House to deliberate Bangka-Belitung bill
House to deliberate Bangka-Belitung bill
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives is set to
deliberate a draft law which will establish Bangka and Belitung
islands in Sumatra as a separate province.
"The House has decided to deliberate the bill within the next
three months on the grounds that (the proposal) gained
substantial support in our latest plenary session," Marzuki
Achmad, the deputy chairman of the House's special committee
dealing with the draft law, said here on Saturday.
The government is expected to form a special team to conduct a
feasibility study on the possibility of giving the islands
province status before beginning deliberations of the House-
sponsored bill.
Marzuki said the House's special committee would cooperate
with the government in providing the necessary data so
deliberations of the bill could be completed by the end of this
year.
Some 1,000 people from Bangka and Belitung rallied at the
House compound on Friday to demand the government and the House
move to discuss the draft law on their homeland's future. Ishak
Zainuddin, the chairman of the Belitung regency legislative
council and the leader of the demonstration, said the government
should heed the people's aspirations in order to accelerate
development in the region.
The House postponed endorsing a bill on the establishment of
Banten province until January 2001 in order to obtain the
government aid allocated for the area in the 2001/2002 state
budget.
The House also is drafting another bill which would establish
Riau as a separate province.
Ali Yahya, another member of the special committee, said the
establishment of new provinces would accelerate development
according to the plan to enact the regional autonomy law in
January 2001.
"Numerous outlying regions have expressed their desire to set
up separate provinces to support the economic development
programs. Both Bangka and Belitung, and Riau are rich in
resources, making it feasible for them to build their own
provinces," he said. (rms)