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SMERU NEWS

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�����������This is the first issue of the SMERU Research Institute's newsletter after our researchers de-

cided to continue SMERU's work as a fully autonomous organization. During the previous twoyears, administratively we worked under the auspices of the World Bank. However, in terms ofthe selection of topics, direction and research methods, the staff at SMERU were largely able todemonstrate a considerable degree of independence.

The management of SMERU has chosen regional autonomy as the central focus of this edi-tion. Hence, the articles are mostly based on the results of an ongoing study of decentralizationand regional autonomy conducted by the SMERU team since April 2000. These investigationshave so far attempted to monitor the preparations of the regions for autonomy, before the imple-mentation of Law No. 22, 1999 on Regional Government, and Law No. 25, 1999 on the FiscalBalance between the Central and Regional Government. This research has been conducted infour kabupaten and three kota in seven different provinces.

Both the above mentioned laws became effective on January 1, 2001. From this point, theregional governments will be able to exercise their full autonomy based on these new policies.Coincidently, SMERU also decided to establish its full autonomy on the very same day.

The policy of regional autonomy is aiming at strengthening regional governments to enablethem to deliver better public services, and simultaneously striving to achieve a fairer and moreequitable balance of authority and responsibilities between the central government and theregions. In line with this, we hope that a new autonomous SMERUwill become one of those interest groups that may serve as a pillar inthe formation of a long sought after democratic society.

Best regards,Sudarno Sumarto, Executive Director

����� �����������������Newsletter ini merupakan nomor perdana yang diterbitkan oleh Lembaga Penelitian SMERU sejak

para penelitinya berketetapan melanjutkan kegiatan SMERU dengan status otonom penuh. Pada duatahun pertama usianya, lembaga ini secara administratif berada di bawah Bank Dunia, namun dalamhal penetapan topik, arah, dan metoda pengkajiannya para peneliti memiliki kewenangan cukup luas.

Manajemen SMERU memutuskan untuk menampilkan isu otonomi daerah sebagai topik utamapada penerbitan kali ini. Berbagai tulisan yang disajikan bersumber pada hasil studi desentralisasi danotonomi daerah yang dilakukan Tim SMERU sejak April 2000. Studi ini mencoba melihat persiapanyang dilakukan daerah dalam menyongsong pelaksanaan UU No. 22, 1999 tentang PemerintahanDaerah dan UU No. 25, 1999 tentang Perimbangan Keuangan antara Pemerintah Pusat dan Daerah.Tim SMERU telah melakukan kunjungan lapangan di empat kabupaten dan tiga kota di tujuh propinsi.

Kedua UU tersebut efektif berlaku mulai 1 Januari 2001, sejak saat itu daerah melaksanakanotonominya secara penuh berdasarkan kebijakan baru ini. SMERU secara kebetulan menetapkanmulai berotonomi juga pada tanggal yang sama.

Kebijakan otonomi daerah dimaksudkan untuk menjadikan pemda makin efektif melayani kepentinganrakyat di daerahnya dan sekaligus menjamin tercapainya keseimbangan kewenangan dan tanggungjawabantara pusat dan daerah. Searah dengan itu, SMERU yang otonom pun diharapkan dapat menjadisalah satu kelompok kepentingan (interest group) yang benar-benar dapat dijadikan pilar penopang bagiterbentuknya masyarakat demokratis yang diidamkan.

Salam,Sudarno Sumarto, Direktur Eksekutif

The SMERU Research Institute/Lembaga Penelitian SMERU The SMERU Research Institute/Lembaga Penelitian SMERU

EditorEditorEditorEditorEditor : Nuning Akhmadi: Nuning Akhmadi: Nuning Akhmadi: Nuning Akhmadi: Nuning AkhmadiGraphic DesignerGraphic DesignerGraphic DesignerGraphic DesignerGraphic Designer: Katarina Hardono: Katarina Hardono: Katarina Hardono: Katarina Hardono: Katarina HardonoSenior AdvisorSenior AdvisorSenior AdvisorSenior AdvisorSenior Advisor : John Maxwell: John Maxwell: John Maxwell: John Maxwell: John Maxwell

The SMERU newsletter is published to shareThe SMERU newsletter is published to shareThe SMERU newsletter is published to shareThe SMERU newsletter is published to shareThe SMERU newsletter is published to shareideas and to invite discussion on the social cri-ideas and to invite discussion on the social cri-ideas and to invite discussion on the social cri-ideas and to invite discussion on the social cri-ideas and to invite discussion on the social cri-sis in Indonesia from a wide range of view-sis in Indonesia from a wide range of view-sis in Indonesia from a wide range of view-sis in Indonesia from a wide range of view-sis in Indonesia from a wide range of view-points. The findings, views, and interpretationspoints. The findings, views, and interpretationspoints. The findings, views, and interpretationspoints. The findings, views, and interpretationspoints. The findings, views, and interpretationspublished in the articles are those of the au-published in the articles are those of the au-published in the articles are those of the au-published in the articles are those of the au-published in the articles are those of the au-thors and should not be attributed to SMERU orthors and should not be attributed to SMERU orthors and should not be attributed to SMERU orthors and should not be attributed to SMERU orthors and should not be attributed to SMERU orany of the agencies providing financial supportany of the agencies providing financial supportany of the agencies providing financial supportany of the agencies providing financial supportany of the agencies providing financial supportto SMERU. Comments are welcome. If you wouldto SMERU. Comments are welcome. If you wouldto SMERU. Comments are welcome. If you wouldto SMERU. Comments are welcome. If you wouldto SMERU. Comments are welcome. If you wouldlike to be included on our mailing list, pleaselike to be included on our mailing list, pleaselike to be included on our mailing list, pleaselike to be included on our mailing list, pleaselike to be included on our mailing list, pleasenote our new address and telephone number.note our new address and telephone number.note our new address and telephone number.note our new address and telephone number.note our new address and telephone number.

