Jayapura – During the DPD RI Plenary Session for the 2025–2026 legislative period, a senator from Southwest Papua, Paul Finsen Mayor, delivered an interjection highlighting concerns over the direction of development policies in the Papua region. He emphasized that Papuans are still in urgent need of basic facilities, particularly in the education and healthcare sectors, rather than the expansion of military-related infrastructure.
Paul Finsen stated that the aspirations of Indigenous Papuan communities clearly reject several central government plans, including the opening of large-scale plantation areas and the addition of Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) units or bases linked to the national food security program. According to him, such policies fail to address the real needs of communities on the ground.
He stressed that the people of Papua need the presence of adequate schools and proper hospitals to genuinely improve their quality of life.
“Papua does not lack security personnel, but it lacks access to education and healthcare services,” he said during the plenary session, while urging that this message be conveyed directly to the President and the central government.
Furthermore, he reminded lawmakers that the spirit of the Papua Special Autonomy Law should serve as the foundation for determining development priorities—namely, strengthening human resources through education and healthcare, rather than expanding a security-based approach.
“Papua today does not need additional headquarters or battalions, but schools and hospitals whose benefits can truly be felt by the people,” the senator from Papua asserted during his interjection at the DPD RI Plenary Session.
“What the people of Papua need is decent education and accessible healthcare services, not development policies that instead widen the gap between the state and its citizens,” he continued.
In response to the interjection, the DPD RI leadership stated that all members’ aspirations would be officially recorded and followed up. The DPD RI also indicated that there is an opportunity to directly convey these concerns to the President during upcoming meetings and consultation agendas.
