Megawati slams regionalism in recruitment<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Confronted with strong opposition from regents and experts on
\nher move to revise the current autonomy law, President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri lashed out at regional authorities on Monday for
\nwhat she termed excessive and ridiculous regionalism in
\nrecruiting civil servants.<\/p>\n
However, she stopped short of calling for the revision of Law
\nNo. 22\/1999 on Regional Administration, known also as the
\nautonomy law, a move she has long wanted to make, but which has
\nmet strong resistance from local authorities and experts.<\/p>\n
\"Some regional authorities have refused to accept people from
\nother provinces becoming civil servants or provincial officials,\"
\nMegawati said at the opening ceremony of a three-day coordination
\nmeeting of the Office of the State Minister of Administrative
\nReforms here on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"Such arrogance is a setback to the nation. If a province runs
\nout of eligible people to occupy certain positions, what would
\nthe administration do? Will you bend the qualifications for the
\ncandidates?\" she asked.<\/p>\n
She underlined that such a move would eventually muffle the
\nperformance of regional administrations and hurt the country as a
\nwhole.<\/p>\n
Many regions preferred putra asli daerah (indigenous locals)
\nto become leaders in certain regions, Megawati said.<\/p>\n
Megawati's criticism came after her proposal to review the
\nexisting autonomy law, No. 22\/1999, had met strong opposition
\nfrom regional councillors and leaders, who saw the move as part
\nof a series of moves to recentralize the government.<\/p>\n
\"The revision must be rejected since it will merely allow the
\ncentral government to reclaim power,\" deputy chairman of the
\nAssociation of Regional Legislative Councils (Adeksi) Ali
\nHanafiah was quoted as saying earlier.<\/p>\n
Megawati has insisted that the revision is needed as there
\nwere several fundamental problems with the very concept of
\nautonomy in the current law, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2001.
\nThe problems, she said, were related to \"our statehood and
\nnationhood.\"<\/p>\n
\"We want to amend those items; indeed we must do it in order
\nto strengthen our national unity and the integrity of the unitary
\nstate of the Republic of Indonesia,\" Megawati said in late
\nJanuary.<\/p>\n
In a bid to prevent the country from breaking up, the central
\ngovernment introduced on Jan. 1, 2001 Law. 22\/1999 on Regional
\nAdministration. The legislation, however, raised much concern
\nthat it would become another means by which regional officials
\ncould inflate their personal incomes.<\/p>\n
\"At first I thought of bestowing the Adipura Award to the
\nbest-managed region in the country, but then again I think it
\nwill be of no use if the regional autonomy only encourages
\nexcessive regionalism,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
She reminded local administrations to concentrate on how to
\nimprove the welfare and capability of people in each region in
\norder to support the implementation of regional autonomy.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, former state minister of administrative reforms
\nRyaas Rasyid admitted on Monday that an atavistic spirit had
\narisen following the downfall of former strongman Soeharto in
\n1998, but rejected the notion that the implementation of regional
\nautonomy had triggered excessive regionalism.<\/p>\n
\"The central government is supposed to formulate several
\nregulations to supervise the implementation of regional
\nautonomy,\" Ryaas told The Jakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"I guess the atavistic spirit can be curbed if the central
\ngovernment manages to supervise local administrations through
\nregulations banning local authorities from giving employment
\nprivileges to indigenous locals,\" Ryaas said, adding that any
\nviolation of the regulations would face stern sanctions from
\ncentral government.<\/p>\n
According to Ryaas, the special autonomy for two troubled
\nprovinces, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Papua, was more atavistic
\nthan Law No. 22\/1999, but \"no one complains about it.\"<\/p>",
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