Decentralization of Forest Administration in Indonesia, Implications ...

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Origins and Scope of Indonesia’s Decentralization Laws
More specifically, the Minister of Home Affairs is given authority to review draft
regulations from the provincial level related to regional taxes, regional fees, provincial
government budgets, and the general spatial plan (Rencana Umum Tata Ruang,
RUTR) before they can be approved by the Governor in the province in which they
have been formulated. Likewise, Governors are authorized to review drafts of such
regulations from district and municipal governments before they can be approved
by the Bupati or Mayor. For all other types of regional regulations (i.e. those that do
not pertain to budgetary or fiscal matters), district and municipal governments must
submit to the Governor a copy of each regulation after it is ratified; and provincial
governments must submit a copy to the Minister of Home Affairs. Law 32/2004
states that regional regulations that are, through this review process, determined to
contradict higher laws will be revoked. In this way, the provincial government is
effectively given ‘veto power’ over decisions, policies, and regulations that are made
at the district and municipal levels; and the central government is given ‘veto power’
over those made at the provincial level (Cahyat 2005). To ensure full compliance on
the part of regional governments, Law 32/2004 authorizes the central government to
impose sanctions against regional government officials who are found to be violating
or circumventing the central government’s supervision and monitoring process.
Specifically, potential sanctions include re-gazettement of an autonomous region;
demotion or dismissal of an official; delay or revocation of a regional government
policy, regulation, or decision by the Head of Region; and/or criminal prosecution.
Law 32/2004 appears to further strengthens the central government’s power
over regional governments by partially reinstating Jakarta’s authority over the state
administrative bureaucracies at the provincial, district, and municipal levels. While
offering few details in this area, the law emphasizes that the regional civil service is
a ‘subsystem’ of the national civil service and part of the same national bureaucratic
network. Law 32/2004 acknowledges that due to the regional autonomy process,
Indonesia does not have a single unified system that integrates the civil service
bureaucracies at all levels. However, the law also emphasizes that neither are the
regional and national bureaucracies totally separate – as the 1999 regional autonomy
law implied. Rather, Law 32/2004’s explanatory notes state that the country now has
a “combination of a ‘unified system’ and a ‘separated system’, meaning that there are
some tasks that are the responsibility of the [central] government and some that are the
responsibility of the regional governments.” While the Bupati is generally responsible
for managing the civil service within his/her district, Law 32/2004 specifies that any
promotions, transfers, and dismissals of civil servants at that level must be approved
by the Governor. Moreover, the law states that the President ultimately holds the right
to dismiss civil servants (presumably at any level); however, for practical purposes,
this authority has been partially delegated to the regional authorities charged with
supervising the bureaucracies within their jurisdictions.
In strengthening the power of the central government vis-à-vis regional
governments at the provincial, district, and municipal levels, Law 32/2004
simultaneously weakens the authority of regional legislatures (Cahyat 2005).
Whereas the DPRD at each level previously held the authority to choose the Head
of Region, Law 32/2004 specifies that Governors, Bupatis, and Mayors will now be