visit us atwww.smeru.or.id

or e-mail ussmeru@smeru.or.id

Jl. Tulung Agung No. 46 Menteng Jakarta 10310Jl. Tulung Agung No. 46 Menteng Jakarta 10310Jl. Tulung Agung No. 46 Menteng Jakarta 10310Jl. Tulung Agung No. 46 Menteng Jakarta 10310Jl. Tulung Agung No. 46 Menteng Jakarta 10310Phone: 6221-336336, Fax: 6221-330850.Phone: 6221-336336, Fax: 6221-330850.Phone: 6221-336336, Fax: 6221-330850.Phone: 6221-336336, Fax: 6221-330850.Phone: 6221-336336, Fax: 6221-330850.

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FOCUS ONFOCUS ONFOCUS ONFOCUS ONFOCUS ON

Regional Autonomy:Regional Autonomy:Regional Autonomy:Regional Autonomy:Regional Autonomy:

Problems and ProspectsProblems and ProspectsProblems and ProspectsProblems and ProspectsProblems and Prospects

Otonomi Daerah: ProblemOtonomi Daerah: ProblemOtonomi Daerah: ProblemOtonomi Daerah: ProblemOtonomi Daerah: Problem

dan Prospeknyadan Prospeknyadan Prospeknyadan Prospeknyadan Prospeknya [2][2][2][2][2]

AND THE DAAND THE DAAND THE DAAND THE DAAND THE DATTTTTA SAA SAA SAA SAA SAYYYYY

Education Levels of VillageEducation Levels of VillageEducation Levels of VillageEducation Levels of VillageEducation Levels of Village

Heads in the Era of Decen-Heads in the Era of Decen-Heads in the Era of Decen-Heads in the Era of Decen-Heads in the Era of Decen-

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Kepala Desa di EraKepala Desa di EraKepala Desa di EraKepala Desa di EraKepala Desa di Era

DesentralisasiDesentralisasiDesentralisasiDesentralisasiDesentralisasi [14][14][14][14][14]

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Regional Autonomy: Problems and ProspectsOtonomi Daerah: Problem dan Prospek

OTONOMI DAERAH:ANTARA ANCAMAN DAN KESEMPATAN

Pengalaman rejim Orde Baru dengan pendekatan sentralisasinyamemperlihatkan bahwa pendekatan ini memang mampu menstabilkankondisi politik, sosial, dan ekonomi secara cepat, tetapi dalam jangkapanjang tidak dapat meredam gejolak. Karena itu kemudian munculdesakan pada pemerintah pusat agar manajemen pemerintah dikeloladengan pendekatan desentralisasi dan memperluas otonomi daerah.Pemerintah daerah yang kuat, berkemampuan tinggi, dan otonommerupakan kebutuhan yang sulit dihindari untuk negeri seperti Indonesiayang mempunyai wilayah luas dan penduduk sekitar 203 juta jiwa denganlatar belakang sosial-budaya yang beragam. Sangat mungkin bahwa dalamjangka pendek dan menengah kebijakan desentralisasi dan otonomi daerahakan menimbulkan gejolak, tetapi dalam jangka panjang otonomi daerahdapat menstabilkan kondisi politik, sosial, dan ekonomi.

Tidak mengherankan jika di samping mendapat dukungan kuat masihbanyak yang melihat kebijakan baru otonomi daerah ini sebagai ancaman.Pertanyaannya adalah apakah pemerintah dan rakyat mampu mengontrol

agar gejolak yang (pasti) akan terjadi itu tidak sampaimeruntuhkan bangunan negara ini. Salah satu hal yangbanyak dikhawatirkan adalah para birokrat yangmelaksanakan otonomi daerah saat ini juga adalah merekayang sebelumnya menjadi pelaksana pemerintah sentralistikyang sarat dengan korupsi, kolusi, dan nepotisme (KKN).Selama lebih dari tiga dekade aparat pemerintah, termasuktentara dan polisi, lebih peduli pada melayani kepentinganeksekutif untuk mempertahankan kekuasaannya daripadamelayani publik. Meskipun ancaman meletupnya gejolak

tidak boleh diabaikan begitu saja, tetapi ancaman yang lebih besar akanmuncul jika kita menutup kesempatan bagi daerah untuk berotonomi.

Inti pelaksanaan otonomi daerah terletak pada hubungan antarapemerintah pusat dengan pemerintah daerah, karena itu hal berikut inimenjadi sangat penting. Pertama, pemerintah pusat dituntut agar jujurdan rela melaksanakan UU No. 22, 1999 tentang Pemerintah Daerahdan UU No. 25, 1999 tentang Perimbangan Keuangan antaraPemerintah Pusat dan Daerah. Kedua undang-undang ini menuntutpemerintah pusat menyerahkan sebagian besar kewenangannya kepadapemerintah daerah. Namun harus disadari kesulitan yang dihadapi olehpemerintah pusat ketika membuat keputusan yang dirasakan adil olehsemua daerah, misalnya dalam alokasi dana. Demikian pula, pemerintahdaerah juga perlu sabar dan lebih realistis ketika melakukan tahap-tahappelaksanaan kedua UU tersebut. Karena itu persoalan otonomi daerahtidak hanya sekedar mempertanyakan kesiapan daerah, tetapi tertuju padalangkah-langkah nyata yang sudah dipersiapkan oleh pusat dan daerah,serta persiapan lain yang dibutuhkan. Misalnya, menjawab pertanyaanmengenai bentuk organisasi pemerintah daerah yang baru yang akanbertanggungjawab atas berbagai kewenangan pemerintahan. Juga

