Deliberation of bill on Banten province postponed
Deliberation of bill on Banten province postponed
JAKARTA (JP): The government and the House of Representatives
agreed to postpone deliberation of the bill on Banten province as
they work to resolve "technical hurdles".
Speaking before a House special committee that is currently
deliberating the bill, Home Affairs Minister Surjadi Soedirdja
said the postponement was pending approval from the West Java
provincial administration and the Banten Regional Autonomy
Advisory Board (DPOD).
"The government appeals to the people of Banten to exercise
patience due to the postponement of the bill's deliberation. The
new province's development will be postponed because it has yet
to meet legal and technical requirements," he said.
Surjadi, who was accompanied by Minister of Law and
Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Minister of Autonomy Affairs
Ryaas Rasyid, said both the West Java provincial administration
and legislative council principally rejected the new province's
development, while DPOD has yet to function in its advisory
capacity because the association of the Banten provincial
administration and legislative council has yet to be established.
"As a Banten native myself, I do want the new province to be
developed but we can't do this because the new province's
development -- the first in the reform era -- should meet the
requirements of the law," he said.
He stressed that the government did not want the Banten issue
to set a bad precedent in the development of other provinces in
the future. Therefore, it was important that all technical and
legal requirements were carried out properly.
According to the law on regional autonomy, Banten must gain
the full support of its parent province, in this case the West
Java provincial administration and its Advisory Board which has
yet to accede on both the economic and physical feasibility of
Banten's segregation as a separate province.
Initially the bill was expected to be completed by the end of
the month.
Surjadi on Wednesday proposed that the bill be endorsed by the
end of this year, thus giving time for the Banten Regional
Autonomy Advisory Board to work, which is imperative so that
financing for the new province can be included in the 2001 state
budget.
Surjadi noted that the West Java administration has refused to
finance the new province's establishment.
Triana, representing around 30 Banten figures in the meeting,
said they could understand the postponement of the bill's
deliberation and hoped that all the technical problems could be
resolved soon.
The administrative area of Banten as it currently stands
occupies 8,200 square kilometers with a population of over nine-
million. (rms)