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Regional authorities role in doubt
This article is the last of a series of articles on regional autonomy
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em>This article is the last of a series of articles on regional autonomy.
Jakarta was flooded with proposals for new provinces and regencies after the central government opened the regional autonomy door. But after a decade of decentralization, development in many regions remains far behind that of many larger cities in Java. Many Indonesians hoped that with the decentralization formula, colloquially known as pemekaran, underdeveloped regions would finally find opportunities to develop the conveniences taken for granted by residents of Jakarta and other big cities.
More than 10 years later, 80 percent of the newly formed regions are still not meeting their expectations, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in July. Many people remain in remote, underdeveloped areas, without access to public services or means to generate their own income.
The highly touted pemekaran endeavor, which was supposed to spread an influx of new funds from Jakarta across the regions, has merely turned out to be a placebo, partly due to the absence of a comprehensive grasp of the concept of regional autonomy, Gadjah Mada University Research Center for Politics and Government associate Wawan Masudi said.
“Jakarta disregards diversity and imposes a symmetric model of development upon the entire country,” he said.
“The central government has failed to ensure equal distribution. The disappointments experienced by some of the new regions have been blamed on the political desires of local elites,” Wawan said, adding that regions that have proposed their own administrative centers, in particular, have had real problems stimulating economic growth.
While local elites play a significant role in the success or failure of a new region, the central government’s development model has had its own impact, Wawan said.
“People in the regions encourage urban development, but they don’t have proper roads or alternative transportation. They lack adequate health and education facilities, and are not capable of supporting economic initiatives,” he said.
“The standard development formula in Indonesia is urban-biased,” he said. “A town with very few vehicles will not gather much income by imposing a vehicle tax, and parking fees are only lucrative in a city like Jakarta,” he said.
A 1999 Law on Regional Tax and Fees says that an administration could generate income from, among others, a vehicle tax, a fuel tax, an entertainment tax, taxes on hotels and restaurants and an advertising tax.
“We need an asymmetric model that accommodates Indonesia’s diversity. I once saw a mall in the middle of a jungle in Supiori, Papua. It was empty, of course, but that shows what they know about development,” Wawan said.
Budiman Sudjatmiko, a Commission II legislator overseeing regional autonomy, said that once the government and the House of Representatives lifted the moratorium on new regional development, the House and the Home Ministry would be flooded with more proposals. “There are about 170 proposals in the pipeline, and demands are still high,” he said.
“To avoid manipulation by local elites, I will consult with village heads before approving any law for a new region. I have an extended network in my capacity as an advisor for the Archipelago Villagers Association. I can check on the people’s needs,” Budiman said.
“We cannot blame the entire pemekaran failure on the regional leaders. We cannot generalize, but in some cases the central government neglects welfare in the regions,” Budiman said. “Promote local genius. Jakarta does not represent all of Indonesia, and ‘local’ is not always lower.”