REGIONAL AUTONOMYREGIONAL AUTONOMYREGIONAL AUTONOMYREGIONAL AUTONOMYREGIONAL AUTONOMY:::::BETWEEN THREABETWEEN THREABETWEEN THREABETWEEN THREABETWEEN THREAT AND OPPORT AND OPPORT AND OPPORT AND OPPORT AND OPPORTUNITYTUNITYTUNITYTUNITYTUNITY

One of the foundations of the New Order regime was itssystem of centralized government. Experience has demon-strated that this approach has promoted considerable eco-nomic, social, and political stability. However, it is appar-ent that such an approach is not able to curb social unrestover the long term. Hence, there has been increasing pres-sure on the central government to decentralize its opera-tions, and to promote greater regional autonomy. Strong,competent regional governments, and greater autonomy, arefundamental requirements for a country as diverse as Indo-nesia. This is especially so considering its large populationof over 203 million, and its diverse religious and socio-cultural background. It is possible that implementing apolicy of decentralization and regional autonomy could cre-ate some unrest in the short to medium term. However, in the longterm these reforms have the potential to stabilize Indonesian eco-nomic, social, and political conditions.

Despite the strong support for regional au-tonomy, it is not surprising that many still re-gard the new system as a threat. It remains to beseen whether both the local governments andthe wider community are able to control anypotential social unrest, which could have det-rimental effects for the nation. There is wide-spread concern about the role of some of thosegovernment bureaucrats who are currentlyimplementing regional autonomy, and their relationshipwith the previous highly centralized government. That gov-ernment was characterized by its practices of corruption,collusion, and nepotism, also widely known as KKN. Formore than three decades the government and its administra-tion, including the army and the police, were more con-cerned with serving the needs of the executive and main-taining their power, rather than serving the public. While thethreat of social unrest should not be ignored, an even greaterdanger exists if the present opportunity to promote regionalautonomy is denied.

At the heart of the implementation of regional autonomyis the relationship between the central and regional govern-ments. Thus, the following issues are of primary impor-tance. Firstly, the central government must act honestly,and be willing to carry out the implementation of Law No22, 1999 and Law No.25, 19991 . These laws require thecentral government to relinquish most of its authority to theregional governments. However, it is important to recog-

“While the threat of socialunrest should not be

ignored, an even greaterdanger exists if the present

opportunity to promoteregional autonomy

is denied”

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menjawab isu tentang mekanisme yang perlu diambil agarorientasi kerja personil pemerintah lebih banyak tertuju kepadarakyat daripada memenuhi kebutuhan atasan. Hal lainnyaadalah mengenai prosedur pengalokasian dana dan caramemastikan bahwa alokasi dana tersebut ditujukan untukkepentingan rakyat banyak.

Pada akhirnya otonomi daerah bukan hanya pengaturanhubungan berbagai tingkat pemerintahan, tetapi juga adalahpengaturan hubungan antara pemerintah dengan rakyat. Padadasarnya otonomi daerah menjadi tanggungjawab rakyat,karena akhirnya adalah hak rakyat untuk mengatur sistempemerintahannya sesuai dengan caranya sendiri, hukum, tata-krama, dan adat mereka. Secara konstitusional hal inidilaksanakan melalui anggota dewan di dewan perwakilan rakyatdaerah yang sebagian besar terpilih melalui perwakilan partai.Sayangnya, kebanyakan partai belum sempat mengembangkansistem pengkaderan secara baik. Suara rakyat belum efektiftersalurkan melalui anggota dewan karena kemampuan wakilmereka kurang memadai. Jika kondisi partai, terutama di tingkatkabupaten dan kota, tetap lemah, maka kualitas anggota dewanhasil pemilu 2004 kurang lebih akan tetap rendah. Padagilirannya mereka kurang dapat diharapkan mampu mendukungperumusan kebijakan publik atau mengontrol pelaksanaankebijakan oleh pihak eksekutif pemerintah secara efektif.

Pengalokasian dana APBD adalah salah satu contoh isudiatas. Proses pengalokasian dana sepenuhnya tergantungpada Kepala Daerah dan aparatnya, beserta DPRD masing-masing. Tanpa visi dan misi yang kuat, maka berbagai pihakakan melihat bahwa prosedur pengalokasian dana - yangdikelola oleh mereka yang masih berkarakter KKN ini -sebagai ancaman bagi perbaikan kebijakan publik. Bukantidak mungkin alokasi dana sektor kesehatan danpendidikan, misalnya, akan lebih dikurangi karena biayauntuk pengeluaran rutin birokrasi dianggap lebih penting.Kalau cara pengalokasian seperti itu yang berkembang, makatujuan otonomi daerah untuk mendekatkan dan

nize the difficulties faced by the central government in making deci-sions that all regions consider fair, with the allocation of budgetsbeing a prime example. Likewise, the regional governments need toexercise patience and be realistic during the implementation phaseof the legislation. The problems surrounding regional autonomy areno longer simply limited to questions of the readiness of the regions,but are now centered on the actual steps already takenby the center and the regions to implement autonomy,as well as those that are still required. For example,there are questions about the organizational structureof the new local governments that will be responsiblefor carrying out the various tasks of government. An-other pertinent issue is the type of mechanisms requiredto assist government personnel to focus their work onpublic services, instead of catering to the needs of theirsuperiors. There is also the issue of budget allocationprocedures, and how to ensure that these are gearedtowards the interests of the wider community.

