Govt submits bills on regional autonomy laws
Govt submits bills on regional autonomy laws
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta
The government has submitted to the House of Representatives
(DPR) two bills on the revision of Law No. 22/1999 on regional
administration and Law No. 25/1999 on fiscal balance as part of
its efforts to improve the working of regional autonomy.
House deputy speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno told a plenary
meeting on Monday that the President had also assigned Minister
of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno and Minister of Finance Boediono to
discuss the bills with legislators.
"We hope the House special committees in charge of
deliberating the two bills will start working soon," said
Soetardjo.
Since their implementation in 2001, the regional autonomy laws
have sparked disputes between the central and local governments.
Local governments oppose the plan to revise the laws, which they
said will reinstate the old centralistic system of government.
The government bills will be discussed along with a bill
drafted earlier by the legislators. This bill focuses on the
direct election of governors, mayors and regents.
The legislators started deliberating their own bill a couple
of weeks ago.
The submission of the government-sponsored bills may prolong
the debate on the revision of the regional administration
legislation. Initially, the legislators had drafted their own
bill in the hope that the direct election of governors, mayors,
and regents could take effect soon.
The chairman of the special committee deliberating the draft
revisions of the regional autonomy law, Agustin Teras Narang,
said on Monday he would discuss with fellow legislators whether
they would deliberate the government-sponsored bills
simultaneously with the House's bill.
"The government's bills are more comprehensive. They go into
more detail on regional autonomy. The substance is
decentralization," Teras added.
Separately, Firman Jaya Daeli from the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) disclosed that the government-sponsored
bills on regional administration would focus on five areas.
First, the bills would strengthen the relations between the
central government and provincial, municipal and regental
administrations.
Second, they would help further reform of the bureaucracy in
an attempt to improve public service.
Third, the bills would strengthen supervisory mechanisms in
order to ensure effective and efficient local administration.
Fourth, they would encourage the direct election of governors,
mayors and regents.
Fifth, the bills would help reform the financing and budgetary
system with regard to the sharing out of revenues as between the
central government and local administrations.
Firman, a member of the House home affairs commission, said
that revisions were needed because the implementation of local
autonomy had created several difficulties.
Taking an example, he said that a number of regional
administrations were issuing policies that contradicted the
policies of the central government.
"Some local administrations apply their own policies and
ignoring the policies set by the central government. In some
cases, ministerial instructions are ignored," said Firman.