City sets no deadline on subdistrict councils

City sets no deadline on subdistrict councils

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has withdrawn a Jan. 31
deadline for the establishment of subdistrict councils in
response to complaints from residents that they were given too
little time to elect their representatives.

"The Jan. 31 deadline is not final. In the end, it is up to
the communities in these subdistricts to elect their
representatives to the councils," Muhayat, chief spokesman for
the city administration, told The Jakarta Post by phone on
Thursday.

A circular has been sent through the city's five mayoralties
informing residents that they can take their time in choosing
the council members, he said.

The subdistrict council is a new institution designed to
empower people at the grassroots level to participate in the
development of their own communities, as well as to control the
activities of their subdistrict administrations.

This worthy intention to empower the people has been marred by
the way the councils are being established, particularly the
limited time given to neighborhood communities (RT) to choose
their candidates.

An earlier circular from the city administration said that
these subdistrict councils should be formed by Jan. 31, prompting
subdistrict chiefs, who treated this as a deadline, to push the
neighborhood communities to name their representatives
immediately.

Most neighborhood communities said they only received the
order to choose their candidates on Monday and that many
subdistrict chiefs wanted the names in by Wednesday.

According to City Bylaw No. 5/2000 on the establishment of
these councils, a member of a subdistrict council serves a five-
year term. The councils will be made up of one representative
from each administrative unit (RW). Typically, an RW oversees 10
neighborhood communities.

The City Council's Commission A for government affairs joined
in the criticism of the administration on Thursday for attempting
to rush the process of establishing the councils, noting that in
several subdistricts the elections were flawed.

Commission chairman Binsar Tambunan said the City Council has
summoned Governor Sutiyoso to a hearing on Friday to discuss the
election of these subdistrict councils.

He also called for new elections in subdistricts where foul
play was suspected.

He cited the case of RW4 in the Duri Pulo subdistrict of
Gambir district, Central Jakarta, where residents complained that
the 15 representatives named to their subdistrict council were
appointed by the subdistrict chief without first going through
any election process.

In the Karang Anyar subdistrict of Sawah Besar district,
Central Jakarta, the subdistrict chief reportedly made house
calls asking residents to endorse candidates he had personally
chosen, Binsar said.

Reports of similar irregularities have come from Petogogan,
Cipete Utara, Gunung and Kramat Pela subdistricts in Kebayoran
Baru district, South Jakarta, and Cibubur subdistrict in East
Jakarta, he said.

According to bylaw No. 5, the councils are meant to serve as a
bridge between the people and the local administration, and
represent the aspirations of the people in their subdistricts.
The councils also are obliged to inform residents of new policies
and regulations.

The bylaw also stipulates that the elected council members
will receive an honorarium.

Deputy Governor Abdul Kahfi earlier confirmed rumors that the
size of the honorarium would be about Rp 500,000 (US$53) a month.
(04)