Autonomy revision to start in December

Autonomy revision to start in December

JAKARTA: The government is planning to start deliberating the
revision of law No. 22, 1999 on regional administrations with the
House of Representatives (DPR) in December, a cabinet minister
says.

Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said on Tuesday that the
revision would put an end to what he called "mismanagement
arising from the excessive authority exercised by local
administrations.

He did not elaborate.

Hari also said that the government has already drafted 13
bills on the establishment of 24 new regencies across the
country.

The minister said that some articles of the bills had been
adjusted to the political laws, including election law No.
12/2003, law No. 22/2003 on the composition of the People's
Consultative Assembly, the House of Representatives, and the
Regional Representatives Council, and law No. 31/2002 on
political parties.

"We are expecting that during the deliberation of the bills,
we can prepare new regents for those regencies. But it must be
underlined that newly installed regents will work for one year
only -- until after new regents are elected in the 2004
elections," Hari said in a hearing with the House's Commission II
on legal and home affairs. --JP