Gabriel Asem, born on October 26, 1963, is a politician from the Golongan Karya Party who served as regent (Indonesian: bupati) of Tambrauw for the period 2017-2022. Asem was elected regent for the region in two elections: the 2011 and 2017 ones.
Also called Gebi, he previously worked as a civil servant in the Tambrauw Regency Government to oversee regional revenues, assets, and finances. Check out his educational history, organizational experience, political career and more.
Education Background
Asem was born and raised in Kebar, West Irian. Growing up, he and his family moved frequently, causing Young Asem to attend many schools in different areas. From the age of eight to fourteen, Asem lived in Tambrauw, where he attended a Christian primary school.
Later, he attended the prestigious Fakfak school of Santo Don Bosco Junior High School. After graduating from Santo Agustinus High School in Sorong in 1984, Asem left Papua for college, enrolling at Ujung Pandang College of Economics (Indonesian: Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi) in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
In 2005, Asem enrolled at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, where he excelled as a student, earning his master’s in Development Economics with a focus on Regional Finance.
It was specifically because of this higher education that Asem gained the knowledge, skills, and experience that helped him in his future career as the leader of Tambrauw.
Organizational Experience
To this day, Asem has been part of many organizations. He first started as general manager of the Indonesian Youth National Committee (Indonesian: Komite Nasional Pemuda Indonesia or KNPI) for Sorong in 2004.
During his college years, he was also active in organizations, besides focusing on his studies. In fact, Asem was the head of the Christian Student Family (Indonesian: Keluarga Mahasiswa Kristiani or KMK). The club aimed to foster fellowship among Christian students within the Graduate School of Gadjah Mada University.
Flying back to Papua, he joined a parish council in Sorong and assumed the role of general manager. This was circa 2009 to 2016. Around the same time, Asem was appointed to head a local intelligence community for Tambrauw.
His most recent experience is working as a general chairperson of the Gadjah Mada University alumni community for West Papua. He has been responsible for overseeing the activities of the community since 2018. His duty also includes maintaining an overall relationship between all alumni.
Political Careers
Throughout his life, Asem got his hands on several occupations. He started out as a civil servant in the Sorong Regency Government. His last position required him to head a division that oversees regional revenues, assets, and finances.
In 2011, Gebi made history as the first definitive regent in Tambrauw. Together with Yohanes Yembra, he defeated three other candidates in that year’s election with a total of over 6,000 votes.
Asem made a lot of buzzes during his first term. Many cite him for the rapid infrastructure growth in Tambrauw despite the tight budget. He also successfully built a micro-hydro power plant that lights up to 3,000 houses in Tambrauw.
Among other achievements were the erection of eight telecommunications towers, an airport, three government-owned inns, and a district head office.
Because of his great success in the first term, eight of the nine political parties in the Regional People’s Representative Council (Indonesian: Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah) for Tambrauw re-elected him as regent. Asem’s second term ended in 2022.
Awards
On August 17, 2017, President Joko Widodo awarded Asem a Satyalancana Pembangunan, a high-standing award that recognizes efforts to advance underdeveloped regions.
The President considered Asem as an influential figure in West Papua who relentlessly encouraged development in the area, especially in Tambrauw. In fact, he has always included the development of the mountainous and coastal areas in Tambrauw in his work plans.Since the beginning of his tenure in 2011, Gabriel Asem has paid more attention to Tambrauw’s remoteness and how to break through it.
