Calls for the creation of new administrative regions are still being made, despite a moratorium being in place and opposition calls for the development of existing regions to be prioritized.
Zulkarnain Karim, mayor of Pangkalpinang on Bangka Island, Sumatra, said Tuesday at a seminar that creating new regions was often the only way to spur economic development and improve people's lives.
He pointed out how the government had developed roads and infrastructure across much of Java, while largely overlooking other islands in the archipelago.
He said this had boosted the creation of new regions outside Java as a way to draw money from Jakarta.
"That's why most new regions are created outside of Java Island," Zulkarnain said, adding the money for new administrations was used to build roads and other infrastructure.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono imposed a moratorium on the formation of new regions following the death of the North Sumatra Legislative Council speaker at the hands of a mob demanding the creation of Tapanuli province.
Several officials and students have since been jailed over the incident.
The President also pointed out little had been achieved by the many new regions already formed.
Zulkarnain's call was echoed by Raksaka Mahi, from the Office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, who said it was natural that regions outside Java split up and formed new administrations, simply because that was the only way for them to get development funding.
"The government can't keep intervening to halt the trend in that direction," Raksaka said, adding bigger regions would naturally seek to split up in order to control people scattered across vast areas.
The creation of new regions was enabled under the 1999 Regional Autonomy Law, revised in 2004.
Since then, seven provinces, 164 regencies and 34 municipalities have been formed, bringing the country's total to 33 provinces, 398 regencies and 39 municipalities.
Most of the new regions, however, have been deemed failures.
Harun Al Rasyid, from the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), said at the seminar that only 20 percent of the new regions could be considered a success.
Regional administrations have gone too far with their right to form new regions, he said, adding the DPD backed the moratorium on the creation of new regions, until a thorough evaluation could be carried out to examine the best way to implement the policy.
Harun singled out Gorontalo province as the only new region that could be deemed a success.
Siti Zuhro, from the Habibie Center, said the creation of new regions should be the sole responsibility of the Home Ministry.
"That will clear up who is responsible for what," she said.
