10 regions submit proposals demanding provincial status

JAKARTA (JP): Following the birth of three provinces last year, the government is now being overwhelmed by proposals submitted by 10 regions demanding provincial status.

Minister of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy Surjadi Soedirdja told a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission II for Legal and Home Affairs here on Tuesday the government would only be able to deliberate with the House the proposal to establish Riau Islands province in the current fiscal year due to limited budget.

"For the 2001 fiscal year, the forming of Riau Islands as a new province tops our list of priorities. We will take other proposals into consideration only if there are concerns other than the demand for provincial status," Surjadi told the hearing.

He said the government received last year a total of 13 proposals, three of them were approved by the House with the inception of Banten, Bangka-Belitung and Gorontalo Tomini Raya provinces.

The proposals in the pipeline came from Riau islands in Riau province, West Sulawesi in South Sulawesi, North Kalimantan in East Kalimantan, Southeast Maluku in Maluku, Bima in West Nusa Tenggara, Tapanuli in North Sumatra, Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, Madura in East Java, Ketapang in West kalimantan and Luwu Raya in South Sulawesi.

"Altogether there were proposals to establish 13 provinces, 44 regencies, 24 administrative cities, 10 non-independent regencies and five mayoralties in the year 2000. We managed only to process three of 13 proposals for provinces," Surjadi said.

He said to appraise a region applying for a provincial status, the central government would take into account its capabilities, including natural and human resources, as stipulated in the Government Regulation No. 129/1999 on the establishment of a new administrative territory.

"The establishment of a new province brings about several consequences, especially in its budget distribution," Surjadi added.

Over the last two years, Indonesia has seen the number of its provinces swelling from 27 to 31.

In 1999 the country lost East Timor, which opted to break away in a United Nations-sponsored ballot, but established North Maluku as a new province.

Bangka-Belitung was officially named the 31st province of the country, with Gorontalo Tomini Raya, the bill of which had been deliberated last year, the next in line.

The country should have had two more provinces in the eastern- most parts of Irian Jaya, established by former president B.J. Habibie's administration late in 1999, but they were not popular and, consequently, rejected by locals.

The government has supported the forming of new provinces in a bid to improve people's welfare and public services.

Many have warned that the policy could encourage the already growing provincial sentiments in the regions and eventually lead toward disintegration.

There have also been question on who will actually benefit from the establishment of new provinces, with critics arguing that the step is a maneuver by local officials wanting to enrich themselves by gaining control over an area's resources.

A House Commission II member Ferry Mursyidan Baldan from Golkar Party said on Tuesday the House expected the government to have finished studying the 10 proposals within this year.

"We hope by the end of the fiscal year we can give an answer to the people which proposals are accepted and which are not. We all know not every area is able to become a new province," Ferry told The Jakarta Post after the hearing.

"The areas should fulfill certain criteria and submit several requirements for consideration but we hope the appraisal can be finished this year," he remarked. (dja)