Minister warns of negative effects of decentralization

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy Surjadi Soedirdja warned on Wednesday over the growing misperception of regional autonomy and the potential for the decentralization of corruption as an unwanted effect of regional autonomy.

"We are aware of those possible effects, that's why we are trying to provide (government) decrees to prevent it," he told reporters after attending a hearing with the House of Representative's Commission II for domestic and legal affairs.

The government has pledged to fully implement regional autonomy by January, 2001.

Surjadi said the transfer of economic resources to regional administrations could easily be followed by a transfer of corruptive practices too if such a transfer was not supported by adequately skilled human resources and a control system.

"The condition will be even worse if most regional leaders and officials think the way the previous government thought," he added.

He also warned of a misperception of regional autonomy by many as regionalism.

He said the government needs the assistance of the media to disseminate the correct meaning of regional autonomy.

"We need your help because people are reluctant to listen to the government's explanation that regional autonomy is not identical to regionalism," he said.

Surjadi stressed the regions should be aware of the interdependent relationship between the various provinces, including between rich and poor ones.

"If affluent regions lack qualified human resources perhaps they can be provided by the poorer regions," he said. (44)