House endorses 10 bills on 22 new regencies<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives (DPR) passed on Monday 10 bills
\nendorsing the establishment of 22 regencies in 10 provinces
\nthroughout the country.<\/p>\n
In a plenary meeting delayed twice because of poor attendance,
\nthe legislators warned the Ministry of Home Affairs and regional
\nadministrations of violating territorial borders among autonomous
\nregencies. The meeting was attended by only 249 of 500
\nlegislators in the House.<\/p>\n
The meeting was originally scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m.,
\nbut due to the poor showing, deputy House Speaker Soetardjo
\nSoerjogoeritno, who chaired the plenary meeting here, adjourned
\nthe meeting for 30 minutes. But when the legislators convened
\nhalf an hour later, only 178 legislators were present, prompting
\nSoetardjo to postpone the meeting for a second time.<\/p>\n
When the meeting resumed at 10:00, only 249 of the country's
\n500 were present. There was no explanation on the whereabouts of
\nlegislators who did not attend the plenary meeting.<\/p>\n
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, in his acceptance
\nspeech, warned regional administrations of possible conflict
\namong regencies when borders outlined in the law came into force.<\/p>\n
\"Please avoid causing social disharmony when drawing up the
\nborders for each regency,\" the minister said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Teras Narang, the chairman of Commission II in charge of the
\nbills, admitted that defining territorial borders was a crucial
\nissue during the deliberation.<\/p>\n
The talks on territorial borders among each of the regencies
\nhave taken a lot of time. In earlier discussions, the mapping of
\nborders provided by the government was not clear enough.<\/p>\n
\"We have asked the government to clarify the borders and to
\nreview them,\" Teras added.<\/p>\n
According to Hari Sabarno, the establishment of new regencies
\nwas a realization of efforts for social empowerment. He also
\ncalled on local administrations to improve their public services.<\/p>\n
The new regencies will soon have their own regents appointed
\nby the respective governors for a one-year tenure. Within six
\nmonths, the regencies have to elect the members for a local
\nlegislative council (DPRD), based on the results of the 1999
\ngeneral election in those areas.<\/p>\n
Alluding to the needed money to finance activities and local
\nadministrations in the new autonomous regencies, Hari said it
\nwould be the responsibility of local administrations. He did not
\nelaborate.<\/p>\n
The establishment of these 22 districts was mandated by Law
\nNo.22\/1999 on Regional Administration.<\/p>",
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