Some residents in West Papua Indonesia expressed their aspirations for expansion so that their regions could be more developed. One of them is the Meyah Mountains which are included in the Arfak regency. The following is the info on the Meyah Mountains expansion in West Papua.
Peaceful Action to Deliver Aspirations for Expansion of Meyah Mountains
The Meyah Mountains community has expressed their aspirations regarding expanding the Meyah Mountains district as a Daerah Otonomi Baru (New Autonomous Region) since early 2019.
Furthermore, one of the ways to convey these aspirations was by carrying out a peaceful demonstration in front of the district regent’s office in the Anggi district.
Meanwhile, the peaceful demonstration began with a long march along Jalan Drs. Dominggus Mandacan. Besides, hundreds of residents wore local traditional costumes from the three districts of Pegaf regency (Catubou, Testega, and Didohu), and several other Preparatory Districts participated in the demonstration.
According to Matthew Dowansiba, the expansion preparation team, the gap between their regency’s geographical area and the main district’s small budget has resulted in the need for several regions, including the Meyah Mountains, to become new autonomous regions.
That way, physical development, and human resources can get more attention and become more advanced. Maitus also added that the Meyah Mountains had fulfilled the requirements as a division area. The conditions included the area, population, natural resources, as well as the number of districts and villages.
1. Area
The prospective regency of Meyah has an area of around 1600 hectares.
2. Population
Additionally, the total population in the region was 13,254 in 2019 and is likely to have increased in the coming years.
3. Districts and Villages
Besides that, the Meyah Mountains also have 103 villages, 5 districts, and 8 preparatory districts.
4. Other Requirements
Apart from geographic and demographic requirements, other requirements for expansion are administrative requirements and the availability of government and public facilities such as schools, markets, health centers, places of worship, and so on.
The West Papua DPR Accepts the Aspirations of Meyah Mountains Expansion
After the people of the Meyah Mountains, through several representatives and the expansion team chaired by Matias Dowansiba, conveyed their aspirations for the expansion of the Meyah Mountains to the West Papua DPRD (Provincial Legislative Council), this proposal finally received a favorable response.
Downsiba said that the West Papua DPRD would follow up on the proposal of Meyah Mountains Regency by conveying these aspirations to Commission II of the DPR RI (The House of Representatives of Republic Indonesia) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Kemendagri).
The chairman of the West Papua DPRD, Orgenes Wonggor, said that his party would push forward the aspirations for the expansion of the Meyah Mountains in Papua and 17 other new autonomous regions to Commission II of the DPR RI and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Wonggor also pushed for the expansion of Meyah Mountains districts and several villages as a fulfillment of the requirements for expansion. The three district divisions in the Meyah Mountains which will also be discussed, include the Central Wariori district, the Bamoi district, and the Maidodga district.
Previously, the DPR RI had also received aspirations for the division of 11 new autonomous regions (DOB) in West Papua and 6 new autonomous regions in Southwest Papua, some of which were:
- West Manokwari Regency
- Bintuni Municipality
- Arguni Bay District
- Fak-fak Municipality
- Malmoi District
- Southern Raja Ampat Regency, etc
Finally, the Chairperson of the West Papua DPRD hopes that the Meyah Mountains expansion in West Papua, along with the expansion of other districts and regencies, can get the support of all parties so that it can be realized immediately. That way, it also can accelerate development immediately.
