Regional autonomy bill dissappoints experts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Instead of meeting its promise of greater
\nregional autonomy, a recently issued draft bill is striking out
\nwith analysts who charge it fails to sever the dependent
\nrelationship of regional governments to their central
\ncounterpart.<\/p>\n
Constitutional law experts Satya Arinanto and Harun Alrasid
\nsaid separately on Saturday the draft's stipulation that local
\ngovernments must report both to councils and the central
\ngovernment showed a continuing lack of autonomy.<\/p>\n
Submitted last week to the House of Representatives, the draft
\nwas eagerly expected to respond to grievances accumulated from
\ndecades of centralization. The government also said it would soon
\nsubmit the draft bill on fiscal balance between the central and
\nregional governments.<\/p>\n
Harun Alrasid said the House should be extremely circumspect
\nin deliberating the bill because it differed little from the
\nflawed 1974 law on regional administration.<\/p>\n
\"The House should be critical of the bill because the concept
\nof regional administration and autonomy is still unclear,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He considered it \"strange\" that council-elected governors,
\nregents and mayors would still be required to obtain central
\ngovernment approval before taking their posts, similar to current
\nprocedures.<\/p>\n
Harun said full autonomy for regional administrations would
\nmean a clear distinction between the election and appointment of
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
\"If appointed, governors and regents should be appointed by
\nthe government, but if elected, they should be elected by their
\ncouncils without any interference from the central government,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"The mechanism in the bill is quasi-democratic because a
\ngovernor elected by the provincial council is still required to
\nget approval from the president. This contradicts the idea of
\nautonomy.\"<\/p>\n
Regions should only be obliged to report results of their
\nelections to the central government, Harun added.<\/p>\n
The bill still invests the central government with the power
\nto reject officials elected by local councils, he said.<\/p>\n
Obligating officials to answer both to local councils and the
\ncentral government is \"dualistic accountability\", he said, a
\npractice alien to an autonomous system.<\/p>\n
Satya Arinanto, a member of a team appointed by Minister of
\nJustice Muladi to draw up the regional autonomy draft, expressed
\nsurprise at its submission to the House.<\/p>\n
\"We consider the government's decision strange because the
\ngovernment submitted the bill to the House without taking our
\nopinion and approval into consideration.\"<\/p>\n
He said the substance of the draft differed significantly from
\nthe team's recommendations.<\/p>\n
Led by Sri Soemantri of Padjadjaran University in Bandung,
\nWest Java, the team also includes Thalib Puspokusumo, Sigit Eddy
\nSutomo and M.T. Arifin.<\/p>\n
Satya said changes should be made to the current draft bill
\nbecause of the unclear concept of autonomy and the dualistic
\npower between provincial and regency councils and the president.<\/p>\n
He said the team's draft law designated the provincial and
\nregency councils with full authority and independence in the
\nnomination of candidates and their election for positions as
\ngovernor, regent and mayor. It was only left for the central
\ngovernment to accept the outcome, he added. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regional-autonomy-bill-dissappoints-experts-1447893297",
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