Three figures from Papua are trusted to become ministers and deputy ministers in the Indonesian Government 2024 – 2029 in the Red and White Cabinet led by Prabowo-Gibran.

They are Bahlil Lahadalia who is trusted to become Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and Natalius Pigai who serves as Minister of Human Rights. Meanwhile, Ribka Haluk is the first native Papuan woman to be trusted to serve as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs.

“⁠Bahlil Lahadalia as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources,” said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto when announcing his cabinet, Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Sunday (20/10).

Bahlil is not a new occupant of the cabinet, he is the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources during the Jokowi era. Previously, he was also trusted as Minister of Investment/Head of BKPM.

Currently, he also serves as the General Chair of the Golkar Party. Bahlil was appointed as general chairman around August 2024 through the Extraordinary National Conference replacing Airlangga Hartarto.

The man born in Fakfak, West Papua is an activist who graduated from the Islamic Students Association (HMI). In addition, he also served as General Chair of HIPMI for the 2015-2019 period.

Meanwhile, Natalius Pigai is a human rights activist from Papua who was appointed as Minister of Human Rights. In the 2024 Presidential Election, Pigai served as the Legal Counsel Team for the Prabowo-Gibran TKN.

Pigai himself is a former Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission for the 2012-2017 period. When he served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission, he was a member of the Monitoring and Investigation Subcommission.

Quoting the 2014 National Human Rights Commission Annual Report. At that time, Pigai handled around 1,400 of the 3,600 complaint cases submitted to the National Human Rights Commission.

In addition to being a Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission, Pigai was also involved in activities in other institutions such as the Sejati Foundation which focuses on the rights of marginalized communities in Papua, Dayak, Sasak and Aceh in 1999-2002.

In addition to being active in a number of NGOs, he also served as a special staff to the minister (Ir Alhilal Hamdi and Yacob Nuwa Wea) at the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration from 1999-2004 and his last position as a structural employee and researcher in the field of Manpower with a specialization in Internal and International Migration.