Empowering the regions

One of the most frequently voiced complaints about the existing political system is that it hardly represents or accommodates the interests and aspirations of the regions. The widespread discontent found in the regions today has its roots in the political structure, which is still very Jakarta-centrist.

The Regional Autonomy Law, which came into force this year, has devolved a lot of the administrative work from the central to the regional governments. But when it comes to real political powers, Jakarta still calls most of the shots.

It is somewhat disheartening therefore to find that the bills on political parties and on general elections, which have just been submitted by the government to the House of Representatives, seek to reaffirm Jakarta's political grip over the regions, rather than to redress this power imbalance.

The deliberation on the two bills is a golden chance for the nation to address once and for all the problem of power imbalances between Jakarta and the regions. Given that the grumbling in the regions in some cases has translated into armed uprising, while in others into outright defiance of some of Jakarta's policies, the government and the House might want to use the opportunity wisely, lest it upset the regions even more.

The two pieces of legislation will determine the relationship between Jakarta and the regions. In keeping with the spirit of the Regional Autonomy Law, deliberations on these two bills should be aimed at giving more political autonomy to the regions. That spirit, unfortunately, is missing from the two bills, at least in the current form submitted by the government.

The bill on political parties still requires that all political parties must base their headquarters in Jakarta. It requires that all parties must have representative offices in half of all provinces in Indonesia, and in half of all regencies in the provinces that they are represented. The bill on general elections is even more rigid. Political parties intending to contest the election must be represented in two-thirds of all provinces, and in two-thirds of all regencies where they are represented.

The proportional representative election system strengthens the grip of the leaders of the political parties. Elected representatives will be accountable to party leaders, as they are today, instead of to voters. The bills also give party leaders the right not only to nominate candidates for public office, but also to withdraw them from the elected office.

Some of these stipulations admittedly are aimed at simplifying the number of parties contesting the election (the number of registered political parties exceeded 200 at the last count). If the bills are approved, only a few, well-funded parties, could really meet the stiff requirements to contest the election.

The system as proposed by the two bills, however, virtually precludes the emergence of regional-based political parties. Such parties, which would fight for the interests of the local people, would not only find popular support in Aceh and Papua, but they could also ease the brewing political tensions there.

The existing political parties, because they are so Jakarta- centrist, have failed to give outlets through which the regions could voice their grievances and aspirations. The system's failure in turn has led many to resort to violence.

If Aceh and Papua were given the appropriate political channels through which their interests and aspirations could be fought, they would have no need to resort to armed rebellions. This is especially true considering that their chief goals have been for greater justice and a fairer share of the economic pie, and not so much for independence or separate states. Allowing the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) or the Free Papua Movement (OPM) to become political parties and to contest the elections would be the best compromise that Jakarta could give to the two provinces.

In deliberating the bills on political parties and general elections, the House should therefore consider not only the need to give the regions a greater say, but also the pressing need to find a compromise in Aceh and Papua. Most of all, they should strive to politically empower the regions.

In their present format, the two bills would change little the existing power structure, where political parties, or more specifically their leaders in Jakarta, hold most of the powers.

About the only significant change the bills seek to bring is in the election of the Regional Representative Council (DPD), a new body that would function like the U.S. senate. Theoretically at least, the nomination and election of the four DPD members from each province would not depend on political parties. We suspect however that the major political parties will still be campaigning to ensure that their candidates get the votes.

The two bills still have long way to go before they become law. They can still be changed, and they should. We hope that during the deliberation, the House will hold many public debates to include as many people as possible, particularly people in the region, in the process. While the bill would determine the outcome of the 2004 elections, more importantly, it will decide the kind of political relationship Jakarta has with the regions.