goodmorningpapua.com – The government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) continues to develop infrastructure in Papua. This policy is a manifestation of Jokowi’s great concern for the Earth of Cenderawasih. “All Indonesian presidents pay attention to Papua. We must appreciate and respect.
But with full of humility, nothing is as big as President Jokowi’s concern,” said a former Indonesian LBBP Ambassador to New Zealand, Samoa, the Kingdom of Tonga, Cook Islands and Nieu for the 2017-2021 period, Tantowi Yahya, Sunday (15/5/2022). Tantowi said that Jokowi visited Papua more than 13 times and touched the hands of the Papuan people, seeing and experiencing the conditions and situations there. Jokowi is not a president who easily believes his subordinates’ reports, for that he is sometimes reckless to challenge danger.
“Jokowi is the father of development for Papua. He built more than 3,000 km of roads and toll roads, bridges, ports and airports in an effort to remove isolation and cut the high-cost economy. He wants the Papuan people to enjoy development as much as the Indonesian people in other places,” he said.
As stated by him, many people scorn Jokowi’s attitude but Papua needs a president with a concrete program. That’s why Jokowi kept going. In the context of Papua, Pak Jokowi’s principle is “I know better for which I know what to do.”
“Hopefully this is just a concern. The next president must have the same love for Papua, Alhamdullilah if possible to be more. What I’m posting here is a snippet of President Jokowi’s big speech about Papua which he delivered in Wellington, 19 March 2018 in front of more than 1,000 Indonesians in New Zealand who came from all over. The public response was enthusiastic and I was proud as the Indonesian Ambassador at that time,” he said.
As a lover of Papua, Tantowi prays that Papua will continue to be a concern of the government under the next President of Indonesia. Affirmation of development in Papua only occurs if the president has a passion for the two easternmost provinces. “Papua is Indonesia, Indonesia is Papua,” said Tantowi.