Marcus Jacob Papilaja

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Marcus Jacob Papilaja (born 22 September 1954) is an Indonesian academic and politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). He served as the mayor of Ambon, Maluku from 2001 to 2011 and was the Speaker of Ambon’s Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) from 1999 to 2001.

Early life and education
He was born in Suli on Ambon Island. He completed his early schooling in Suli and Ambon, finishing high school in 1973. Papilaja earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Pattimura University in 1978 and a second bachelor’s degree in accounting from Hasanuddin University in 1982. He later earned a master's degree in accounting from Gadjah Mada University and a doctorate from Bogor Agricultural Institute. He began teaching at Pattimura University in 1982 and continued until 2010, also teaching at the Indonesian Christian University Maluku and Pelita Harapan University.

Political career
In 1999 Papilaja was elected to Ambon’s DPRD as a member of PDI-P and became its speaker. In 2001 the DPRD elected him mayor, with Syarief Hadler (United Development Party) as deputy. He was reelected in 2006 with 52,195 votes (36.1%) in a four-way race. His tenure began during a period of sectarian violence, and he led reconciliation efforts by meeting national leaders, foreign NGOs, and United Nations officials. Within the city, he promoted mixing of Muslim and Christian staff, established ad hoc markets guarded by security to replace ones destroyed by violence, and fostered cross-religious commerce. He also helped persuade Jafar Umar Thalib of Laskar Jihad to accept the Malino II Accord and disband the group in exchange for guarantees that Christians would be safe.

Papilaja introduced fit-and-proper tests for leadership positions to reduce favoritism and oversaw development beyond Ambon, including sponsoring sports events to improve interreligious relations and repatriating refugees.

Later life
In 2009 he supported Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the presidential election. He was arrested in December 2012 on corruption charges related to a municipal burial land purchase and was sentenced to one year in prison on 28 October 2014 by the Ambon District Court. He remained active in politics afterward, campaigning in the 2017 mayoral election, and began lecturing at Matana University in Tangerang in 2016.

Personal life
Papilaja is married to Risakotta and has two children. He is a Protestant Christian and a member of the Protestant Church of Maluku. He has also been involved with the Indonesian Amateur Boxers’ Association.