Govt proposes 25 new regencies

JAKARTA: The government has submitted 10 bills to the House of Representatives (DPR) on the establishment of 25 autonomous regencies throughout the country.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri, in a letter accompanying the bills, said she had assigned Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno to discuss the bills with legislators.

"Based on existing procedure, we let the steering committee arrange the schedule," House Deputy Speaker A. M. Fatwa told a plenary meeting here on Thursday.

During a recent hearing between the home ministry and House Commission II for home affairs, commission chairman Teras Narang said lawmakers would finish deliberating the new regency formation as soon as possible.

During the hearing, the minister said his office had also prepared bills on various issues to boost the implementation of regional autonomy. -- JP