Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has ordered several provinces to revoke "problematic" laws and regulations in a bid to reign in regions which are exercising too much power.

Many provinces and lower level administrations like regencies and townships have misused the additional clout granted by the 1999 Law No 22 on Regional Autonomy to impose excessive taxes and levies, according to Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.

He said on Monday that at least 68 perdas – laws issued by local governments – since last year have burdened businesses. He said 52 of those laws would be revoked with consensus from the local authorities in Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi and other areas.

According to the autonomy law, the central government can revoke a perda if it is seen as contradicting higher laws or harming the public's interests. The provision allows Jakarta to curtail the vast power granted to the regions by the government of Mr B.J. Habibie. However, local governments can appeal Jakarta's decisions in the Supreme Court.

Mr Yuswandi, a high-ranking official in the Home Affairs Ministry who was involved in revising the autonomy law, told The Straits Times: "We need to put the decentralisation process in order."

He said many of the regions had issued regulations and imposed taxes and levies that discouraged investors. "The mobility of goods and services is being hampered by the imposition of taxes in every region."

Mr Benyamin Husein, a member of the team revising the autonomy law, said it was drafted hastily and gave power to the regions without an appropriate check-and-balance mechanism.

"Regional autonomy has not really benefited people in the provinces. Much of the money generated by the regional governments goes eventually to the routine spending of the government, such as to raise salaries ... instead of for public services."

Many of the perdas were poorly drafted due to a lack of expertise in the provinces, he added.

But he said the Ministry of Home Affairs would likely face resistance from the regions, especially since it had not involved them in the autonomy law's revision process. Indeed, the provinces have been accusing Jakarta of trying to maintain its grip over the regions, going back on its promise to empower them.

The Chairman of the Association of the Regency Governments, Mr Syaukeni, told The Straits Times: "Seventy per cent of the content of the draft revision of the regional autonomy law is clearly an excuse to recentralise power."

Mr Syaukeni, also the chief of the Kutai Regency in East Kalimantan, said the government should not blame regional autonomy for slow returns from foreign investments. It was in fact political instability, legal uncertainty and security concerns that had discouraged the investors from coming, he said.