Law grants village chiefs extra powers

Asip A. Hasani, The Jakarta Post, Salatiga, Central Java

The regional autonomy law will enable village-level formal leaders to wield greater power, which endangers democracy in this changing nation, an expert says.

Political observer Arief Budiman of Melbourne University, Australia, told a seminar here on Tuesday that heads of villages and members of village consultative bodies (BPD) were prone to elitist behavior despite the fact that they had achieved power through a direct and democratic election.

"Therefore, we should support social movements initiated by the grass roots to control their formal leaders who are suddenly alienated from their constituents and who tend to pursue their own interests," said Arief.

The seminar on local politics was organized by the Percik Foundation, which was jointly founded by lecturers of Salatiga- based Satya Wacana University, including Arief, six years ago.

Also speaking at the seminar was Prof. Sutandyo Wignjosoebroto from Surabaya-based Airlangga University.

Arief said the political phenomenon at village level resembled that at regency level.

"Like councillors in many regencies in the era of regional autonomy, members of village legislative bodies are easily trapped in power play by manipulating village regulations for their own personal gain," Arief said.

Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy, which was implemented early last year, grants regencies and mayoralties the highest degree of autonomy. Although containing only a few articles on village administration, the law states that villages, as the lowest administrative level, are autonomous compared with district administrations.

The law also stipulates the establishment of village consultative bodies whose members are directly elected by the people. The law also affirms the direct election of village heads, which has long been adopted.

"In reality, members of BPD and village heads can make a backroom deal without the people's knowledge. They are entitled to produce village regulations, for instance, to raise their salaries or incentives," Arief said.

Meanwhile, Director of Percik Foundation Pradjarta Dirdjosanjoto told The Jakarta Post that the implementation of regional autonomy should also be followed by empowerment of local communities in villages in a bid to improve their political participation.

"Without these initiatives, regional autonomy won't produce any advantage to the people except for the elite," he said.

He added that empowerment of local communities should also be aimed at boosting people's capability to solve their own problems, such as social conflict, in their own way.

The foundation runs a research institution and regularly trains junior researchers from various universities and research centers across the country.