Page 262 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

Below: Pottery bowl containing increased by 600 to 700 inhabitants. But after the racial riots, there were many changes
papeda. Papeda is the staple food in people’s livelihood. Work that once once only done by migrants such as rickshaw puller
of the Papuans in coastal area
of Papua, and for the people in was now done by people of Maluku. In addition, home industries in the villages and new
Maluku and some areas of and stalls belonging to the villagers popped up.
Sulawesi.
In line with the development of the industrial sector, services and other economic
aspects, many immigrants from various regions in Indonesia came to Papua, Maluku and
East Nusa Tenggara. For Papuans, the presence of these migrants, on one hand has been
beneficial as it can accelerate development, but on the other hand, it can have an adverse
effect, when there is more absorption of labor from outside Papua, in the fields of work in
Papua, while Papuans themselves lack the opportunity. This is caused by a shortfall in the
skills of people of Papua, especially in specialized fields. Additionally, culturally Papuans
do not find it easy to accept such changes in their way of life.
In 1998, there was a political change in Indonesia. Indonesia entered its reform period,
which has opened a new chapter in politics. Everyone can participate and engage in
practical politics, and if they are successful, they can occupy legislative seats in the national
parliament and the local parliament as happened in Maluku, Papua and NTT. This means
that a lot of traditional leaders in the area will ultimately be marginalized if they cannot
adapt to political change.
Since then, many regions in Indonesia, including in Maluku, Papua and NTT have been
experiencing growth. Redefining district boundaries is intended to shorten the reins of
government and to make development more equally distributed. Many political figures
have emerged and established their credentials to be elected as the heads of the region as
well as members of the legislature. Therefore during the time of the presidential or local
elections, they would garner the support from the community, creating support groups
that sometimes led to fights between groups of different candidates.
In Act No. 6 of 2001, Papua was changed into a special autonomous region. The
development of Papua in various sectors of development which is further supported by
the presence of special autonomy and regional expansion, have become a magnet for
newcomers. Newcomers in Papua are looking for a chance to succeed in various sectors
such as public administration personnel, police, soldiers and civil servants (teachers and
medical personnel), in which after regional expansion, the human resources are still
lacking. These people mostly are from Makasar, Bugis, Maluku, Manado, Batak, Toraja,
Java, and East Nusa Tenggara. Meanwhile in Kupang, development has been going on very
rapidly for only the last 10 years. In the city of Kupang, shophouses and hotels as well as

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