T

he revision of the 2004 Regional Administration Law would grant the central government the power to punish regional heads whose policies were considered to be inhibiting development, a minister said.

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said on Thursday that the revision should be able to fix the flaws of the current decentralization system, which many have said had yet to benefit people in the regions.

'€œIn Law No. 32/2004 on regional autonomy, there is no slot for the central government to directly punish the local government,'€ he told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar to commemorate the 18th anniversary of regional autonomy at the Grand Sahid Jaya hotel in Central Jakarta.

Under the existing law, the authority to punish regional heads lies in the hands of the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD), which is also required to propose the form of punishment to the Supreme Court for approval.

Gamawan argued that the current mechanism was flawed because the regional administrative power was actually bestowed by the central government, and for that reason the central government should be given the authority to punish local leader who broke rules.

The Home Ministry'€™s regional autonomy director general, Djohermansyah Djohan, said the central government would have the right to fire governors and regents.

'€œThere will be warnings for those who are recalcitrant. There will also be suspensions and dismissals,'€ he said.

Djohermansyah added that the mechanism would give accused local heads the opportunity to defend themselves. '€œSo this is a fair mechanism,'€ he said.

While the current law is still flawed, it does not mean that it is impossible to dismiss local heads who are proven guilty, according to Djohermansyah. '€œIt has been proven by the removal of former Garut regent [Aceng Fikri from his office]. The most recent case involved Karo Regent, who is in the process of being dismissed,'€ he said.

Aceng was dismissed after he made national headlines in late 2012 for ending his days-long marriage to a high school student while he was still married to Nurrohimah, with whom he had three children.

The scandal sparked public outrage, especially from women'€™s rights activists, as Aceng reportedly divorced the student because he believed she was not a virgin.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also made at least two public statements about '€œrespecting women and the sanctity of marriage, particularly those serving as public officials'€ within weeks after the scandal was revealed.

Aceng was impeached by the Garut legislative council and the President endorsed the move.

The revision of the Regional Administration Law is also aimed at creating a comprehensive map that will be used to clearly define borders among the 539 autonomous regions in 34 provinces, 412 regencies and 93 cities in the country. Such a map is needed to avoid border disputes that have been a prevalent feature of decentralization in the country.

'€œTherefore, we can estimate what the ideal number of provinces, regencies and cities is in Indonesia for the next 10 years,'€ Gamawan said.

The functions of the DPRD must also be clearly defined, according to Gamawan. '€œThere has been confusion over its role as the existing law only stipulates its role as an element of the local administration organizer. Is DPRD a legislative body or a mere local administration organizer?'€

James Gilling, the head of Australia'€™s aid program for Indonesia, said that decentralization in Indonesia had left much to be desired. '€œThe most pressing challenge is planning. There are inconsistencies and conflicting regulations in all levels of government,'€ he said.

Gilling added that decentralization had not been able to solve Indonesia'€™s welfare gap across the archipelago.

'€œFor example, the maternal mortality rate remains high and I think it is still a challenge in Eastern Indonesia,'€ he said.