House delays establishment of Riau Islands province

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A plenary meeting of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Friday unexpectedly delayed the establishment of the province of Riau islands, despite unanimous support shown earlier by all nine factions in the legislative body.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who presided over the plenary meeting, said the ultimate decision on the establishment of the new province would be made at the House's next sitting, set to commence mid-August.

The decision drew quick criticism from the 500 residents of Riau islands regency attending the plenary meeting. Some yelled and shouted their disapproval inside the meeting.

The postponement was apparently decided on following an unscheduled consultation meeting on Friday morning between House leaders and Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.

Hari refused to comment after the meeting, but legislator Aly Yahya of Golkar said that President Megawati Soekarnoputri was also "involved in the closed-door meeting" by way of a conference call.

The consultation meeting pushed back the beginning of the plenary meeting, which was scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. By 9:00 a.m., only 74 legislators had signed the attendance board.

At 9:15 a.m., House deputy speaker A.M. Fatwa announced that the plenary meeting could not start because the House leaders were in a meeting with the home affairs minister.

The plenary meeting started at 10:20. In his speech, Akbar said that most importantly, the government backed the establishment of the new province. The government, however, felt that it needed more preparation before a new province was established, he said.

Signs of the government's rejection were also noticed on Monday when Hari skipped the final meeting of the House's special committee (Pansus) for the establishment of the new province.

Despite the minister's absence, leaders of the nine factions at the House signed a document that marked their unanimous support for the new province's establishment.

The deputy chairman of the special committee for the Riau islands bill deliberation, Rodjil Ghufron, said the House's decision to delay the establishment of the new province was sparked by inconsistencies on the home affairs minister's part.

Rodjil said that in the beginning of the deliberation the minister rejected the plan to convert the regency into a province.

Rodjil said that at that time, the minister referred his rejection to the lack of support from Riau's provincial legislature and administration.

However, according to the Supreme Court, the establishment of the province does not need the approval of Riau's provincial legislature and administration.

The Supreme Court refers to Law No. 22/1999 on regional administration.

Chief Justice Bagir Manan insisted that the establishment of the Riau islands province would go ahead despite the rejection by Riau's provincial legislature and administration.

Hari, however, voiced another opinion, saying that the regency was not prepared to be transformed into a new province.

"This is all about inconsistencies," Rodjil told the media after the plenary session.

The regency's revenue was originally estimated to reach Rp 82 billion.

Huzrin Hood, the regent of Riau Islands who attended the plenary meeting, claimed that the regency was ready to become a new province.

He showed his disappointment over the House decision, but said he would rather wait for August to see if the House would eventually approve the bill on the new province.

"We are much more prepared than Gorontalo," he said, referring to the establishment of that province in North Sulawesi.

Hood did not express any resentment and was seen hugging Akbar after a prayer session at a mosque in the House compound.