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)