Ultimately, regional autonomy is not simply a mat-ter of regulating the relationships between the variouslevels of government. Rather, it is also about regulat-ing the relationship between the government and thepeople. Regional autonomy is essentially the respon-sibility of the people, because it is ultimately the people’s right toadminister their own system of government in a manner that willaccommodate their own laws, ethics, and local adat2 . According tothe Constitution, this is achieved through their representatives inthe local government assemblies by way of the party system. Unfor-tunately, many political parties have not had sufficient opportunityto develop their recruitment and cadresystems. Hence, the voice of the peopleis not yet being channeled effectivelythrough their representatives, since thecapacities of these local members is of-ten less than satisfactory. If the condi-tion of the parties remains weak, par-ticularly at the kabupaten and kota3 lev-els, then the quality of the elected mem-bers of the 2004 legislature will con-tinue to be poor. This may in turn generate a lack of confidence inthe capacity of local members to formulate public policy, and tocontrol effectively the implementation of these policies by the ex-ecutive branch of government.

The allocation of funding in the Regional Budget Plan is anexample that highlights some of the issues outlined above. This pro-cess depends entirely on the Head of the Region, his own staff, to-gether with the respective local representative assembly. Without astrong, clear, vision and mission, various groups may consider theprocess of resource allocation as a threat to the improvement ofpublic policy. Not forgetting that this is still managed by KKN-oriented bureaucrats. For example, it is possible that the budgetallocation for the health and education sectors could be further re-duced if the allocation for routine bureaucratic expenditure is con-sidered to be a greater priority. If such procedures become the norm,then the objectives of regional autonomy, which are to raise thestandard of public services and improve their accessibility, may notbe achieved. In any case, many observers are concerned that re-gional autonomy may only shift the KKN-oriented power base from

Here is an example of the widespread misunderstanding that local taxes andlevies are indispensable to the implementation of regional autonomy.

Ini adalah salah satu contoh pemahaman yang keliru mengenai otonomi daerah:bahwa pajak dan retribusi adalah modal utama pelaksanaan otonomi daerah.

“Pada akhirnya yangmemiliki otonomi itu

adalah komunitasrakyat, karena itu

tanggungjawab menge-nai proses otonomi tidak

boleh berhenti padapemerintahan saja”

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the central government to the regions.While it has not yet become widespread in all the re-

gional communities, people are currently enjoying greaterfreedom to control both the legislators and the executive.People now have the courage to express their aspirationsand urge local assemblies to recognize and comply withtheir demands. In the future, the freedom and courage tospeak through particularly capable individuals should notbe the only method of channeling the aspirations of thepeople. While such individuals may have strong commu-nity support, in many cases this may draw on emotion ratherthan reason and logic. In addition to political partiesstrengthening their own capacity in the regions, a widerange of community organizations that are based on region,ethnicity, religion, local adat, gender and age, also need to bedeveloped. Likewise, the presence of a variety of profes-sional bodies, including those for businessmen, lawyers, teach-ers, laborers, doctors, and researchers, is also important.

Further development and the adoption of a more mod-ern organizational approach by political parties, commu-nity organizations, and interest groups, will strengthen thefoundations of regional autonomy, as well as providing fora stronger democratic society. Although there have beenmany legitimate concerns raised about the risks of regionalautonomy and the many problems to be faced as imple-mentation proceeds, including the issue of ‘putra daerah’(literally, “local sons”), we believe that these fears must bebalanced against the potential advantages for the entirenation if this process succeeds. The entire process shouldbe regarded as an opportunity and a challenge to improvepublic services. In the long term, the authority to providepublic services, which has in the past has been controlledby the executive branch of government, should graduallybe handed over to the community. Finally, the local com-munity should also assume ownership of regional autonomyso that ultimate responsibility for this process is not re-stricted to the level of government. However, it is impor-tant to note that in the current circumstances in many partsof Indonesia, such an ideal situation for regional autonomyrepresents a distant vision. � Syaikhu Usman, Decentralizationand Local Governance Division

1 Act No. 22, 1999, on Regional Government; Act No. 25, 1999, on theFiscal Balance between the Central and Regional Governments2 In this context, adat refers to the notion of traditional customary law3 The administrative and political units below the provincial levelof goverment

meningkatkan pelayanan publik tidak akan tercapai. Kebijakanotonomi daerah, sebagaimana dikhawatirkan banyak pengamat, hanyaakan memindahkan kekuasaan yang berkarakter KKN itu dari pusatke daerah.

Meskipun belum merata di semua masyarakat daerah, saat inirakyat mulai menikmati keleluasaan untuk ikut mengontrol kinerjawakil mereka dan juga pihak eksekutif. Masyarakat kini mempunyaikeberanian menyampaikan aspirasi dan mendesak anggota dewan agarmemperhatikan dan memenuhi tuntutan masyarakat. Di masa depanpenyaluran aspirasi masyarakat tidak cukup hanya mengandalkankeleluasaan dan keberanian berbicara melalui kemampuan seseorang.Meskipun mendapat dukungan kuat dari massa, namun dalambanyak hal lebih merupakan dukungan emosional ketimbangdukungan rasional. Disamping fakta bahwa partai politik wajibmelakukan penguatan diri sendiri, organisasi kemasyarakatan atasdasar daerah, etnis, agama, adat, gender dan umur perludikembangkan. Demikian pula berbagai organisasi kelompokkepentingan atas dasar professi, misalnya pengusaha, pengacara,guru, buruh, dan peneliti juga dibutuhkan.

