City ready for autonomy, Sutiyoso says
City ready for autonomy, Sutiyoso says
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso reiterated on Wednesday his
belief in the capital's readiness for the full implementation of
regional autonomy next year and also hinted at the residents'
political awareness in respect of any future direct presidential
electoral system.
The governor was addressing a meeting of the political
commission of the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA) at City Hall,
which discussed the capital's preparations for the upcoming
implementation of regional autonomy and future direct
presidential elections.
"Jakarta is ready for the implementation of regional autonomy
because we have sufficient human resources," the governor said as
quoted by city spokesman Muhayat.
Sutiyoso said Jakartans would also be ready for the
implementation of direct presidential elections.
"When talking about direct presidential elections, our
residents have a relatively better political knowledge of such a
system. But, the system still needs evaluation before being
implemented," he said.
After meeting the governor, the visiting DPA members also held
a meeting with city councillors.
The DPA delegation, led by chairwoman Soelasikin Moerpratomo,
included Darussamin, Isaac Hindom, Ismael Hasan, Kafrawi Ridwan,
and Lt. Gen. (ret) Soerjatna Soebrata.
"It's the council's duty to hold consultations on political
issues with various institutions at both the national and
regional levels, including universities and non-governmental
organizations," Soelasikin told The Jakarta Post after the
meeting with city councillors.
"We are here to gather information so that our recommendations
to the President will be accurate, factual and valid," she said.
Soelasikin, a former minister of social affairs, said the
meeting discussed Jakarta's readiness for the implementation of
full regional autonomy on Jan. 1 next year.
"I have to admit that the DPA sometimes tended to overlook
Jakarta when we were gathering information. In the case of the
regional autonomy issue, I think Jakarta is a very important
place to conduct soundings," she said.
"This is especially so as we also want to find out about the
capital's preparations for the upcoming General Session of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) next month," she added.
The DPA delegation then held another meeting with members of
the community and non-governmental organization activists at the
City Council building.
The delegation is slated to hold discussions with
representatives of all Jakarta-based universities on Thursday.
Interviewed separately, council speaker Edy Waluyo hinted that
city councillors have confirmed Jakarta's readiness for the
implementation of regional autonomy.
"But, they (the councillors) had different opinions on the
issue of direct presidential elections. Some party factions said
that it is already the time for such a change, while others
disagreed," he said.
"However, we were all in agreement that adequate studies and
familiarization activities should be conducted among residents
prior to the implementation of such new presidential election
system," he added. (nvn)