Plan to revise regional autonomy law critized

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Former regional autonomy minister Ryaas Rasyid criticized on Wednesday the plan to revise the regional autonomy law, which has been in force since earlier this year, arguing that such a revision was not necessary.

"What we need now is not a revision, but rather support, in the form of government regulations and presidential decrees," Ryaas said at a conference on constitutional review.

Ryaas said that the underlying problem was that the government was not ready to issue the hundreds of supporting regulations badly needed for the implementation of the regional autonomy law.

The government is currently revising the law on regional autonomy in a move to reduce regency administrations' control over natural and financial resources.

Former minister of home affairs and regional autonomy Surjadi Soedirdja said earlier that amendment of the law was needed as part of the government's efforts to "support local growth without sacrificing national unity."

Surjadi said that the law contained regulations that allowed regional administrations to become overly independent to a point that threatened to cause national disintegration.

"Such a problem would not occur if the government were ready with supporting regulations," Ryaas said at the conference organized by the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).

Ryaas cited as an example that the government could issue a regulation authorizing governors to directly supervise the activities of mayors and regents.

Ryaas, who was the main person responsible for drafting the regional autonomy law, said that the revision showed unpreparedness on the part of central government to hand over parts of its authority to regional administrations.

He explained that he frequently became the target of criticism by his fellow ministers who were not happy with his ideas when he was the regional autonomy minister.

"Of course they were not happy with my ideas because if they were implemented, they would lose some of their authority. Therefore I used to be branded a source of conflict by former president Abdurrahman Wahid," said Ryaas.