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.