Autonomy raises challenges: Researcher

Autonomy raises challenges: Researcher

MATARAM: The Regional Autonomy Law and its enforcement has
raised several challenges that urgently need solutions, said Tri
Ratnawati, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

"It's not wise to forget the mistakes made in implementing
autonomy," she said during a seminar on Looking for a Model for
Autonomy for the Future on Monday.

The most controversial is the unclear division of authority
between the central government and the regions (provinces and
regencies), she said.

"It is not clear why the law excludes defense, monetary
affairs, courts, religions and foreign policy from
decentralization," she said.

The other concern is that regions have never been asked about
what authority they should exercise in controlling regional
autonomy, she said.

She said provinces and regencies had issued thousands of
rulings and bylaws to boost income as high as possible without
giving any consideration to national interests or other
regencies. --JP