'Regional autonomy on the wrong track'<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi and M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The implementation of regional autonomy has turned both
\nprovincial and regental legislatures into oligarchic entities
\neager to fight for their own interests, a survey says.<\/p>\n
A five-year survey chaired by noted sociologist Daniel
\nSparringa showed that local legislatures were also prone to
\nanarchy.<\/p>\n
\"There are five big groups of people's perceptions to regional
\ncouncillors,\" Daniel Sparingga said on the sidelines of the VIII
\nNational Congress of Science 2003.<\/p>\n
The first was that regional counselors were prone to oligarchy
\npractices.<\/p>\n
\"They misuse people's trust to serve their own interests
\ninstead of the people's interest,\" said Daniel.<\/p>\n
Many such cases had happened in the country, such as the suit
\nand traveling budget requested by the Jakarta City Council
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
People saw such practices as the regional counselors' effort
\nto enrich themselves.<\/p>\n
Another image was that regional councillors in most cases were
\nbecoming free-floating elite as they were not attached to the
\ncommunity they were supposed to represent.<\/p>\n
\"They become insensitive and careless with many real problems
\nfaced by the people in their regions.\"<\/p>\n
He also said that local councillors were prone to becoming
\n\"moral brokers\" as they were forcing certain value among the
\npeople, although the values were not wanted by the community.<\/p>\n
As an example, he mentioned the tendency of some regional
\ncouncillors to close amusement places during the fasting month
\nand establishing sharia law.<\/p>\n
\"The regional councillors are also sometimes developing
\nanarchism by issuing regional laws that are not in line, even
\nsometimes contrary, to existing laws. It happens particularly
\nwith economic-related laws,\" said Daniel.<\/p>\n
Anther criticism directed at the regional councillors was that
\nmost members were acting as aliens instead of speaking with the
\nsame 'language' as the community. As the result, people would
\nfeel isolated from their councillors.<\/p>\n
The research was conducted by Daniel over the last five years
\nacross the country, from Sabang in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam to
\nMerauke in Papua.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said, after
\nregional autonomy had been implemented for three years, that the
\ncentral government was alarmed by a tendency of a number of local
\nadministrations to manipulate the newly found power for the
\nbenefit of their respective regions.<\/p>\n
He told members of the House of Representatives' Commission II
\non legal affairs that a number of local administrations in
\nresource-rich regions claimed the full ownership of natural
\nresources, while disregarding the plight of neighboring poor
\nprovinces and regencies.<\/p>\n
\"To make things worse, the natural resources were later
\ncontrolled by certain majority ethnic groups in the region. This
\neasily fuels resentment from disenfranchised ethnic groups and
\nsuch a condition might trigger clashes between the two,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hari also cited a number of cases where local administrations
\nimposed regulations that were meant simply to enrich local
\nleaders.<\/p>\n
The central government has been under fire, especially from
\nforeign investors, saying that the regional autonomy policy was
\nconfusing and gave rise to too many local regulations that placed
\nadditional burdens on their companies.<\/p>\n
The minister said that due to the distortion in the
\nimplementation of the regional autonomy law, the central
\ngovernment was determined to revise the law despite opposition
\nfrom the regions.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regional-autonomy-on-the-wrong-track-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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