Experts, councillors call for more democratic, decentralized Jakarta
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Experts and councillors want the House of Representatives to make Jakarta more democratic by introducing a regulation requiring direct mayoral/regency elections like those held in other regions.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences political analyst Indria Samego said on Sunday the current political system in Jakarta gave the governor too much power because he was authorized to appoint officials, from subdistrict heads to regents and mayors.
"Jakarta should be treated like other regions. Power must be decentralized to the municipal and regency levels to make the city more democratic," Indria told The Jakarta Post.
The House is currently preparing a revision of Law No. 34/1999 on Jakarta as a special territory. According to the law, the Jakarta governor is elected by the City Council and is entitled to appoint mayors and regents.
The revision is aimed at bringing the law into line with Law No. 32/2004 on regional administration, which requires direct elections for governors, mayors and regents.
The current crop of city leaders, however, seem reluctant to hold direct elections for mayors and regents, or to implement autonomy at the municipal and regency levels.
Indria said there would be at least two advantages if regional autonomy was decentralized to the regency and municipal levels.
First, public services would be improved because the fate of mayors and regents would be decided not by the governor, but by the people.
"Moreover, decentralization would allow for a tighter control system because there would municipal/regency councils," he said.
Center for Electoral Reform executive Smita Notosutanto said her organization had proposed the creation of municipal and regency councils in Jakarta prior to the gubernatorial election in 2002.
The chairman of City Council Commission A for legal and administrative affairs, Achmad Suaidy, said the Council attempted to include articles on the decentralization of Jakarta in a draft revision of Law No. 34/1999, but was opposed by the administration.
"I think we all agree that Jakarta must be more democratic so that officials, particularly mayors, do not only report good things to the governor so they are reappointed .... We will lobby House members to consider the decentralization issue," Suaidy told the Post.
He expressed optimism that the proposal would receive a positive response from the House.
Commenting on the Sutiyoso administration's apparent reluctance to embrace decentralization, Suaidy said the bureaucrats at the provincial level benefited from the current system.
"They control all of the activities, from the subdistrict level to municipalities and regencies. If decentralization was approved, they would lose a lot of power," Suaidy said.