“If there is no data on Indigenous Papuans, it will be hard for the government to make planning for special policies in Papua,” he said here on Tuesday.
He expressed support for the governments of West Papua province and Manokwari District, which have started the data collection.
In collecting data, regional governments can collaborate and cooperate with other stakeholders, such as Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and academicians.
Those parties have the capabilities in research methodology to segregate those who are Indigenous Papuans and those who are not.
“Carrying out Indigenous Papuans’ data collection actually does not take a long time because the population is not that large,” he said.
He further said that data collection requires a simple approach because Indigenous Papuans have characteristics that make them different from others.
Indigenous Papuans have social communities and a clearly defined culture so the data collection can be carried out by observing the tribes of the communities.
Head of the Population and Civil Registration Office of West Papua, Ria Maria Come, said that her office will maximize the data collection on Indigenous Papuans by utilizing an information system application.
The office is coordinating with the West Papua People's Assembly and the Customary Council to obtain data on Indigenous Papuan clans.
The provincial government, Come said, is targeting to complete the collection of data on the names and addresses of Indigenous Papuans across West Papua this year.
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Translator: Ali Nur, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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