Regional autonomy: Building a ship while sailing<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is set to launch in the New Year its
\nambitious project of granting unprecedented autonomy to its
\nregions, hoping to allay widespread discontent and even threats
\nof national disintegration following heavily-centralized regimes
\nof the past.<\/p>\n
Dubbed by some scholars as the world's largest experiment in
\ndecentralization of powers, the autonomy policy may not
\nnecessarily face a quick death as some doomsayers have predicted
\nbut pessimism is indeed great. There are all the signs that the
\ninfant project will face difficulty breathing as even its most
\nardent proponents, including the man responsible for initiating
\nthe drive, Minister Ryaas Rasyid, have predicted chaos.<\/p>\n
Poor preparation over the past months since the issuance of
\nlaws No. 22 and No. 25\/1999 on regional autonomy and fiscal
\nbalance respectively, is only the beginning of a long list of
\ncomplaints that some scholars have cited. The two laws have also
\nreceived their fair share of criticism; \"good intention but bad
\nlaws\" as one legal expert has put it.<\/p>\n
The most important factor lacking in the drive is strong
\nleadership, Ryaas pointed out in a recent interview with Kompas.
\nImagine doling out authority over affairs that concern the
\nlivelihood of 210 million people to 400 regents and mayors who
\nall have interests and whims of their own!<\/p>\n
Even some non-governmental organizations are increasingly
\naware how some regents and mayors have begun to treat regional
\nresources as their private property, parceling them out to the
\nhighest bidder.<\/p>\n
\"We need strong leadership to guide regions in establishing
\nthe necessary regulations,\" he said. \"Otherwise, those regions
\nwill race with one another making up their own rules, and in fact
\nthey have already started to do this.\"<\/p>\n
\"Meanwhile, the government has not completed the necessary
\nguidelines and it is only a matter of days before the
\nimplementation of the laws,\" he said, underlining the second most
\nimportant problem facing the drive, namely the incomplete legal
\ninfrastructure.<\/p>\n
Some scholars, for instance, have counted up to 1,200 decrees
\nand regulations at various levels of administration that need to
\nbe amended before the autonomy drive can proceed smoothly. This
\nseems unlikely in the near future, as many have noted.<\/p>\n
The problem of legal infrastructure is worsened by the fact
\nthat some decrees on autonomy actually conflict with one another.
\nA People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree on regional
\nautonomy, for instance, permits regions to set up their own
\nrulings for matters that are not regulated by the central
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
The Government Regulation No. 25\/2000, a set of directive
\nregulations for Law No. 25\/1999, on the other hand, stipulates
\nthat the central government complete all guidelines and rulings
\nthat will serve as the guidelines for the regional
\nadministrations to introduce rulings on aspects such as mining,
\ntrade, investment, agriculture and others.<\/p>\n
\"It (the contradiction) can be dangerous,\" Ryaas said.<\/p>\n
\"The two most important factors that need to be present for
\nthe autonomy drive to be successful are complete regulations and
\nstrong leadership, an effective supervision,\" Ryaas said,
\nimplying the absence of both.<\/p>\n
For all good intent and purposes, Ryaas' complaints about how
\nthe autonomy drive has been progressing may be interpreted as the
\nwhining of a sore loser in a higher level political game.<\/p>\n
After his hard work in formulating the policy, he was removed
\nfrom the government team of autonomy and, by his own admission,
\nall of his further actions were effectively thwarted by President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid. The president, for instance, rejected his
\nsuggestion that the dissolved office of state minister for
\nautonomy, which Ryaas occupied for nine months, be enhanced into
\nthe Supervisory Board of Regional Autonomy.<\/p>\n
To give credit where it is due, Ryaas continues to champion
\nthe need for decentralization and regional autonomy. His
\ncolleagues and supporters such as Andi Alfian Mallarangeng, even
\nwhile decrying what they believe is Abdurrahman Wahid's
\nreluctance to decentralize powers, insist that the drive commence
\nas scheduled.<\/p>\n
\"We are not ready at all, it will end up in chaos,\"
\nMallarangeng said. But, ever onward because the stakes are too
\nhigh, namely the survival of the unitary state of Indonesia,
\naccording to some observers including British economist Anne
\nBooth and Indonesian legal expert Bagir Manan, citing the
\nirreversible push for greater say for the regions.<\/p>\n
\"We have to go ahead with what we have, while preparing to
\nlaunch the amendments (of the existing regulations),\" another
\nscholar said. Yet another scholar indicated that Indonesia would
\nhave to resort to old, \"centralized\" regulations but \"with
\nadjustments here and there.\"<\/p>\n
With such a patch-work approach to the huge undertaking,
\npublic apprehension is therefore understandable. Indonesia is
\nbeing forced to build the ship while sailing, as one writer puts
\nit.<\/p>\n
The authority on autonomy is now in the hands of Surjadi
\nSudirdja, appointed minister of home affairs and regional
\nautonomy in August, he has yet to educate the public about how
\nhis office is planning to go about implementing the campaign on
\nJanuary 1, 2001.<\/p>\n
He is widely considered to be reticent. He does not talk much.
\nA self-proclaimed egalitarian and poor conversationalist, Surjadi
\nindicated in a September interview with Forum Keadilan that he
\nwas aware of signs of troubles in the regions in relation to the
\nautonomy drive.<\/p>\n
\"With all of their shortcomings, the two laws are basically a
\ndemocratization of the administration. Some authorities that were
\npart of the central government are now being transferred to
\nregional administration...We are now facing problems (from
\nregions),\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We will have to work hard to deal with these problems,\" he
\npromised.<\/p>\n
We are banking on this promise to ensure that the good
\nintention contained in the laws will materialize, and the feared
\nchaos does not. (swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regional-autonomy-building-a-ship-while-sailing-1447893297",
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