Pengembangan lebih lanjut dan pendekatan organisasi secara lebihmodern oleh partai politik, organisasi kemasyarakatan dan kelompokkepentingan akan memperkokoh fondasi otonomi daerah khususnyadan masyarakat demokratis umumnya. Di sini meskipun ada beberapakekhawatiran mengenai resiko di balik otonomi daerah, serta timbulnyamasalah-masalah yang harus dihadapi dalam pelaksanaannya,termasuk isu 'putera daerah', kami yakin kekhawatiran tersebut harusdiimbangi dengan kemungkinan munculnya kesempatan-kesempatanyang akan dinikmati oleh seluruh bangsa bila proses otonomi daerahberhasil. Dalam jangka panjang sedikit demi sedikit kewenangandalam penyediaan pelayanan publik yang selama ini masih dipegangoleh pihak eksekutif pemerintah dapat diserahkan kepada masyarakat.Pada akhirnya yang memiliki otonomi itu adalah komunitas rakyat,karena itu tanggungjawab mengenai proses otonomi tidak bolehberhenti pada pemerintahan saja. Namun mengingat keadaan berbagaidaerah di Indonesia saat ini, suasana yang diharapkan dari regionalotonomi tampaknya masih merupakan visi masa depan.

The implementation ofregional autonomy at the

kabupaten level has spurredregional governments to

compete with one another asthey set out to manage their

own regions.

Pelaksanaan otonomi daerahdi tingkat kabupaten telah

memacu pemda untukbersaing dengan pemdalainnya dalam mengelola

daerahnya sendiri.

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PHANTOM OFFICIALS IN THE REGIONSPHANTOM OFFICIALS IN THE REGIONSPHANTOM OFFICIALS IN THE REGIONSPHANTOM OFFICIALS IN THE REGIONSPHANTOM OFFICIALS IN THE REGIONS

Restructuring the institutional framework of the regional govern-ment was one of the essential steps to prepare for the implementationof regional autonomy. This has resulted in a restructuring of theorganizational hierarchy of government departments to cater for thenew system of government. Despite opposition, a number of officeshave had to be downsized at the regional level in accordance withthe principle of ‘rich in function, poor in structure’. The amalgam-ation of offices in the central government hierarchy has resulted inthe formation of both technical offices and other autonomous agen-cies. The outcome of this process has been a massive excess of morethan 1 million central government employees who are now beingtransferred to other regional levels of government, both at the pro-vincial and kabupaten and kota level of administration.

The process of transferring civil servants from the central govern-ment to the regions first began by making an inventory of all person-nel throughout the government hierarchy. Included in this processwas the recording of other aspects of administration, such as equip-ment, income and expenditure, and relevant documentation. Formswere sent to all offices and the data from each office was compiled inthe Bureau of Civil Service Administration at the regional level.

The transfer of personnel from the center to the regions has beenalready carried out in the six departments that had previously under-gone liquidation. These departments include Transmigration, SocialWelfare, Information, Cooperatives and Small Scale Industry, Tour-ism, Art and Culture (now the Department of Culture and Tourism),and Public Works. However, a number of problems are now beginningto emerge. Discrepancies have been found between the number ofemployees counted in the inventories, and the figures released by theNational Agency of Civil Service Administration (BKN). A studyconducted by SMERU in several provinces (West Sumatra, CentralJava, East Java and West Kalimantan) discovered that the data from theBKN reported a higher number of employees, compared with the datafrom the regional Bureaus. For example, in West Sumatra there was adifference of 1069 between the number of local personnel accordingto regional data, and the figures released by the central government(see Table). This issue was headline news for three consecutive days inthe local West Sumatra newspaper Mimbar Minang, last year.

PEGAWAI SILUMAN DI DAERAH

Restrukturisasi kelembagaan pemerintah daerah (pemda)adalah salah satu bentuk persiapan pelaksanaan otonomidaerah. Hal ini berimplikasi langsung pada pengadministrasiankembali personil pegawai pemerintah. Dengan konsep "kayafungsi, miskin struktur" sejumlah jabatan struktural di daerahmau tidak mau harus dipangkas. Penggabungan instansivertikal di pemerintah pusat menjadi dinas teknis atau instansiotonom lainnya berdampak pada pelimpahan sekitar satu jutapegawai negeri pusat menjadi pegawai daerah, baik di pemdapropinsi maupun di pemda kabupaten/kota.

Proses pelimpahan personil dari pusat ke pemda diawali denganinventarisasi pegawai di instansi vertikal. Kegiatan ini jugamencakup inventarisasi perlengkapan, pembiayaan, dandokumen yang terkait. Formulir isian dikirim ke instansi vertikal,kemudian data dari masing-masing instansi ini dihimpun olehBiro/Bagian Kepegawaian Pemda.

Transfer pegawai pusat ke daerah sudah dilakukan terhadappegawai enam departemen yang dilikuidasi, yaitu: Dept.Transmigrasi, Dept. Sosial, Dept. Penerangan, Dept. Koperasi/PPK, Dept. Pariwisata Kesenian dan Kebudayaan (sekarangmenjadi Dept. Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata), dan Dept. PekerjaanUmum. Kini sejumlah masalah mulai muncul. Data jumlahpegawai berdasarkan hasil inventarisasi Biro Kepegawaianternyata berbeda dengan data Badan Kepegawaian Nasional(BKN). Hasil temuan studi SMERU di beberapa propinsi(Sumbar, Jateng, Jatim, dan Kalbar) menunjukkan bahwajumlah pegawai berdasarkan data BKN selalu lebih besardibandingkan data hasil inventarisasi Biro Kepegawaian. Sebagaicontoh, di Propinsi Sumbar terdapat perbedaan 1.069 personilantara data jumlah pegawai yang diserahkan pusat dan yangbenar-benar terdata di daerah ini (lihat Tabel). Masalah inimenjadi berita utama selama tiga hari berturut-turut di harianlokal Mimbar Minang (12-14 Juli 2000).

Menurut Kepala Biro Kepegawaian di Sumbar perbedaanjumlah pegawai itu disebabkan karena BKN dan MenteriPendayagunaan Aparatur Negara (MENPAN) tidakmenggunakan sistem kepegawaian yang sama.

