City Council withholds approval of bylaw draft<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): After a heated debate, the City Council
\npostponed the enactment of a city bylaw on the establishment of
\nsubdistrict councils following a vote during a plenary meeting on
\nFriday evening.<\/p>\n
Of the 65 councillors attending the plenary session, 39 of
\nthem supported delaying the enactment of the bylaw, while the
\nother 26 took the opposite stand in the vote which ended at 8:20
\np.m.<\/p>\n
The other 20 city councillors were absent from the meeting for
\nvarious reasons, including a number of members who are on the haj
\npilgrimage.<\/p>\n
According to councilors who supported a delay in the enactment
\nof the bylaw, legalizing the draft would violate existing Law No.
\n34\/1999 on the administration of Jakarta as the capital of
\nIndonesia. The law gives community unit (RW) heads the power to
\ndetermine members of local subdistrict councils without having to
\ninvolve the heads of neighborhood units (RT).<\/p>\n
The councilors said the draft bylaw proposed RW heads discuss
\nthe candidates for the subdistrict councils with the RT chiefs.<\/p>\n
The plenary meeting ended without setting a new date to
\nfurther discuss the draft.<\/p>\n
The draft was proposed by the councilors and Friday's plenary
\nsession was scheduled to be the final one before its enactment.<\/p>\n
According to the draft bylaw, the elected members of the
\nsubdistrict councils would have the right to raise questions and
\nshare opinions with the City Council. They would also be given
\nthe power to nominate candidates for the planned mayoralty
\ncouncils based on the aspirations of local residents.<\/p>\n
The members of the subdistrict councils would also be obliged
\nto give suggestions to subdistrict heads in their respective
\nareas on day-to-day administrative affairs, and help explain
\ntheir subdistricts' policies to local residents.<\/p>\n
\"Each member of the subdistrict council will receive about Rp
\n100,000 (US$13) per month for their services,\" the city
\nsecretary's assistant for administrative affairs, Ma'mun Amin,
\ntold reporters after the meeting ended.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has five mayoralties, which are divided into 43
\ndistricts and 265 subdistricts, with 2,527 RWs and 28,894 RTs.<\/p>\n
The final bylaw draft had been cut down to eight chapters and
\n21 articles, compared to the original draft which contained 10
\nchapters and 27 articles.<\/p>\n
The draft stipulates that each RW in a subdistrict be
\nrepresented by a respected figure in the community on the
\nsubdistrict council. Candidates must be willing to leave their
\ncurrent jobs and must meet several qualifications, including a
\nminimum of a junior high school education, be at least 21 years
\nof age and have resided in their respective RWs for at least
\nthree years.<\/p>\n
The city administration allocated more than Rp 1.4 billion in
\nthe 2000 city budget to finance the activities of the subdistrict
\ncouncils.<\/p>\n
The vote was taken on Friday after endless arguments among the
\ncouncil's factions about whether to pass the draft.<\/p>\n
The plenary meeting began at 9:30 a.m. and was scheduled to
\nend at 3 p.m., with Governor Sutiyoso to deliver a speech.<\/p>\n
The meeting was extended until the evening to accommodate
\ndebates among several councillors, particularly members of the
\nIndonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the
\nUnited Development Party (PPP), who insisted that the draft must
\nnot be passed.<\/p>\n
The majority of the other factions in the council were ready
\nto pass the draft. The Golkar Party faction expressed willingness
\nto approve the draft, but suggested the enactment of the bylaw be
\ndelayed if possible.<\/p>\n
\"We need a transition period before we enact this bylaw since
\nwe have to introduce the proposed subdistrict councils to the
\ncitizens,\" said Sugeng Suprijatna of the Golkar Party faction.<\/p>\n
According to members of the PDI Perjuangan and PPP factions,
\nLaw No. 34\/1999, which outlines the establishment of the
\nsubdistrict councils in Jakarta, was undemocratically enacted by
\nthe House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
They said the House hastily deliberated the law without asking
\nfor input from city councillors or the city administration.<\/p>\n
\"We will deliver a petition to the House to amend the law,\"
\nHizbiyah Rochim of the PPP faction said.<\/p>\n
PDI Perjuangan also based its rejection of the draft bylaw on
\nthe fact that political party members were not allowed to
\nrepresent their parties, as stipulated in Article 5, Clause 3 of
\nthe draft.<\/p>\n
\"We are entitled to about 40 percent of the seats on the
\ncouncils because we won the June 1999 elections,\" said PDI
\nPerjuangan faction chairman Audy Tambunan.<\/p>\n
Councillor Syamsuardi Botan of the National Mandate Party
\n(PAN) faction, who chaired the draft formulation team, regretted
\nthat some factions had rejected the draft, saying they had wasted
\nmoney and time.<\/p>\n
\"It will take a long time if we want to amend the law by
\ndelivering a petition to the House,\" he said. (nvn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-council-withholds-approval-of-bylaw-draft-1447893297",
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