All 364 regencies prepared for regional autonomy: Apkasi

JAKARTA (JP): The All Indonesian Regency Administration Association (Apkasi) asserted that, despite prevailing skepticism, all 364 regencies in the country are prepared to implement regional autonomy on Jan. 1.

"All 364 regencies have been preparing for the planned decentralization of authority across eleven fields to better the peoples' social welfare and uphold democracy," Apkasi Chairman Syaukani told journalists here on Friday.

Syaukani dismissed those who have expressed hesitancy by claiming that most regencies are not prepared.

He suggested that such doubt was intentionally aired to show the central government's reluctance to decentralize its authority.

"Like it or not, the central government has no alternative but to implement the decentralized governmental system to ease problems threatening national unity," Syaukani said.

"Regional autonomy is a national decision that has to be implemented to narrow the disparity between the local and central governments and to better the peoples' social welfare," he added.

With the autonomy, regencies will have authority in eleven fields, including health, education, cooperatives, forestry, trade, agriculture and mining, while the central government will maintain its authority in foreign affairs, defense, the economy, justice, and religious affairs.

Syaukani, also regent of Kutai in East Kalimantan, pointed out that a number of state ministries and government officials have been reluctant to decentralize their authority so that they can continue enjoying financial benefits under the current system.

"It is now time for local administrations to enjoy the autonomy as a fruit of the reform movement. Under the autonomy, the government is expected to be more democratic, its service to the public will be improved, and the peoples' social welfare will be improved," he said.

He noted that numerous government officials have made a number of new decisions in the economic, fiscal and forestry fields to indirectly bolster the central government's authority in these areas.

"Regents are surprised with the Forestry Ministry's recent proposal for the establishment of state-owned companies to take over forest concessionaires in the hope that the ministry will retain its authority in the forestry field," he claimed.

Syaukani acknowledged that it was quite a giant leap from a centralized system to a decentralized one in such a short period without sufficient time for preparations, but said the government has no alternative but to execute the changes in order to salvage national unity.

"We will take a learning by doing approach while implementing the autonomy," he said, adding that the autonomy was the central government's initiative to redeem sins it committed in the past.

He said that with the autonomy, regencies and provinces were expected to be eager in upholding the supremacy of law and restoring law and order, two basic requirements for economic recovery and growth.

To date 15 government regulations have been issued to enforce the 1999 laws on regional autonomy and fiscal equity. (rms)