Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Four years on, the special autonomy that costs more than Rp 5 trillion (about US$555 million) annually, has brought about little progress in Indonesia's eastern-most territory, analysts say.

They assert that the special autonomy status granted in 2001 has failed as an instrument to accelerate development in the 420,540-square-kilometer territory which is three times the size of Java and has a population of only about 4.5 million.

Ferdinando Ibo Ikin, a member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) from Papua, says that most of the Papuans still live below the poverty line.

"The fund should be audited. Jakarta and the provincial administration implementing the special autonomy should be held accountable," he said in a discussion here Tuesday.

This year, Papua received Rp 5.6 trillion, he said, but the only progress it has made is the local direct elections while the people have been largely deprived of public services, such as health and welfare, transportation and education.

Ferdinando warned that this condition could sow the seeds of hatred among the people against the government and encourage the support of anti-government movements.

"We should not blame Australia or other countries if they accept Papuan asylum seekers but we must introspect as to why they do not feel at home or why they sympathize with secessionists," he said.

The Indonesian government has been dealing with smoldering, low-intensity, disorganized armed separatist rebellions spearheaded by the Free Papua Organization (OPM) since the 1960s.

Ferdinando admitted he was ashamed by what he saw as Papuan politicians' inability to fight for Papuans' well-being, leaving them in backwardness and poverty. "I often feel as if I am crying out in the desert when speaking out about my home province," he said.

Agus Sumule, a political analyst from Cendrawasih University in the Papua capital of Jayapura, blamed the corrupt local elite for the failure of the special autonomy. The bigger chunk of the autonomy funds have been spent to finance the costly bureaucracy and embezzled by the corrupt local political elite, he said.

"The top-down autonomy system has made the two governors (of Papua and West Irian Jaya), provincial legislatures and the Papuan People's Council (MR) quite powerful and the distribution of the autonomy funds depend on them, making regents and mayors like beggars," he said.

"Regents and mayors propose big budgets to finance their development programs but governors will not grant them because the bigger chunk of the fund is used to finance their corrupt administration."

He called on the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to audit the government and legislatures at all levels to let the people know where the huge funds have been going to.

Director General of Regional Development Affairs at the Home Ministry, Syamsul Arief Rivai, acknowledged that the uneven distribution of population in the vast territory combined with the fact that the autonomy is focused on the provincial level have made the special autonomy ineffective.

"The two provincial governments and regency and municipal administrations have different visions and programs in carrying out development programs," he said.

Administration at all levels should have the same vision and programs to improve the province's human development index and they should identify common fundamental problems that have made the province lag behind other provinces.

To improve public services, he said, the provincial governments should give priority to the development of road networks connecting urban centers and rural areas.

"The development of roads, irrigation systems, school buildings and hospitals are vital in providing public services and improving the people's well-being," he said, adding that the development program should focus on the indigenous people living in remote areas.