30 Years of Regional Autonomy: Central-Regional Relations Deemed Not Ideal

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Executive Director of the Regional Autonomy Implementation Monitoring Committee (KPPOD), Arman Suparman, assesses that the relationship between the central government and regional governments remains not ideal, despite regional autonomy entering its 30th year. “Not yet (ideal). Because the current central-regional relationship involves very significant control by the central government,” Arman stated when contacted by Kompas.com on Monday (27/4/2026). He explained that the central-regional relationship encompasses three main aspects: authority, finance, and guidance and supervision. On the authority aspect, Arman believes there is still no solid policy regarding the division of responsibilities between the central government and regions. “So sectoral laws actually do not comply with the division of responsibilities in the Regional Government Law,” Arman said. According to him, several regulations such as the Job Creation Law and the Mineral and Coal Law are not fully aligned with the division of responsibilities in the Regional Government Law. “As a result, what often happens is a tug-of-war of authority between the centre and the regions. And increasingly, our notes indicate that recentralisation is getting stronger,” he revealed. He highlighted the expansion of mandatory spending provisions, which are seen as limiting regional manoeuvre room. For example, regional governments are required to limit employee expenditure to a maximum of 30 percent and allocate at least 40 percent for infrastructure. According to Arman, these provisions do not fully consider the differences in capacity and needs of each region. Arman also urges that future regional transfer policies be adjusted to the capacity of each region, so that fiscal autonomy can operate more effectively. Meanwhile, on the guidance and supervision aspect, he assesses that the approach applied by the central government is still uniform, even though the conditions of each region differ.