Mar'ie sides with the federalist camp

JAKARTA (JP): Former finance minister Mar'ie Muhammad has called for the establishment of a federal state, saying that a political compromise is urgently needed to dissolve the growing tension and upheavals in the regions.

In a letter to President B.J. Habibie on Wednesday, Mar'ie said federalism should be founded on the concepts of power and revenue sharing between Jakarta and the regions.

"A loose federation state system is a healthy alternative political solution to accommodate the spirit of regionalism, which unless provided with an outlet, could lead to unilateral actions that would break up Indonesia," Mar'ie said in the letter, a copy of which was made available to the press.

Mar'ie, who now chairs the Indonesian Committee for Humanity, is the latest respected public figure to join the federalist camp. Amien Rais, the chairman of the National Mandate Party, has said that federalism as a concept should be debated, but he shied away from pursuing the case when he came under strong criticisms.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) is strongly opposed to the idea and has vowed to defend the unitary state system.

Mar'ie suggested to Habibie that the federalism proposal be debated when the next People's Consultative Assembly meet in August.

While it would be significant, a new regional autonomy bill endorsed by the House of Representatives would be transitional and a more fundamental solution to the problem was needed, he said.

He proposed constitutional reform, which includes adopting a federal state system, while retaining the name of Republic of Indonesia, the Red and White national flag, the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity) motto, the national anthem Indonesia Raya and the state ideology Pancasila.

"The concept of sweeping autonomy essentially treats the relations between Jakarta and the regions as one between superior and subordinates. It is more logical, and realistic in the short, medium and long terms that relations are built on the basis of coordination, and not subordination."

Mar'ie said history showed a fallacy of the notion that Indonesia's unity could only be secured in a unitary state system. "On the contrary, through a federal state the spirit of diversity could be realized in a more natural way. Just look at the experience of other countries with a federal state system."

The argument that a federal state system would lead to a huge disparity between wealthy and poor regions would depend on how revenues were shared between Jakarta and the regions, he said. "This problem could be addressed under a loose federal system."

Under a federal system, regions would have greater autonomy and responsibility that would lead them to be more creative in promoting economic development central government directives.

This would mean faster growth in the regions that will eventually attract and absorb skilled workers from Java. "We need to urgently address the structural imbalance whereby 61 percent of the population live on Java and Bali, which only account for 6.5 percent of Indonesia's land territory," he said. (emb)