Indonesia deputy minister addresses Papuan ID card registration challenges amid misinformation

Indonesia's Deputy Home Affairs Minister Ribka Haluk has moved to correct public perceptions regarding the data collection of indigenous Papuan people across six provinces. She emphasized that the current figures recorded in the Population Administration Information System (SIAK) do not support claims that indigenous Papuans are becoming a minority in the Papua region.

"After our meeting regarding the data collection of indigenous Papuan people, which was initiated by the Papua Provincial Government and five other provinces in the Papua region, it turns out there are netizens, commentators, and local observers who express the perception that indigenous Papuans are becoming a minority," Ribka stated in Jakarta on Tuesday.

According to data from the Ministry of Home Affairs' Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Dukcapil), 2,296,846 indigenous Papuans have actively recorded their electronic ID cards and are registered in SIAK. This is out of a total population of 5,832,120 in the Papua region. Ribka noted that these numbers are dynamic and subject to change, as many indigenous Papuans, especially in remote, mountainous, and border areas, as well as those living abroad, have yet to register their population data.

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After our meeting regarding the data collection of indigenous Papuan people, which was initiated by the Papua Provincial Government and five other provinces in the Papua region, it turns out there are netizens, commentators, and local observers who express the perception that indigenous Papuans are becoming a minority.

The primary obstacles to collecting data on indigenous Papuans include the uneven distribution of population administration recording, particularly in highland and 3T (frontier, outermost, underdeveloped) regions. Beyond geographical factors, Ribka highlighted lingering public misunderstandings that deter some residents from registering. "There is a stigma, or people make their own conclusions, that recording an ID card is called the number 666, which is anti-Christ. So they don't want to record. Some say that if they record, they will be spied on," she explained.

Ribka stressed the critical importance of population data for formulating government policies, including the allocation of general funds, special autonomy funds, administrative services, and community welfare programs. Incomplete data hinders the government's ability to accurately assess development needs and measure societal well-being. Central Papua Province currently has the largest number of actively recorded indigenous Papuans, with 995,248 individuals, followed by Papua Province with 512,331.

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There is a stigma, or people make their own conclusions, that recording an ID card is called the number 666, which is anti-Christ. So they don't want to record. Some say that if they record, they will be spied on.