Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Aceh legislative council is displeased with an article on the bill on governance in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam that would give Jakarta broader powers to issue regulations in the province.

A representative of the council, speaking during a hearing Monday with the House of Representatives, discussed revisions to the council's draft of the bill by the Home Ministry. The council is particularly concerned by Article 7, Paragraph 3, that allows the central government to issue regulations in Aceh concerning issues other than foreign policy, defense security, judicial affairs, monetary and fiscal matters.

In the peace agreement signed by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki last August, Jakarta was restricted to handling the six areas of policy, with the rest the responsibility of the Aceh administration "The article would create problems in its implementation and looks very centralistic," said councillor Azhari Basar, who is the spokesman of the Aceh legislative council.

He said the law on Aceh governance must only be implemented through qanun, or Aceh administration bylaws, instead of a government regulation or presidential decree.

If the central government issued the regulations, there would be the chance they would override those of the Aceh administration, said Azahari, who was speaking on behalf of the general Aceh community, including the legislature and GAM.

Among those at the hearing were Aceh acting governor Mustafa Abu Bakar, Aceh legislative council chairman Sayed Fuad Zakaria and GAM representative Faisal Putra.

The hearing ran smoothly, with no mention of other potentially contentious issues, such as independent candidates, local political parties and the partitioning of the province.

In his address, Faisal said the GAM recognized Aceh as a part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia operating under the Constitution. He joined other legislators and the Acehnese delegation in singing the national anthem at the end of the hearing.

Legislator Permadi of the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), whose party has opposed the bill because, it says, it sells out to the GAM, said it may support a compromise on several issues for the welfare of the Acehnese.

"But we consider articles about the anthem, flag or local political parties as too political, they don't seem to help improve peace and welfare," he said.

Mustafa said the House should not rush to complete the deliberation of the bill in accordance with its deadline of March 31. "The most important thing is the deliberation of the bill produces an effective and substantial law," he said.