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JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has withdrawn a Jan. 31 deadline for the establishment of subdistrict councils in response to complaints from residents that they were given too little time to elect their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