Evaluating the regional autonomy policy

Evaluating the regional autonomy policy

By Dewi Anggraeni

MELBOURNE (JP): In the early 1990s countries in Asia such as
the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea began their
regional autonomy processes, yet this trend seemed to elude
Indonesia at that time. There was even a strong suspicion among
the political elite that regional autonomy would lead to national
disintegration. Finally, with the fall of the New Order, the
subsequent government could no longer deny the push for autonomy
from the grass roots.

Seven months after the introduction of the regional autonomy
policy, a review of it was the focus of a recent conference held
by six Australian universities on July 7-8.

Several case studies were presented: those of Irian, South
Sulawesi, Bangka Belitung, West Sumatra, and Bali.

Andi Mallarangeng, Chair of the Policy Committee for
Partnership of Governance Reform in Indonesia and lecturer at the
Institute of Government Studies, was among those who threw some
light on the teething problems in the implementation of regional
autonomy.

In South Sulawesi, regionalization has seen the revival of
many sentiments suppressed during the past three decades; among
them regarding ethnicity. The Mandarese, a major ethnic group in
the western part of South Sulawesi (one of its prominent
personalities being the late Baharuddin Lopa), feel
disenfranchised. South Sulawesi has 24 seats on the local
council, yet none was allocated to Mandarese. Consequently, they
have demanded their own province in the western part of the South
Sulawesi.

Those who want Sulawesi to return to the old kingdoms such as
Luhu and Bone, demand provinces oriented according to the former
borders of those kingdoms.

There are also religion-based aspirations, such as that led by
the son of the late Kahar Muzzakar, leader of the DI-TII Islamic-
based movement, who is keen on implementing the Islamic syariah
in South Sulawesi. While they have never demanded an Indonesian
Islamic state, they harbor ambitions to form an East Indonesian
Islamic State. The revived romantic appeal of an East Indonesian
State has also driven groups of students to lobby for an
independent Sulawesi. All these demands have to be managed wisely
and effectively.

Andi Mallarangeng stressed that regional autonomy has brought
substantial advantages to South Sulawesi. It has empowered the
local heads, governors and mayors to make decisions clearly
beneficial to their respective regions. It has also raised the
profiles of the regions to the national level. The mayor of
Makassar is the vice chair of the Association of Mayors of
Indonesia.

From Bali, Nyoman Riasa of the Indonesian Australian Language
Foundation said that the Balinese, while having a strong sense of
regional identity, are also aware that a Republic of Bali is
hardly viable.

"In 1998, after the May riot in Jakarta, the Balinese saw how
vulnerable they were to situations in other areas surrounding
Bali. With no supplies coming from Java, food became scarce.
People were worried they would eventually ... starve."

In Bali, the greater concern is more about how to obtain a
larger share of the revenue generated by Bali and in Bali.

However, the disparity of economic capability in different
regions makes some local governments more prepared and others
less so. Nyoman Riasa believes that Badung and Gianyar local
regency administrations are the most equipped in this case, given
their revenue sources to absorb the costs incurred, as well as
being able to take advantage of the policy.

"Badung regency is so well-off it even subsidizes other
regencies," Nyoman Riasa explained. If these arrangements could
be maintained, all would be well. However recently the Badung
regency government hinted that it would like to reduce these
subsidies, which naturally alarmed the other regencies.

Both the regencies of Badung (with Kuta, Legian, Seminyak,
Nusa Dua and Jimbaran), and Gianyar (with Ubud and Mas) draw the
bulk of their revenues from the tourism industry. While tourism
seems to be a solid source of revenue, it has proven to be
somewhat vulnerable at times of political instability.

What is more, Nyoman Riasa said, some aspects of Balinese
culture, such as Catur Guru and the caste system, which are
reliant on submissiveness, are open to manipulation by those in
power. In an interpersonal situation, a person of higher caste
can immediately gain the upperhand vis-a-vis his or her
interlocutor by adopting specific pronouns and verbs in speaking
Balinese.

During pre-autonomy days, an effective leveler was the use of
the much more egalitarian Indonesian language. One aspiration of
the regionalists however, is to revive their unique culture.
Would this imply a return to undemocratic social practices?
Wasn't it the onset of democracy that opened doors to regional
autonomy? There are clearly more questions than answers.

While demands in terms of regional autonomy may not
necessarily affect Indonesia in the national context, in the
current economic circumstances, they could prove very expensive.
The policy needs an overhaul of the national legal structure and
an implementation mechanism has to be instituted.

The government seems to lack the ability to look ahead and
predict outcomes and problems, Andi observed.

"When the state ministry for regional autonomy was disbanded,
we suggested that an authorized body be instituted to replace it.
But the government instituted a directorate general instead,
which has very little authority in terms of supervision and
monitoring."

Citing the complexities, Arief Budiman, a professor of the
University of Melbourne, said that while Indonesia may not
disintegrate, it may not remain solid either "because there will
always be tension and problems."

Both Arief and Robert Cribb of the University of
Queensland expressed guarded optimism about regional autonomy in
Indonesia, among others because autonomy laws can make local
governments vulnerable to control by powerful outside or local
forces, either big corporations, multinationals or army units.

"Another danger is the growth of criminality within units that
are too small to police themselves properly," Cribb added.

One big problem with regional autonomy, Cribb said, is that
"no one has come up with really good ideas that can revitalize
the center in Indonesian politics."

Maybe Indonesia needs to go through a period of regionalism,
he said, "and once the advantages of regionalism has been
exhausted, perhaps it can return to a greater degree of
centralization, because central authority also has its own
advantages." If the decentralization is managed in a way that
Indonesia doesn't fall apart, then probably that kind of cycle
can be established," Cribb said.

The writer is a journalist and novelist based in Melbourne,
Australia.