Govt set to revise autonomy law
Govt set to revise autonomy law
A'an Suryana
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
The government is set to revise the 1999 Law No. 22 on regional
governments punctuating two years of fiery public debate.
The election of heads of regional governments, however, will
be a contentious issue, according to Progo Nurjaman, a government
team member involved in the revision of the law.
"The government is revising the law. The revised law will be
completed and handed over to the House of Representatives (DPR)
in October this year for further deliberation," the director
general for general governance at the Ministry of Home Affairs
Progo told reporters here on Monday.
After the law took effect in 2001, it promptly became a focus
of public debate with those in favor saying that it brought the
government closer to people, offered more autonomy to regional
governments and hence could help quell separatist elements in the
regions.
Others were skeptical of the law, saying that it only shifted
corruption from the central government to the regional
governments. Likewise, central government officials also opposed
the law, subtly indicating that it had curtailed their powers.
Investors have also complained about the attitude of regional
governments following the enactment of the law. They said
regional governments enacted various bylaws for their own
interests, thereby compromising the investors' interests.
The debate has prompted the government to begin revising the
law.
Empowering regional governments has become a new focus of
public discourse in Indonesia and was only made possible
following the collapse of the New Order government in 1998.
During the 30 years of Soeharto's rule, the subject was taboo.
Observers say that separatist movements which are especially
rife in two of the 31 provinces, Aceh and Papua, stem from the
resentment of regional governments toward the central government.
The regions feel Jakarta has taken too much of the cake and left
too little for them.
Progo said among the articles in Law No. 22 most likely to be
revised was the one that said that the heads of regional
administrations shall be elected by local regency and provincial
councils.
"It has wide repercussions in politics and in the life of the
people in the regions. We have heard a lot of resentment in the
regions, pointing to the flaws in the election of the heads of
the regional governments," he said.
People in the regions, he went on, were distrustful of local
councils adding that the elections of the heads of the regional
governments had often been marred by "pork and barrel politics",
that betrayed the people.
"As the level of trust has been put to the test, people have
demanded direct elections for heads of regional governments.
People believe that it will give them a fair and just election,
promoting democracy in the regions," said Progo.
Progo added that the central government understood the
people's aspirations, and promised that his team would
accommodate it in an article in the revised law.
However, Progo admitted that there was a long way to go before
the revised law could take effect. He said that the revised law
would not take effect until after the 2004 general election due
to the tight schedule at the House prior to the elections.