Much ado about autonomy<\/p>\n
Much of the hype about granting increased autonomy to the
\nregions will most likely end up as empty rhetoric. The
\ngovernment's bill on regional administration, presented to the
\nHouse of Representatives last week, promises more authority and
\nresponsibility to provinces, regencies and mayoralties to run
\ntheir own affairs, but not to the extent promoted by officials.
\nReal power will still rest in the hands of the central
\nadministration in Jakarta, in this case the President.<\/p>\n
In the bill, the President will still have to approve
\ncandidates for governorship of the provincial legislatures. While
\nthe President can remove a governor from office, the legislature
\ncan only recommend this course of action to the President. A
\ngovernor is accountable to both the legislature and the
\nPresident. However, there is no doubt who the real boss is;
\nloyalty is to Jakarta first and to people in the region last.<\/p>\n
A major innovation in the bill is that regional
\nadministrations -- at provincial, regency and mayoralty levels --
\nwill have increased authority over local affairs. All
\nadministrative business -- with the exception of foreign,
\nsecurity and defense, justice and monetary and fiscal policies --
\nwill now be decided by regional authorities.<\/p>\n
The bill on regional administration essentially states that
\nyou can run your own affairs but we will still call the shots in
\nthe crucial areas of policy formulation and leadership choice.
\nWhether this will satisfy the people in the regions remains to be
\nseen, since the content of the bill has not been widely
\ndisseminated.<\/p>\n
Expressions for increased autonomy stemmed from growing
\ndiscontent by regional pressure groups, not only concerning
\ndistribution of the national cake, but also regarding Jakarta's
\ninclination to meddle in regional affairs. This discontent, in
\nturn, has raised the specter of a disintegrating republic.<\/p>\n
We commend the government for moving quickly to defuse
\ntension, however, its proposal could fall dangerously short of
\nexpectations. The bill is only proposing to decentralize
\nadministrative tasks, not power, away from Jakarta's hands.<\/p>\n
Understandably, underpinning the bill on regional
\nadministration is the need to preserve the unitary state system.
\nIt seeks to decentralize the government without moving to a
\nfederal system. Prevailing views favor preserving the current
\nsystem. Federalism is widely regarded as suspect.<\/p>\n
Indonesia lost one of federalism's rare advocates with the
\npassing away of writer YB Mangunwijaya last week. In a book on
\nthe subject, published last month, Romo Mangun, as the Catholic
\npriest was popularly known, argued that democracy would be more
\nlikely to flourish and be easier to manage in a country as large
\nand diverse as Indonesia under a federal system. Our experience
\nwith the unitary state system during the past five decades
\nsupports the argument that Indonesia may only be governed by a
\ntotalitarian regime. Romo Mangun also said a federal system of
\ngovernment could stop the process of national disintegration; a
\ntopic of concern to many people.<\/p>\n
Romo Mangun and Indonesia's first vice president Mohammad
\nHatta, who also advocated a federal system at the inception of
\nthe republic, were probably way ahead of their time.<\/p>\n
While Romo Mangun and Hatta argued for federalism from a
\npractical point of view, their detractors remain insistent in
\ndefending the unitary state system. For them, the subject is not
\neven up for discussion. As the bill on regional administration
\nshows, they remain reluctant to relinquish substantial power to
\nthe regions.<\/p>\n
Ironically, in their obsession to preserve the unitary state
\nsystem, they may be sowing the seeds of disintegration
\nthemselves. And if the "Balkanization" of our republic begins, it
\nwill probably be too late to talk about federalism or any other
\nalternative system.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/much-ado-about-autonomy-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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