Number of government personnel according to the Regional Civil Service Bureau of West Sumatraand the National Civil Service Administration Agency

Jumlah Inventarisasi Pegawai Pemerintah Menurut Data Biro Kepegawaian Pemda Sumbar dan BKN

Source/sumber: Mimbar Minang, July 12, 20001 This includes both the kabupaten and provincial level offices representing the central government departments.

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According to the head of the Bureau of Civil ServiceAdministration in West Sumatra, the difference in the twototals is a result of the BKN and the State Minister for Admin-istrative Reform (MENPAN), failing to use the same civil ser-vice administration system.

Before these provincial and regional offices (kanwil andkandep) were handed over to the Governor of West Sumatra, aBKN team was assigned to conduct a survey of all personnel inoffices all over West Sumatra, at both the provincial andkabupaten and kota levels of government. However, at theofficial hand-over of these offices by the Minister for Admin-istrative Reform on July 10, the personnel figures released werefrom the office of MENPAN, rather than the BKN inventory.

The regional Bureau suspects that the discrepancy in thedata occurred because some of the former kanwil and kandeppersonnel had already been transferred to different regions,although they were still being listed at the BKN as civilservants in West Sumatra. Another possibility was that eachkanwil and kandep had not reported directly to the BKN, butinstead had reported to the Secretary General of their re-spective departments. When the hand-over of these officesoccurred, it is possible that the most current kanwil and kandepfigures in the records of Secretary General, had not beenreported to the BKN. Other sources, from the Office of theGovernor of West Sumatra, believe that in this case the sur-plus 1,069 “phantom” personnel was a central governmentstrategy to secure positions for civil servants who could notbe accommodated by other regions.

The Provincial Government of West Sumatra requestedthat the BKN revise the data from the dissolved kanwil andkandep because the regional Bureau was convinced that theirfigures were valid and according to local conditions. Themost recent information received by SMERU indicates thatthe above figures have already been revised, based on theinventory reported by the regional Bureau. According tothe BKN the additional personnel in the figures were centralgovernment employees who had been designated for trans-fer to the regions. So far, none of these personnel have ap-peared in the regional government offices in West Sumatra.

The Provincial Government of East Java has provided adifferent explanation for the data discrepancies released byboth the BKN and the regional Bureau. They suspect thatmany personnel from different regions have requested trans-fers to East Java directly to the Central Government. Thus,the transfers were both organized and registered in Jakarta.Meanwhile, the names of these same officials were not regis-tered at the regional government offices where they intendedto be transferred. At the same time, the local government inWest Kalimantan is of the opinion that the discrepancy oc-curred because BKN were using outdated data from the rel-evant departments in Jakarta.

At present there are questions regarding the extent of suchdiscrepancies, and whether the high numbers of extra offi-cials can be explained as inadvertent mistakes. These ques-tions have led to several possible allegations. The best casescenario is that these mistakes were unintentional, while amore cynical explanation is that the recording of incorrectdata was deliberate and connected to civil service salaries.

Sebelum kanwil/kandep diserahkan kepada Gubernur Sumbar, satutim BKN telah dikirim untuk melakukan inventarisasi pegawai di propinsimaupun kabupaten/kota se-Propinsi Sumbar. Tetapi pada acara serahterima pegawai oleh MENPAN pada tanggal 10 Juli, data personil yangdiserahkan berasal dari Kantor MENPAN, tidak berdasarkan inventarisasitim BKN.

Biro Kepegawaian menduga perbedaan data ini disebabkan adanyapegawai eks kanwil/kandep yang sudah pindah ke daerah lain, namunpada data BKN pegawai ybs masih tercatat sebagai PNS di SumatraBarat. Dugaan lainnya, hal tersebut terjadi karena prosedur pelaporan disetiap kanwil/kandep tidak langsung ke BKN tetapi melalui SekjenDepartemen yang bersangkutan. Pada saat serah terima, mungkin dataterbaru dari kanwil/kandep belum dilaporkan oleh Sekjen ke BKN. Sumberlain di lingkungan Kantor Gubernur Sumbar menduga kasus kelebihan1.069 pegawai ini sebagai salah satu strategi pusat untuk menyediakantempat bagi pegawai negeri pusat yang tidak tertampung di daerah lain.

Menanggapi perbedaan tersebut, Pemda Propinsi Sumbar memintarevisi data PNS enam eks kanwil/kandep kepada BKN di Jakarta, karenaBiro Kepegawaian yakin bahwa data yang diperoleh dari kanwil/kandepsesuai dengan kondisi nyatanya. Informasi terakhir yang diterima olehSMERU menyebutkan bahwa data kepegawaian BKN sudah direvisidan sudah sesuai dengan data hasil inventarisasi Biro Kepegawaian.Menurut BKN kelebihan data pegawai itu karena adanya pegawai pusatyang rencananya akan ditransfer ke daerah. Sejauh ini pegawai yangdimaksud belum muncul di kantor-kantor Pemda di Propinsi Sumbar.

Pemda Propinsi Jatim memberikan penjelasan yang lain mengenaiperbedaan data pegawai antara BKN dengan Pemda. Merekamenyatakan bahwa hal ini disebabkan karena banyak pegawai dari daerahlain yang minta dipindah tugaskan ke Jawa Timur dengan cara langsungmengurus ke pusat sehingga sudah tercatat di pusat. Padahal, namapegawai tersebut belum tercatat di daerah tujuan mutasi. Sementara itu,Pemda Kalbar beranggapan bahwa perbedaan data disebabkan karenaBKN mengambil data dari departemen terkait di Jakarta yang sudah lamatidak diperbaharui.

One of SMERU’s respondents in its study of decentralization and regional autonomywas the Bupati of Kabupaten Kudus, Central Java.

Salah seorang responden SMERU dalam studi desentralisasi dan otonomi daerahadalah Bupati Kabupaten Kudus, Jawa Tengah.

