Greater regional autonomy

Greater regional autonomy

A few days ago the House of Representatives resolved to pass a
draft on regional administration. Since the draft came from the
executive branch, it can be expected that it will soon become
law. What this means is that we are poised to bestow our various
regions with greater freedom to look after their own affairs by
decentralizing the administration and granting them autonomy.

A number of prerequisites need to be met for any nation to be
able to successfully anticipate the coming century. In economic
terms, the engine of growth is no longer man's control over land,
capital and natural resources, but the capability of the
community within each country to manage life efficiently.
Societies also need to educate their members to behave
appropriately and nurture their culture.

In such a context, granting autonomy and a decentralization of
government powers to our regions should give them a proper
framework and enough space as well as a better foundation to
develop. The rest will depend on the quality of the human
resources available in each region. Provinces that do not have
good human resources will be left behind those that do. The new
law will bring its own consequences.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta