A decentralized Jakarta easier to manage: Experts
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Experts are calling for the decentralization of power in the capital Jakarta, saying that the move would boost people's participation in the decision-making process and allow the public to exert effective controls on officials.
A decentralized Jakarta would also be easier to manage and improve public services here, they said.
Election law expert and former executive director of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) Smita Notosusanto said Jakarta was too big to be managed by the provincial administration only.
"It is a shame that we still find many malnourished children, and polio cases in the capital. It shows that Jakarta has too many unnoticed problems because the administration is too busy to handle other big problems," she told The Jakarta Post.
At least 8,455 children under five in Jakarta were suffering from malnutrition, almost 1 percent of the total of 923,000 children under five estimated to be living in the capital, the city health agency said recently.
Smita said studies showed decentralization could improve the government services in many areas, especially in education and health.
A recent survey conducted by the World Bank and Yogyakarta- based Gajah Mada University in 32 cities and regencies across the country showed that four years after the introduction of regional autonomy, the majority of people had seen improvements in health, education and administrative services.
The survey found 60 percent of respondents identified improvements in public health, while 60 percent households polled felt there was an improvement in the condition of schools, quality of teachers, and academic performance.
Jakarta has five municipalities and one regency -- the Thousand Islands region.
Meanwhile, a regional autonomy expert from the University of Indonesia (UI), Eko Prasojo, said if not instituted properly, autonomy would cause more problems than it would solve. Newly elected mayors could have difficulties coordinating their flood, garbage and transportation systems with other regions, he said.
"This will slow down the decision-making process."
Eko said the authority of municipalities, regencies and the provincial administration had to be clearly defined to avoid possible conflicts.
He suggested that wider, inter-regional issues be handled by the provincial administration, while municipalities and regency would handle "local" problems only, including health, education, and employment.
He added that Article 18 of the amended 1945 Constitution allowed Jakartans to request the Constitutional Court review laws that could be used to give Jakarta provincial autonomy.
In other provinces, regional autonomy rests in the municipalities or regencies.
"Autonomy for Jakarta is based on several articles in Law No. 34/1999 and Law No. 32/2004 on regional autonomy, while the Constitution clearly states that all regions, including provinces, regencies and municipalities are entitled to autonomy," Eko said.
He said that many experts had expressed the opinion Jakarta should be treated in the same way other regions were.
If the government decided to give all regions in Jakarta autonomy, then revenue and financing issues could be arranged according to Law No. 33/2004 on regional funding, just like other regions.