"The potential of young Papuans must be empowered. There are many intelligent children in Papua that can be empowered by the regional government," Effendy stated during a national seminar titled "Towards an Advanced Papua" in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He also drew attention to several young Papuans, who have graduated from well-known universities in Indonesia with vast potential to be actively involved in the region's development.
So far, several of them do not have space for involvement in developing their region, Effendy remarked.
"Because they are not given enough space to develop in Papua. They cannot make a concrete contribution there. We must solve the problem," the minister emphasized.
Effendy expressed belied that if leaders in Papua are able to send their own children to well-known universities or military and police academies, then they should also be able to educate their community's children.
"That way, the local community can also gain the benefit," he remarked.
The minister then outlined cultural, awareness, and social approaches as important to be implemented to overcome development delays in Papua.
Effendy noted that these three approaches are much more effective than the security methods applied so far.
"We have to take serious sides with what has been established, including the president's vision while launching the development of Trans-Papua. That must be followed up and finished," he emphasized.
Meanwhile, Acting Governor of South Papua, Apolo Safanpo, stated that his side welcomed efforts made by the central government to encourage development of the Papua region.
He admitted that Papua needed to take steps to accelerate development owing to the lack of growth in several aspects.
"We need to accelerate development in Papua because there is quite a gap with other regions," Safanpo remarked.
Related news: Up to one thousand Papuan students can intern in Europe: Kadin
Related news: Three Papuan students get Prasetiya Mulya University scholarship
Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
