Parliament plans to revise autonomy law

Parliament plans to revise autonomy law

22 August 2003

MiningIndo.com

After several, media reports in the Indonesian media last week the national parliamentary House of Representatives (DPR) announced in Jakarta Thursday (August 21) that it will propose a direct election of regional heads in its draft revision of the Regional Autonomy Law.

The central government proposed the changes to the Law to accommodate changes to the Constitution earlier this year allowing for Indonesia's first direct election of government representatives and President.

The DPR will propose the direct election of House Commission II on legal and home affairs, has set up a team to draft the revision, focusing on this particular issue.

The government had submitted its draft revision of the law, but it accorded too much power to the president to intervene in the election of regional heads, thus prompting the House to develop its own draft revision reported The Jakarta Post.

Deputy chairman of Commission II, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan said the team was still evaluating the implementation of regional autonomy and seeking inputs from regions in order to develop the draft revision as quoted from The Post.

Ferry declined to provide further details on the evaluation.

"The team will present the results of our evaluation as important inputs for the commission to take into consideration in preparing the draft revision," he said quoted The Post..

Problems

There have been an increasing number of cases involving alleged bribery and extortion in a number of govern rial and mayoral elections in the provinces of Indonesia recently. The direct election of officers is thought to develop democracy and maintain regional political stability.

"If governors, regents and mayors are directly elected by the people, such bribery cases can be avoided and political conditions in regions will be relatively more stable," Ferry said as reported by The Jakarta Post, adding that the election of regional heads conducted by regional legislatures was only one of several complicated issues that had arisen with the implementation of regional autonomy.

The Commission would also propose the establishment of administrative borders to prevent conflicts between provinces, between regencies and between regencies and mayoralties.

"The unclear administrative borders have given rise to issues on administration income and natural resources, which have frequently become the source of conflicts between provinces and regencies," he was quoted by The Post as saying to reporters.