Regional councils have crucial role, Yogie says

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Elected councilors may be hierarchically lower than local administrations, but their voice is crucial and always considered in any decision-making process, Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. said yesterday.

Yogie told a gathering of leaders of provincial and regency- level legislative councils that under Law no. 5/1974, the heads of provincial administrations, who are appointed by the President, are the supreme rulers of the regions they administer.

This does not mean, however, that a provincial or regency legislative council, whose members are elected by the people, does not have any role to play, he said.

Council members and heads of the provincial administrations are "equal partners", each having a specific duty and role to play, he said. "The relationship between the head of the local administration and the council is one of a partnership."

The local administration's main duty is to implement development programs, based on suggestions and information provided by the legislative councils, he said.

Some political analysts have questioned the effectiveness of the provincial councils, given that a governor or a regent chief, as the top ruler of the region, is answerable to the President and not to local council members who are elected by the people.

This confusion is illustrated by the way governors are elected, or rather, appointed. The councils still elect candidates who are vetted by the central administration. But the result still has to be approved by the President, who has the final say in appointing a governor.

In most cases, President Soeharto approves the candidates elected by the councils, but there have been one or two incidents in the past year when the head of state overruled the election results and appointed a governor of his own choice.

Skepticisms

Yogie acknowledged that skepticisms abound about the effectiveness of the legislative councils, but said that this simply reflected difficulties in carrying out their full role.

These difficulties can be surmounted, he added.

More specifically, he said that the integrity of the legislative council depends to a large extend on how far it can truly represent and fight for the interest of their constituents.

The council should also play the role of a "mediator and facilitator" between the administration and the people, he said.

Now with the government's plan to grant greater autonomy to the regional administrations, the councils should further strengthen their role and effectiveness in influencing decisions, including the election of the local administrator chief, the minister said.

"A council member should be really sensitive to the political needs and the aspirations of the local people about the kind of leader they need," he said.

The government in April launched a two-year regional autonomy pilot project in 26 regencies. Under the project, virtually all affairs are decided and administered at the regency level. The only exception are in the fields of security, justice, international relations, monetary and some general administration.

Yogie said there was no need to review the 1974 law. "What we need to do is to implement in full the democratic spirit contained in the legislation."

The meeting of the legislative councils will close on Saturday. A number of cabinet ministers, including State Minister for Administrative Reform T.B. Silalahi and Transportation Minister Haryanto Danutirto, are scheduled to address the forum. (02/emb)