Megawati campaigns autonomy rewrite
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri urged provincial legislative council speakers to support the controversial plan by the central government to revise Law No. 22/1999 on regional administration.
Speaking at a national meeting of provincial council speakers from across the country on Friday, Megawati said the revision was not aimed at reducing the authority of regional administrations, but to minimize the excesses of regional autonomy.
"I reassure you there is no intention to retract, reduce or scrap the autonomy, but we have to put the system on the right track so it can secure the people's welfare," she said at the State Palace, where the meeting was held.
"I urge all councillors to disseminate the reasons for the revision to the public," she said.
Megawati warned that the autonomy now being exercised by regional administrations could lead to disputes between regions over natural resources and overexploitation of resources for the sake of profit -- which was why the law needed revising.
"Some articles in the law need amending to strengthen national integrity," she said, while asserting that regional autonomy should improve the wealth of the people in provinces and regencies.
"I believe the autonomy will work if local people stopped talking about their rights and started to focus on their duty to improving their own province or town."
Known for her off-the-cuff statements, Megawati also urged the councillors to address the problems of unemployment in their respective regions.
"It is not the job of the central government alone to provide jobs and reduce the unemployment rate. It is the responsibility of the regions to deal with the issue," she said.
The Regency Administrations' Association (APKASI) has strongly rejected the planned revision, saying that it would revert the country to the centralized system of Soeharto's New Order regime.
Megawati, who is one of the staunchest critics of a decentralized government, has been speaking about revising the law since she assumed power in July 2001.
She has repeatedly said regional autonomy was a threat to national unity.
Aside form the issue of territorial integrity, complaints have come from the business sector about the lack of legal certainty, as there are many conflicting regional laws and bylaws.
The government is slated to submit the draft revision of the Regional Administration Law, which came into effect in 2000, as soon as possible, despite widespread opposition from regional governments.
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said on Friday the revision would cover the direct election of governors and regents, relations between the central and regional governments and allocation of state funds to the regions.
Hari said the revised Autonomy Law was expected to be implemented in 2004, just ahead of the April 5 general elections.