Regional councils have crucial role, Yogie says

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)