Federal state proposal no threat: Amien<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN)
\nAmien Rais asserted here on Monday that the controversial
\nproposal of a federal state would stand or fall on its own
\nmerits, but should not be summarily branded a threat to national
\nunity.<\/p>\n
\"The proposal is meant to keep the country strong as a nation
\nstate, not disintegrated,\" Amien said in a discussion on an
\nindependent electoral committee at the party's office.<\/p>\n
Amien said the public could \"throw away\" the term \"federation\"
\nif they disliked it, but he maintained that the nation should
\nreject any manifestation of \"exploitation of regions by the
\ncenter\".<\/p>\n
\"That's what the 'Soeharto's unitary state' has done all this
\ntime,\" said Amien, long one of the country's leading opposition
\nfigures.<\/p>\n
The debate on federalism intensified when PAN advocated
\nfederalism as part of its political agenda.<\/p>\n
It is a touchy subject and has stirred some to claim that it
\ncould it could rip apart the fabric of multiethnic Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The Armed Forces and the ruling Golkar grouping have
\nreiterated their \"commitment\" to a unitary state but the largest
\nMoslem organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has openly opposed its
\ncontinuance.<\/p>\n
In Bandung on Sunday, the chairman of NU's lawmaking body, KH
\nIlyas Ruchiyat, told thousands of followers that the discourse on
\nfederalism should stop as it was \"confusing and dangerous to
\nintegration\".<\/p>\n
Several regions have proposed that they should receive much
\nlarger shares of their revenues. Governors have said they were
\nseeking justice rather than federalism.<\/p>\n
Amien pointed out that both before and under Soeharto there
\nhad been much \"regional discontent\" which bred separatist
\ncampaigns in the regions, such as the Free Papua Movement (OPM).<\/p>\n
In Aceh, he said locals wondered how they were only allocated
\nabout Rp 200 billion in the state budget when their annual
\ncontribution to the state in oil income reached about Rp 30
\ntrillion. \"It's less than 1 percent,\" Amien remarked.<\/p>\n
Former Army Chief of Staff Gen. (ret) Rudini, a speaker in the
\ndiscussion on the electoral committee, said he supported the
\nproposal of a federal state.<\/p>\n
The former minister of home affairs (1988-1993) said the idea
\nwas similar to his concept of \"regional autonomy\". The concept
\nreferred to autonomy that excluded the affairs of security and
\ndefense, international relations and monetary affairs. The 1974
\nlaw on regional governments is only now being reviewed to enable
\na balanced budget between the center and regions.<\/p>\n
\"Not all ministries agreed with it,\" Rudini revealed. \"Many
\nfeared losing lucrative projects.\"<\/p>\n
Last month Nawir Messi, a senior economist at the privately
\nowned think tank Econit, said restructuring the imbalanced state
\nfinancing system was urgent. He said the IMF ranked East
\nKalimantan and Riau as the richest regions in Southeast Asia
\nexcluding Singapore and Brunei, but said consumption per capita
\nof residents of these two provinces was very low compared to the
\nregional average. (aan\/43)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/federal-state-proposal-no-threat-amien-1447893297",
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