West Papuan Students Travel Long Distances for MPR's Four Pillars Quiz Competition

The holding of the MPR RI Four Pillars Quiz Competition (LCC) at the West Papua Provincial Level in Manokwari was marked by the enthusiasm of students who were willing to travel for hours, even almost a day, to take part in the competition. Head of the Bureau for Session and Constitutional Dissemination of the MPR RI Secretariat General, Wachid Nugroho, in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday, said the students’ struggle was reflected not only in the long journey to the competition venue but also in their efforts to showcase local wisdom during the event. “The values of local wisdom are part of the nation’s wealth and are in line with the values of Pancasila,” said Wachid. Students from Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) Fakfak, for example, had to travel by land for almost a day to reach Manokwari. Meanwhile, participants from SMAN 1 Bintuni spent about five hours travelling to reach the competition location. In addition to competing, a number of participants also introduced the region’s cultural richness, such as the National Church Choir Festival (Pesparawi) and the Bakar Batu or Barapen tradition, which were presented by SMAN 1 Manokwari. The West Papua Provincial Level MPR RI Four Pillars LCC was held over two days, 10–11 July 2026. A total of nine senior high school/vocational school level schools took part in the event. They were SMAN 1 Manokwari, SMAN 1 Bintuni, MAN Fakfak, SMAN 1 Prafi, SMAN 2 Manokwari, MAN Manokwari, SMA IT Insan Mulia Manokwari, SMK Kehutanan Negeri Manokwari, and SMAN Taruna Kasuari Nusantara Papua Barat. The participants competed for the provincial champion title as well as a ticket to represent West Papua at the national level MPR RI Four Pillars LCC final in Jakarta. One of the participants from SMAN 1 Bintuni, Adli Aldi Arsyafin Fimbay, said he and his team had been in Manokwari since Wednesday (8/7) to prepare for the competition. “Our preparations began on Wednesday, including training and the journey to Manokwari,” he said. Adli hopes his team can achieve the best results. If they become champions, he plans to use the prize money to buy a mobile phone for one of his teammates whose phone is broken, preventing him from communicating with his family during the competition. “All team members have prepared themselves maximally with their supervising teachers and are ready to give their best abilities in the competition,” said Adli.