We hope that the establishment of the new provinces will be a game changer to accelerate the (improvement of) welfare and security in Papua.Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has said that he expects the ratification of the Southwest Papua Province Bill to speed up the issuance of the Government Regulation in Lieu of the Law (Perppu) concerning General Elections.
During a visit to Semarang city, Central Java province, on Friday, he stated that had the bill not been ratified, the government would have had to postpone the general elections in Southwest Papua province till 2025 instead of holding them simultaneously with other provinces in 2024.
During a plenary session on Thursday (November 17, 2022), the House of Representatives (DPR) passed the Law on the Establishment of Southwest Papua Province, making it the 38th province of Indonesia.
Hence, the government is drafting the Perppu to accommodate the changes in the number of electoral districts as well as the structure of the regional legislative bodies in the newly formed provinces of Southwest Papua, South Papua, Central Papua, and Highland Papua.
"We hope that the establishment of the new provinces will be a game changer to accelerate the (improvement of) welfare and security in Papua," the Vice President remarked.
It is hoped that through the formation of the new autonomous regions (DOBs), public services for the people in Papua can be carried out faster and the regions can further develop their potential, he said.
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The government will also create a Master Plan for Accelerating the Development of Papua Special Autonomy Regions to bolster equitable development in the regions, he added.
Currently, the government is preparing civil servants (ASN) who will work in the regions, he continued.
He said he hoped that 80 percent of the ASN are natives.
According to Article 93 of Government Regulation Number 106 of 2021 on the authority and institutional implementation of the special autonomy policy for Papua province, the establishment of the DOBs is aimed at expediting equitable development, improving public services and community welfare, as well as strengthening the dignity of indigenous Papuans (OAP).
After the plenary session on the approval of the Law on the Establishment of Southwest Papua Province, DPR Speaker Puan Maharani asked the government to immediately complete the Perppu on General Elections on account of the formation of a number of DOBs in Papua.
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Translator: Desca Natalia, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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