Jakarta – Billy Mambrasar, a member of the Executive Committee for the Acceleration of Development in Papua’s Special Autonomy, continues to push for accelerated development in Papua. His primary focus is on strengthening human resources through affirmative action scholarship programs.
Currently, 1,623 Papuan students are actively receiving scholarships, comprising 1,347 domestically and 276 internationally. These programs include the LPDP – Papuan Youth Scholarship for Master’s/Doctoral degrees, the Higher Education Affirmative Action Scholarship (ADik) for undergraduate students, and the ADEM and Papua Cerdas programs for high school/vocational school students.
Meanwhile, more than 10,000 Papuan students are currently pursuing higher education, while approximately 45,000 others still need support in accessing education.
In response, Billy Mambrasar is pushing for expanded access to scholarships and improved governance to ensure they are more targeted and sustainable.
“Papua doesn’t just need promises, but tangible results that the people can feel,” said the former Special Staff to the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Jokowi.
In addition to strengthening human resources, Billy also initiated innovation in Special Autonomy governance by developing a digital dashboard with Papuan students in Surabaya. This initiative aims to increase transparency in the use of Special Autonomy funds, including monitoring the performance of regional governments in budget management. With this system, the use of Special Autonomy funds can be monitored and evaluated more openly and accountably.
In the economic sector, a strategic step was taken by bringing together 21 European investors with the Papuan regional government to encourage the downstreaming and export of cocoa commodities from the Yapen Islands, Jayapura, and South Manokwari. This initiative is beginning to show results, with cocoa from the Yapen Islands currently being invested in by a British investor, while cocoa development in Jayapura is being encouraged through budget support from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Furthermore, Billy Mambrasar also encouraged accelerated cross-ministerial coordination in various priority sectors.
One of these efforts is the revitalization of Biak Regional General Hospital to have the capacity equivalent to a provincial referral hospital and to ensure more inclusive access to health services for the community, especially Indigenous Papuans.
