Moeldoko Please Hold Pastor's Role In Development And Stability In Papua

Dr. Moeldoko received representatives of the synod of the Indonesian Protestant Church in Papua (GPI Papua) at the Bina Graha Building, Jakarta, Wednesday (22/2). (KSP)

Presidential Chief of Staff Dr. Moeldoko expressed his appreciation to religious leaders, especially in Papua, who have consistently provided support for development programs from the government. According to him, priests and Christian religious leaders play a crucial role for the stability of society in Papua.

The government needs the role of priests from synodes to be a lever for growth in the economic, education and health sectors in Papua. The reason is, priests become the center of public trust. People believe and believe in priests and religious leaders," said Moeldoko when receiving a number of representatives of the synod of the Indonesian Protestant Church in Papua (GPI Papua) at the Bina Graha Building, Jakarta, Wednesday, February 22.

Pastors have an important role in Papua. The advantage of our priests is that they are not only teaching religion, but also caring about education issues, health and the people's economy. On behalf of the Indonesian government, I would like to thank the priests who continue to support the government with all its limitations," added Moeldoko.

In his meeting with the Presidential Chief of Staff, a number of representatives from the Sinode GPI Papua complained about several policies that had an impact on educational institutions or schools built by the Church foundation.

The number of teachers who passed the PPPK selection to public schools, for example, made many private schools, especially those affiliated with the church, experience a shortage of teaching staff. As a result, the teaching and learning and learning process was disrupted.

Even though most schools in Papua are private and built by churches. Children who attend the Church Foundation schools also come from villages with poor economic conditions. So we hope that there will be special attention from the government to schools, especially from the Church Foundation, so that we can be assisted in the recruitment process for teachers," said a representative of the Papua GPI in the Merauke area, Pdt. Soleman Jambormias.

In addition, the priests also conveyed the damaged road infrastructure and the lack of health facilities in the border areas of Merauke and Papua New Guinea.

Responding to this, the Presidential Chief of Staff said that he would immediately coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemdikbud), the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) of the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration.

To Moeldoko the priests asked the government to actively involve the church as a strategic partner in the development process in Papua. They believe that the involvement of the church in issues of education, health and the community's economy will make the implementation of the Special Autonomy policy more effective and on target.