Jakarta – Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka is set to take on the task of accelerating development in Papua. However, the mandate is not a personal assignment from President Prabowo Subianto, but rather stems from the provisions of the Papua Special Autonomy Law (UU Otsus).
News of Gibran’s potential assignment was first revealed by the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra. He stated that the government is currently discussing strategies for Papua’s development and is considering appointing Gibran to coordinate the efforts.
“The government is currently discussing the possibility of assigning the vice president to oversee the acceleration of development in Papua,” Yusril said during the launch of the 2024 Annual Report of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), which was broadcast on Komnas HAM’s YouTube channel on Tuesday (July 8, 2025).
According to Yusril, if the assignment is formally issued, it would mark the first time a president has officially tasked a vice president with handling Papua affairs—typically formalized through a presidential decree (Keppres).
“So far, there has been no special assignment from the president. Such mandates are usually issued through a presidential decree,” he explained.
Yusril emphasized that it would not be unusual for a vice president to receive such a task, noting that former Vice President Ma’ruf Amin was previously given a mandate by President Joko Widodo to oversee the development of the sharia economy.
As for Papua, Gibran is expected to focus on coordinating development efforts in the region. There is even a possibility that he could work directly from Papua to ensure the effective implementation of government programs.
