Kedubrung, an evaluation of the special autonomy program must be carried out so that it runs optimally. So there is strict supervision, which ensures that the funds are disbursed on target. So far, he agrees that special autonomy is useful, because it is useful for the health and education sectors in Papua.
Strict supervision is needed so that there is no misappropriation of the budget. Because the funds for the special autonomy program are very large, up to billions of rupiah, so if there are rogue elements they can be prone to corruption. All parties, from the police to the Corruption Eradication Commission, are also required to work together to oversee the operation of the Special Autonomy so that it runs smoothly, without any cases of budget leakage.
In addition to evaluation and supervision, it is necessary to hold a mentoring program, so that special autonomy volume 2 is successful. In the education sector, experts can be brought in to build schools that are not only physically good but also have a good curriculum. So that Papuan children can learn comfortably and the teaching process is fun.
Religious leaders and community leaders have a big role in development in Papua. They have high charisma and influence, so that development is 100% successful. Papua must be developed massively, and one of the ways is by extending the special autonomy program. With development that is evenly distributed throughout Papua, the community will have a better economy.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Makassar
