New rule to allow border adjustments

The grand design for regional planning from 2010 to 2025 will allow certain regions to adjust their size and borders to avoid inefficiencies, the Home Ministry says.

"The grand design opens the door to the possibility of allowing a region previously part of a province to move to another province closer to that region," Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

In some cases, certain regions, such as regencies and towns, are closer to other provinces than the ones they are officially part of, thus making the development of those areas ineffective, he said.

Gamawan said the possibility of adjusting the borders would also reduce the likelihood of conflicts over certain areas.

"One example is the Berhala Island, which has been a disputed matter between Jambi and Riau province. It would be better to ask residents [of that island] which province they want to belong to," he said.

The grand design for regional planning was conceived by the government and legislators to provide better guidance for regional autonomy, a concept appearing after decades of centralized administration under the New Order government.

Since 1999, 205 new regions have been established in Indonesia, increasing the number of autonomous regions to 524.