Regional autonomy beginning of the end for Indonesia?
Regional autonomy beginning of the end for Indonesia?
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Disputes sparked by conflicts of interest between the central
government and regional administrations in connection with the
implementation of regional autonomy early this year could
endanger national unity, analysts warn.
"The implementation of regional autonomy legislation could be
the beginning of the end for the Republic of Indonesia, if the
disputes continue," A.S. Hikam, a researcher from the National
Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said at a seminar on regional
autonomy and regionalism over the weekend.
Disputes have arisen out of a lack of mutual trust between the
central and regional governments, according to Hikam, who was a
research and technology minister under former president
Abdurrahman Wahid.
Hikam said that the central government still feared losing its
authority should the regional autonomy law be fully implemented
because, for many regional administrations, autonomy had become
an instrument for collecting as much income as possible.
He explained that the implementation of regional autonomy
legislation in many regions had also sparked divisive sentiment
among local leaders, who demanded that positions within their
administrations be given to local indigenous people.
"If such sentiment is adopted overwhelmingly, ignoring the
national context, it will become a boomerang that will be fatal
for the integrity of our nation.
"With such a way of thinking and because of short-term
interests, the regional autonomy law is no longer being
implemented to empower the people and develop a united,
sovereign, just and prosperous nation," Hikam said.
Hikam added that the situation is worsened by the less
conducive atmosphere of macropolitical conditions because of
ongoing conflict among the political elite and horizontal
conflict among groups in several regions of the country.
Andi Mallarangeng, former assistant to the state minister for
regional autonomy affairs, said regional autonomy would be able
to strengthen national unity if it were implemented in a proper
way.
"The problem is that regional autonomy was only implemented
half-heartedly. This can cause disappointment among many
regions," Andi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
He said closure of the office of state minister for regional
autonomy affairs indicated that the government did not consider
regional autonomy a priority.
He also warned that the government's plan to revise the
regional autonomy law should not be aimed at reversing the
decentralization program implemented since 2000.
"It is okay if revisions to the law are aimed at improving its
weaknesses but, for me, the most important thing the government
has to do at present is draft supporting regulations to the law
through government regulations and presidential decrees," he
added.
According to Andi, the absence of supporting regulations as
well as adequate supervision from the central government has
caused difficulties in the law's implementation.
Hikam said, however, the government should go ahead with plans
to revise the law as long as adjustments touched on the
fundamental principles, especially the new way Indonesian people
viewed the spirit of nationalism.