Ministry of Home Affairs Confirms OAP Data Will Underpin Policy for Disbursement of Papua's Otsus Funds

Ribka told reporters after the Coordinating Meeting on OAP Data for Tanah Papua, held to strengthen administrative population data in providing data on OAP to support the implementation of the Undang-Undang Otonomi Khusus (Special Autonomy Law), at the Suni Abepura Hotel in Jayapura, Papua, today. She explained that the government is currently preparing a comprehensive Orang Asli Papua (OAP) database which will be used in a welfare census of OAP welfare. The data collection is being conducted through a collaboration between the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) and the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS). ‘This OAP database will be used for the welfare census, for the welfare of Orang Asli Papua. And it will also be used to formulate policy in health, in education, in infrastructure, and in other areas that will target Orang Asli Papua,’ Ribka said in a written statement on Thursday (21/5/2026). She noted that the data collection process has in fact begun by Papua Province as the parent province and is followed by other provinces in Tanah Papua. According to her, each region has presented the progress of data collection currently underway. In addition to supporting welfare policy, the OAP data is closely related to the management of Papua’s Otsus funds. Ribka said that as of May 2026, the first disbursement stage to 46 districts in six provinces of Tanah Papua has reached 100 percent. ‘Earlier we presented the position today; as of May 2026, 100 percent for the first quarter, 46 districts in the Province of Papua have been transferred from the Ministry of Finance,’ she said. She added that accelerating the disbursement of Otsus funds is supported by an interoperable system between ministries involving Kemendagri, the Ministry of Finance, and other related ministries/agencies. The system allows the central government to monitor budgeting and planning in a more integrated manner. ‘I think this is an acceleration, a leap, an improvement in governance that is increasingly better as governance for the six provinces in Tanah Papua,’ she concluded. (prf/ega)