Minister Of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian: Papua With The 8th Largest Budget In All Of Indonesia With A Population Of Less Than 5 Million People

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mohammad Mahfud MD and Minister of Home Affairs Muhammad Tito Karnavian inspecting the border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, Sota District, Merauke Regency, Papua (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian said that Papua's special autonomy fund rose 2.25 percent from the national general allocation fund and is the region with the eighth largest budget nationally.

"Papua has the eighth largest budget in all of Indonesia with a population of less than five million people," said the Minister of Home Affairs during a working visit with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mohammad Mahfud MD at the border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, Sota District, Merauke Regency, Papua, reported by Antara, Sunday, September 13.

The Minister of Home Affairs gave an example that compared to his area in South Sumatra with a population of over 12 million people, the budget is not as high as in Papua.

He said that Papua has a much wider area compared to Java, so there is specificity for accelerating development.

According to him, the spirit of Papua's progress is the acceleration of development. In that context, aspirations have been screened and there are several aspirations regarding the expansion of new autonomous regions.

The people's aspirations, he said, were that Papua would be added to three provinces, one of which was South Papua, then Central Papua, the Mamta area, and the northern part of which the capital city is still debating between Timika or Nabire.

"We will revise the Papua Special Autonomy Law, in Papua there must be an acceleration of development by responding to the aspirations of regional expansion," he said.

He added that according to the direction of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, his party discussed and prepared government regulations with a deadline of October 19. Then it was rounded up again by hearing the aspirations of the people from below.