Councillors urge real democracy in Jakarta
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The move to make Jakarta more democratic began last year when members of City Council Commission A for legal and administrative affairs proposed a number of ideas to spread decentralization to the municipal and regency levels.
Although the Jakarta administration opposed the idea, saying it feared less developed areas of the city would be left behind, the councillors have not given up on the idea that mayors and regents must be directly elected, as they are in other provinces.
"In principle, we agree with the idea of spreading decentralization down to the municipal/regency levels. But we have different ideas on how to carry out the change," commission chairman Achmad Suaidy told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
The veteran politician from the United Development Party (PPP) has proposed the establishment of legislative councils in Jakarta's five municipalities and Kepulauan Seribu regency.
"This way, the regional heads would be more serious about improving public services and developing their respective territories," he said.
His argument is backed by a recent survey conducted by the World Bank and Gadjah Mada University of Yogyakarta, which found decentralization has a positive affect on the health care system, the education system and government services.
However, commission member Rois Hadayana Syaugie of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) does not agree with the idea of establishing legislative councils in each municipality and regency.
"How could we control the legislative councils in each region, which could pass bylaws that contradict city bylaws? There should be only one legislative council in Jakarta.
"Moreover, mayors and regents should be responsible to the people, not regional councils. They should prioritize the interests of residents, not of political parties," he said.
Councillor Thamrin of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said the City Council needed to involve experts from different disciplines to determine the type of decentralization best suited for Jakarta.
"There would need to be mechanisms to prevent the municipalities from refusing to cooperate, so vital projects such as road construction and flood prevention could be implemented smoothly as integrated projects," he said.
Starting this year, all provinces, municipalities and regencies across the country will hold direct elections for their administration heads, as stipulated in Law No. 32/2004 on regional administrations.
The law excludes Jakarta, which will get a directly elected governor only in 2007.
The House of Representatives is currently revising Law No. 34/1999 on Jakarta's status as a special territory, which has hampered decentralization in the city by giving the governor the power to appoint mayors, regents and district and subdistrict heads.