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)