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If these civil servants have been recorded at the central governmentlevel, then their salaries have been paid out based on the centralgovernment data. But it is unclear where the money has gone be-cause the ‘phantom’ employees clearly do not exist at the local level.

The case of ‘phantom’ personnel is only one of many problemsthat need to be addressed by the central and regional governmentsas they implement regional autonomy. � Vita Febriany, Decentraliza-

tion and Local Governance Division

REGIONAL AUTONOMY AND LEVIES

Public debate on regional autonomy has always been associatedwith the issue of the financial capacity of the regions. This has beenregarded as the principal key to the successful implementation ofregional autonomy. The relatively small level of regional revenues(PAD) in comparison to the actual financial needs of the regionshave led to biased perceptions about regional autonomy. Most ofthose interviewed by SMERU as part of our study on the prepara-tions for decentralization believe that the implementation of re-gional autonomy requires a greater level of regional financial capac-ity. Some have even gone so far as to claim that with regional au-tonomy the regions must be able to fund their financial needs fromtheir own resources. So it is not surprising that one of the regionalgovernment agendas to prepare themselves for autonomy is to “workhard” to increase their regional revenues. In fact, Law 22, 1999 onRegional Government stipulates that the implementation of regionalautonomy will include funding from the central government.

It should be stressed that none of the articles in Law 22, 1999compel the regions to increase local revenues to implement regionalautonomy. In other words, the additional powers assumed by theregions should not impose any greater financial burden on the re-gions. However, the general perception of government officials andlocal assemblies turns out to be quite the opposite. Consequently,the common consensus seems to be that one of many factors that mayhinder the implementation of regional autonomy is Law 18, 1997on Local Taxes and Local Levies. Basically, this law is consideredcontradictory to Law 22, 1999 on the grounds that it significantlylimits the authority of the regions to determine their own sources ofrevenue, thus ‘stunting’ the growth of the regions. Therefore, someregions have proposed that Law 18, 1997 should be revoked or atleast amended to provide greater flexibility for the regions to locatetheir own sources of revenue in accordance with local legislation.

Regardless of whether Law 18, 1997 is revoked or amended, re-gional governments have generally taken steps that will enable themto widen their financial base, including extending and intensifyinglocal revenues from local taxes and levies.

The following examples highlight some of the attempts beingmade by regional governments to prepare for the implementation ofregional autonomy in the financial area:

� Sukabumi, West Java, has increased its levies in four areas: transportterminals, parking, inter-city transport route permits, and cemeter-ies. The regional government is planning to collect new revenuefor road maintenance and cleaning (in place of road dispensationlevies that had been abolished by Law 18, 1997), and currently isproposing to tax television owners.

Kini timbul pertanyaan mengapa jumlahnya demikian besardan apakah tambahan jumlah pegawai tersebut adalah suatukesalahan yang tidak disengaja. Pertanyaan ini tentu saja bisamenggiring ke berbagai dugaan: dari yang paling positif bahwakesalahan memang tidak disengaja, sampai ke dugaan sinis, yaitukesalahan data sengaja dilakukan dalam kaitannya dengan uanggaji pegawai. Artinya, bila sejumlah pegawai negeri terdata ditingkat pusat maka gaji pegawai dibayar sesuai dengan jumlahdata pegawai, namun tidak jelas siapa yang menerima uangtersebut karena pegawai 'siluman' tersebut tidak ada di daerah.

Kasus pegawai fiktif hanya salah satu dari tumpukan masalahotonomi daerah yang harus diselesaikan oleh pemerintah pusatdan pemda.

OTONOMI DAERAH DAN PUNGUTAN DAERAH

Diskusi publik tentang otonomi daerah hampir selalu dikaitkandengan isu mengenai kemampuan keuangan daerah. Hal itudianggap sebagai kunci utama yang akan menentukankeberhasilan pelaksanaan otonomi daerah. Pendapatan aslidaerah (PAD) yang relatif kecil dibanding kebutuhan riil daerahtelah membawa pengertian yang bias terhadap kebijakan otonomidaerah. Sebagian besar responden SMERU yang diwawancaraipada studi tentang persiapan pelaksanaan otonomi daerahmempersepsikan bahwa pelaksanaan otonomi daerahmenghendaki adanya kemampuan keuangan daerah (PAD) yangmakin besar. Bahkan secara ekstrim ada yang menyatakan bahwadengan otonomi daerah berarti semua kebutuhan belanja daerahharus mampu dibiayai oleh sumber-sumber keuangan daerahsendiri. Oleh karena itu, salah satu agenda pemda dalammenyongsong pelaksanaan otonomi daerah adalah berusahameningkatkan PAD. Padahal UU No. 22, 1999 tentangPemerintah Daerah menyatakan bahwa pelaksanaan otonomidaerah akan diikuti dengan pembiayaan oleh pusat.

Perlu digarisbawahi bahwa dalam melaksanakan otonomidaerah tidak satu pasal pun dalam UU No.22, 1999 yangmengharuskan daerah memperbesar PAD-nya. Artinya,tambahan kewenangan yang ditanggung oleh pemerintah daerahseharusnya tidak menambah beban keuangannya. Tetapi,persepsi umum aparat pemerintah dan DPRD di daerah ternyatasebaliknya. Akibatnya, tampak ada konsensus bahwa salahsatu faktor penghambat pelaksanaan otonomi daerah adalah UUNo. 18, 1997 tentang Pajak Daerah dan Retribusi Daerah.Pada dasarnya UU ini dianggap bertentangan dengan UU No.22, 1999 karena UU No 18, 1997 ini sangat membatasikewenangan daerah dalam menetapkan sumber penerimaannyasendiri sehingga "mengkerdilkan" pertumbuhan daerah. Olehkarena itu, banyak daerah yang meminta UU ini segera dicabutatau setidaknya direvisi untuk memberi keleluasaan kepada daerahdalam menggali sumber penerimaannya menurut pengaturanyang ditentukan oleh daerah itu sendiri.

