RT, RW do not act on behalf of people, experts say
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It is difficult to expect democracy to develop from the grass roots because the authorities have held a firm grip on the power of leaders of both neighborhood and community units, experts said on Wednesday.
The government had apparently treated neighborhood units (RT) and community units (RW) as informal organizations at the grass roots and as their subordinates, they said.
"It can be seen in Jakarta, where interference of the city administration with RT and RW leaders is stipulated by a bylaw," said Paulus Aramaholette, chairman of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), during a discussion on the role of the RT and RW.
He referred to Bylaw No. 5/2000 on Subdistrict Councils (Dekel), which says that RT and RW are organizations supervised by the government. They also have a function to smooth the government's way with the community.
Paulus said the task of RT and RW, as stipulated in the bylaw, was contradictory to their function as informal organizations, which were expected to become the lowest-level democratic organizations.
Activist of the Community for Participatory Social Management (RPSM) M.M. Billah, said that the original concept of RT and RW was introduced by the Japanese military administration during their occupation of the country between 1942 and 1945. The RT and RW were established as a tool for the Japanese to control civilians.
Each RT is comprised of 30 families to 60 families while each RW consists of eight RT to 16 RT.
Billah said it was impossible to expect democracy to start from the grass roots because any political party in power had always maintained the Japanese concept in dealing with RT and RW.
"The government has always dominated or imposed its wishes, in the name of development, on the community," he said.
Head of the community unit at Pondok Kopi subdistrict, East Jakarta, Muhammad Widayat, said officials in the subdistrict had always treated leaders of RT and RW in their area as their subordinates.
"Although RT and RW are informal organizations, which have no structural connection with the subdistrict, the head of the subdistrict at my place still requests our help to carry out his duties, including collecting taxes from the public," he said in the discussion.
Law No. 34/1999 on Jakarta as a special administration and law No. 22/1999 on regional administration stipulate that subdistrict and village administrations are at the bottom of the government hierarchy.
RT and RW are not included within the administrative structure.
Widayat also stated that leaders of RT and RW had always been used by the ruling party to garner support from the public.
"It's common knowledge that leaders of RT and RW became political tools of the former ruling Golkar party and that approach has always been adopted by the ruling party in the city," he said.
Widayat criticized universities and other research centers for paying no attention to RT and RW, which have become a reality in the society.
"So far, there has been no formal study carried out on the role of RT and RW, although they have become part of society. Studies would be useful in examining the various problems faced by RT and RW, including the possibility of revising their roles," he said.
Subdistrict council member from Penjaringan, North Jakarta, Diding Ireng Chairuddin questioned the relevance of both the RT's and RW's role in modern society.
He agreed with Widayat that there should be a thorough study on RT and RW before any decision were made.
"We must know if urban people really need the RT and RW. If they don't, we should be courageous enough to abolish them."