Ujungpandang – Electoral Commission (KPU) Chairman Rudini said that there was now a distinct possibility that the 1999 general election could be postponed, following the government's suggestion to administratively divide the provinces of Maluku and Irian Jaya before the election. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Syarwan Hamid was unable to comment, as he had yet to see the details of the planned division of the two provinces.
"I wasn't at the meeting. I'll seek further clarification," he told reporters during the return trip to Jakarta after a meeting with North Sulawesi Governor H.Z.B. Palaguna and electoral officials in Ujungpandang on Saturday (24th April).
It was agreed at a meeting last Friday of the Council for the Consolidation of Security and the Legal System, attended by President Habibie, that Maluku would be divided into two provinces and Irian Jaya into three. This process had to be completed before the election, and the government - through Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Faisal Tanjung - asked that the KPU accommodate this change.
Running out of time
KPU Chairman Rudini, himself a former home affairs minister, on the same aircraft as Hamid, said, "Electoral preparations are already behind time; many stages in the timetable have been postponed. I don' t think the changes to these provinces can be completed before June. There is still so much to be determined."
Home Affairs Department Director-General for Public Administration and Regional Autonomy Ryaas Rasyid said that it took at least six months to prepare legislation covering the establishment of a province.
Given that the suggested changes had to be completed before the election, Ryaas signalled the possibility that his office could prepare a government regulation for the purpose, which would have the same legal status as a law...
Rudini said that he would study the government's request. "This can be discussed at a plenary session of the KPU to be held as soon as possible," he said. How soon? He said it would have to wait until next week, because this week the KPU would be in recess. During the recess, KPU members would be inspecting election preparations in the regions...
Benefits those in power
The idea of dividing Irian Jaya and Maluku would promote government administrative efficiency, according to Institute for Policy and Community Development Studies Director Dr Sutradara Gintings. However, the division of the two provinces had to be done through legislation. The government should not be imposing its wish to divide the provinces through other means, such as by government regulation.
"I am sure that many will support the idea of dividing those provinces. But it would be better if the idea was realized after the election," he told 'Kompas' on Sunday.
He regarded the government's suggestion, put forward and expected to be realized before the election, as an attempt to win public approval. This would benefit the current power-holders. In fact, he thought, important policy decisions such as the division of provinces should not be taken by transitional governments.
"The government is looking for political popularity, so the idea of splitting up Maluku and Irian Jaya has been proposed, and will be realized, while the DPR (People's Representative Council) is in recess. The government seems to be acting in a politically opportunistic manner, which it should not be," said the former DPR Golkar faction member.
He stressed that Irian Jaya and Maluku were formed on the basis of parliamentary legislation, and if the provinces were to be "abolished" and turned into a number of new provinces, then that process had to be achieved through new legislation...