Unitary system with federal elements urged<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia should retain the unitary system of
\ngovernment but may incorporate elements of federalism to take
\ninto account the diverse history, values and geographic factors
\nof the regions, observers said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a seminar on \"A Unitary State Versus a Federal
\nState\", constitutional law professor Harun Alrasid and political
\nscientist Ramlan Surbakti said that for all the talks about
\nfederalism, Indonesia would not likely abandon the unitary system
\nof government any time soon.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that the unitary state will be maintained by the
\ngovernment at all costs,\" Harun of the University of Indonesia,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
After a thorough discussion on the subject, the national
\nconsensus remained to preserve the present system which was also
\nthe one adopted by Indonesia's founding fathers, he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's state motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in
\ndiversity) and the second point in state ideology Pancasila (five
\nprinciples), national unity, underpinned the unitary system of
\ngovernment, he argued.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia had an unhappy experience with a federal system (in
\nthe late 1940s) and this has tarnished the people's image of that
\nin particular,\" he said during the seminar organized by the
\nIndonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the National Democratic
\nInstitute and the Hanns Seidel Foundation.<\/p>\n
Recent demands for a federal system of government emerging in
\nSouth Sulawesi and Riau were only transitory in nature, and
\nshould recede with time, Harun said.<\/p>\n
The demands simply reflected regional discontents at
\ninjustices and the unfair distribution of power and economic
\nresources between the central and regional governments, he said.<\/p>\n
Harun suggested that Indonesia incorporate some features of
\nfederalism into the present unitary system of government, such as
\nintroducing a senate for regional representatives which has power
\nequal to the House of Representatives in endorsing a law.<\/p>\n
\"We could set up such a regional representatives council. The
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly would then consist of the House
\nand the council,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ramlan Surbakti supported Harun's bicameral proposal, saying
\nthat through the senate, the regions would enjoy a greater voice
\nthan they did now.<\/p>\n
\"The formation of a senate, whose members are elected to
\nrepresent the provinces, will guarantee that the regions would be
\ninvolved in national decision making processes, from drafting
\nlegislation to the government budget,\" he said.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid, who opened the seminar, said that
\nwhile maintaining the unitary system, Indonesia could apply some
\nelements of federalism.<\/p>\n
\"Since the 1945 Constitution mentions the unitary system of
\ngovernment, we will have to stick by it. But we could adopt the
\nfederalism attitude,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government is currently preparing to implement the law on
\nregional autonomy which was enacted last year. The law calls on
\nthe devolution of power from the central administration to the
\nsecond level of administration at regency\/mayoralty level.<\/p>\n
The government hopes that the autonomy law will go a long way
\nin placating the demands for more autonomy or even separatism in
\nthe regions. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/unitary-system-with-federal-elements-urged-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}