Terlepas apakah UU No. 18, 1997 akan dicabut ataudirevisi seperti yang diinginkan daerah, umumnya pemda telahmelakukan langkah-langkah yang memungkinkan merekamemperluas basis keuangannya. Langkah yang dilakukan adalahdengan mengintensifkan dan mengekstensifkan sumber

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� The Governor of NTB has instructed all bupati andwalikota to immediately draft:a. local regulations (Peraturan Daerah) about other sources

of revenue, particularly a decree regarding contribu-tions from companies, such as telecommunications,electronics, dealerships, and other enterprises.

b. regional decrees regarding Cooperative Dividends,particularly those involving the Regional Develop-ment Budget. Kabupaten West Lombok respondedto this directive with a plan to increase Third PartyCharges on tobacco traders. In addition, there areplans to create new sources of revenue and an at-tempt to reinstate several sources of revenue abol-ished by Law 18, 1997. There are 11 types of pro-posed levies, six of which had already been revokedby Law 18, 1997.

� Kabupaten Solok, West Sumatra, has been considering re-instating many regional taxes and charges (six regionaltaxes and 16 levies) previously abolished by Law 18, 1997.

� South Kalimantan Province has been investigating thecollection of toll fees from the use of heavy equipment,local water transport, and ships passing through the BaritoRiver. Meanwhile, the Municipal Government ofBanjarmasin is considering the reinstatement of levieson the local drinking water company, parking, marketsand municipal cleaning services. At present it is alsojoining forces with PT Pelindo to collect fees for groundwater extraction, coal stock piling facilities, and moor-ing and docking facilities.

� West Kalimantan Province has increased the levies onwholesale markets, extraction of local natural resources,local produce, and publication and printing of regionalmaps. It is also considering charging fees for inter-city trans-port route permits, public transport, and imposing taxes onthe use of heavy equipment and water transport vessels.

� Kabupaten Magetan, East Java has proposed severaldrafts of regional regulations extending and intensifyingtaxes and levies. These will be applied to the following:hotels and restaurants, extraction of ground and surfacewater, transport terminals, construction permits, markets,recreational parks and sporting facilities, hindrance or-dinance permits, and the extraction of regional naturalresources. Currently it is also trying to reintroduce vari-ous levies abolished by Law 18, 1997, such as revenuestamps (as a levy for administrative services), road dis-pensation permits, and cattle identity cards.

Some of the criticisms from regional governments aboutLaw 18, 1997 are justified. However, in their enthusiasm toexercise their autonomy, regional governments seem to dis-regard any obstacles standing in their way. Their highest pri-ority is to increase the capacity of the regions to amass higherlocal revenues. There is an impression that regional govern-ments have been deliberately exploiting the drive for re-gional autonomy to strengthen their financial position byusing any means available. The policies on regional leviesand charges often seem to be motivated simply by the driveto collect the maximum amount of revenue regardless of the

penerimaan yang berasal dari pajak dan retribusi daerah (lihat Kotak 1).Beberapa kasus berikut merupakan gambaran kiprah daerah dalam

mempersiapkan pelaksanaan otonomi daerah di bidang keuangan.

� Pemda kota Sukabumi, Jawa Barat telah menaikkan tarif empat jenisretribusi: terminal, parkir, ijin trayek, dan pemakaman. Pemda jugaakan memberlakukan pungutan baru berupa Retribusi Pemeliharaan/Kebersihan Jalan (untuk mengganti Retribusi Dispensasi Jalan yangtelah dihapus dengan UU No. 18, 1997), serta mengusulkanpemberlakuan pajak televisi.

� Gubernur NTB meminta Bupati/Walikota se NTB untuk segeramenyusun peraturan daerah (Perda) untuk:a mengatur Pendapatan Lain-lain, khususnya Perda tentang

Kontribusi Perusahaan bidang telekomunikasi, listrik, dealer danusaha lainnya;

b Perda tentang Kontribusi SHU Koperasi khusus yang terkaitdengan Dana Pembangunan Daerah. Pemda Kabupaten LombokBarat menindaklanjuti permintaan ini dengan merencanakanuntuk mengintensifkan pungutan Sumbangan Pihak Ketigapengusaha tembakau. Langkah lainnya adalah mengupayakanpenciptaan sumber penerimaan baru, dan mencoba menghidupkankembali sumber pungutan yang dihapus berdasarkan UU No18,1997. Dalam hal ini ada 11 jenis pungutan yang diusulkan,enam di antaranya merupakan pungutan yang sudah dihapusoleh UU 18, 1997.

� Pemda Solok, Propinsi Sumatra Barat sedang meninjau kembaliberbagai pungutan (enam pajak daerah dan 16 retribusi daerah) yangpernah dihapus berdasarkan UU No. 18/1997.

� Pemda Propinsi Kalsel sedang mengkaji pungutan (toll fee) ataspenggunaan alat-alat berat, angkutan air, dan kapal yang melewatialur Sungai Barito. Sementara itu, Pemko Banjarmasin telah meninjauulang tarif retribusi PDAM, parkir, pasar dan kebersihan, sertamengembangkan kerjasama operasional (KSO) dengan PT Pelindoterhadap penggunaan air permukaan tanah (ABT), jasa penumpukanbarang (batubara), tambat dan labuh kapal.

� Pemda Propinsi Kalbar mengintensifkan pungutan retribusi pasar grosir,pemakaian kekayaan daerah, hasil produksi usaha daerah, dan retribusibiaya cetak peta. