The House of Representatives (DPR RI) passed three bills on the establishment of three new provinces in Papua into law during a plenary session at the Parliament Complex here on Thursday.
“Can the bills on the establishment of South Papua, Central Papua, and Papua Pegunungan provinces be passed as law?” Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad asked during the plenary session and was greeted with unanimous approval from the members of parliament.
Meanwhile, DPR RI Commission II chair Ahmad Doli Kurnia said that the three provincial bills were drafted according to Law No. 2 of 2021 on Special Autonomy for Papua Province.
Article 76 Paragraph 2 of the law allows the government and the parliament to establish new autonomous regions to expedite equitable development, improve public services and residents’ welfare, and bolster the dignity of the Papuan people, he pointed out.
Political, administrative, legal, social, and cultural aspects, as well as human resources, basic infrastructures, economic abilities, and the aspirations of the Papuan people have been considered during the bills’ drafting, the legislator said.
Kurnia informed that the first reading of the bills took place at a working meeting on Tuesday (June 28, 2022), with all parliamentary factions, Committee I of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD RI), and the government agreeing to advance the bill to the second reading.
“Special autonomy in Papua does not only address conflicts but also advances development throughout Papua,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said that the new provinces have been proposed by the Papuan people, who have delivered their aspirations to various authorities, including the president, the ministry, the parliament, and political parties.
Karnavian expressed the hope that the new Papua province laws would serve as a concrete legal basis for regional administration in the early stages of the formation of the three new provinces.
Source: Antara News