A decentralized Jakarta easier to manage: Experts

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.