South Sulawesi governor slams autonomy law
South Sulawesi governor slams autonomy law
Muninggar Sri Sarashwati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
South Sulawesi Governor Amin Syam has filed an appeal with the
Constitutional Court over an autonomy law he claims disadvantages
his provincial government.
In the appeal filed last week, the governor said certain
articles in the law on the establishment of West Sulawesi
province were unfair and discriminatory.
The law requires South Sulawesi province to pay Rp 8 billion
for two consecutive years to West Sulawesi province, which was
partitioned off from South Sulawesi last November.
Amin argues this type of stipulation did not appear in any
other law on the establishment of a new province, including
Gorontalo, Banten and Riau.
"We do not oppose the establishment of the new West Sulawesi
province, but such financial obligations burden the budget of the
South Sulawesi provincial government," said Amin in the appeal.
If the law is enforced, then part of the South Sulawesi budget
will go into West Sulawesi's coffers and reduce the financial
ability of the South Sulawesi government to carry out development
projects in its own province, he said.
The appeal also criticized sanction threatened by the central
government if the South Sulawesi government refused to disburse
the money to West Sulawesi.
The law states the central government will not disburse a
sizable fiscal balance fund to South Sulawesi if it fails to
pay West Sulawesi the Rp 8 billion.
West Sulawesi province was established on Nov. 22, bringing
the number of provinces in the country to 33.
Following the creation of the new province, the total number
of regencies in the country now stands at 349, while there are 91
municipalities.
The people of West Sulawesi had long dreamed of their own
province. West Sulawesi natives, called the Mandar people, have
been attempting to separate from South Sulawesi for 50 years.
Their efforts intensified in 1997 when a group of Mandar
people established a forum called the Committee for the Struggle
to Establish West Sulawesi Province. West Sulawesi natives felt
they had been neglected for years by the provincial
administration and aspired to manage their own affairs.
The Constitutional Court is expected to begin considering
Amin's appeal in January.
This is not the first dispute over an autonomy law. Earlier,
the Papua provincial administration filed an appeal with the
Constitutional Court against a law partitioning Papua into three
provinces.