JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud MD, said he heard several parties who thought Papua's tax revenues were transferred to the state's needs. However, Mahfud emphasized that this was not true.
"Often people gossip about taxes on rich Papuans. Their assets are recruited for the needs of the state, Papua is poor, they don't get it. That's not true", Mahfud Mahfud said in a press conference at his office, Wednesday, May 19.
Mahfud described the data to prove this rebuttal. He said income from Papua taxes, both Papuan companies operating in Jakarta and operating in Papua itself, amounted to IDR 12.6 trillion. Meanwhile, the expenditure budget is IDR 46.1 trillion.
Then, tax and customs revenue in West Papua are IDR 5.5 trillion. Meanwhile, the expenditure spent by the central government is IDR 19.2 trillion.
Thus, Mahfud considered it impossible for the government to extract Papua's wealth when the expenditure budget was greater than revenue.
"That is a general policy, the government continues to implement a policy of welfare, peace without violence, and guns or weapons. That is the basic principle", said Mahfud.
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Furthermore, Mahfud said, President Joko Widodo issued Presidential Instruction Number 9 of 2020 concerning the Acceleration of Welfare Development in Papua and West Papua Provinces.
"The government implements Presidential Instruction Number 9 of 2020 which contains instructions for handling Papua with a welfare approach through comprehensive and multi-dimensional development", he said.
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