Gerindra Politician Says Papua Needs Development That Respects the Dignity of Indigenous People

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The debate surrounding the documentary film ‘Pesta Babi: Colonialism in Our Time’ should be approached with greater maturity amidst the increasing prevalence of perception warfare in the modern digital era.

According to Azis Subekti, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) from the Gerindra Party faction, nowadays a nation is not always weakened through military force, but also through the gradual shaping of public opinion through media, documentaries, and digital spaces.

“In this day and age, propaganda no longer appears in the form of crude slogans or hate speech. It appears more subtly through visuals, emotions, and narratives that gradually shape how people view their own country,” said Azis in a statement on Friday (15 May 2026).

Azis affirmed that criticism of development in Papua is a legitimate aspect of democracy.

However, he cautioned that criticism must also be ethically responsible to avoid turning into social propaganda that exacerbates public distrust in the state.

“No development should be immune to criticism. But criticism that loses its balance can turn into a manipulation of perception that continuously cultivates suspicion towards the state,” he said.

He believes that the film ‘Pesta Babi’ was born from the tradition of advocacy documentaries, which indeed have a specific social struggle orientation. Therefore, the public needs to approach it with critical awareness.

“This film builds a very strong emotional narrative about South Papua, from the loss of forests, the changing of ancestral lands, to communities that feel marginalized. Some of these concerns are indeed real. But the problem arises when the complexity of Papua is reduced to a simple moral stage between the state as the plunderer and indigenous communities as mere victims,” he said.