Regional autonomy simply absurd, experts say<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
In order to ensure regional autonomy, the government has been
\nurged to amend the law on regional administrations, which still
\nplaces governors, mayors and regents as subordinates of the
\ncentral government.<\/p>\n
Researcher Sjamsuddin Haris from the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI) said that regional autonomy empowerment must be
\npreceded by the amendment of Law No. 32\/2004 on regional
\nautonomy.<\/p>\n
"The spirit of the law is still (a) centralistic
\n(government)," he told a seminar attended by very few
\nparticipants on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Sjamsuddin said that the law, for instance, stipulates that
\nthe central government conduct monitoring and training of local
\nadministrations, thus obligating these administrations to always
\nconsult with the central government.<\/p>\n
The law also states that local legislative councils, whose
\nmembers are directly elected, are an element of local
\nadministrations, he added.<\/p>\n
He said that without good regulation, the upcoming direct
\nregional elections would just be a procedural achievement instead
\nof substantial, as they would not contribute to the quality
\nimprovement of democratization and regional autonomy in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
LIPI researcher Siti Zuhro similarly said that the law on
\nregional autonomy only supported the political interests of major
\nparties and lawmakers.<\/p>\n
"Slowly but surely, regional autonomy will be eliminated.
\nThere will be no legal certainty that we will receive good
\nservice from local government. The autonomy is only for the
\nelite," she said.<\/p>\n
Legal revisions through the Constitutional Court were still
\npartial and did not satisfy those wanting to amend the law, Siti
\nsaid. "The law must be amended to avoid controversy."<\/p>\n
A similar view was expressed by another researcher Syarif
\nHidayat who said Law No. 32\/2004 was a fait accompli as it was
\npassed without going through a public debate.<\/p>\n
"A democratic governmental system cannot be pursued merely
\nthrough local direct elections. It must be inherent within the
\ndemocratic behavior after the elections. Since the process of the
\nregional elections is not yet democratic, and filled with
\ncollusive practices, the post-election (administration) will be
\nno different," he said.<\/p>\n
The process of direct regional elections, Syarif added, was
\nfull of conspiracies between politics and business, and it would
\nbe no surprise that local executive chiefs would be more loyal to
\ntheir political and business patrons than to their constituents.<\/p>\n
"What will emerge after the elections is a 'shadow state' or
\n'shadow government', which is defeated by other powers outside
\ngovernmental structure; and 'informal economy' or collusion
\nbetween government and business sectors," Syarif said.<\/p>\n
Instead of regional autonomy, he added, what will appear is a
\nhidden autonomy where local elites manipulate formal policies to
\ngain personal profits.<\/p>\n
"Therefore, clear regulations are very much needed," Syarif
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said direct regional elections are still needed to pursue
\ngood local governance, but political campaigns for people need to
\nbe boosted.<\/p>\n
"Money politics is unavoidable, with many justifying it as a
\n'political cost'. To reduce the practice of money politics,
\nmonitoring has to be improved," Syarif said.<\/p>\n
Sjamsuddin added that local consensus has to be established to
\nminimize problems caused by the direct regional elections.<\/p>\n
"It's not guaranteed that regulations can protect local
\npeople. Therefore, local initiatives or regulations are needed,"
\nhe said.<\/p>",
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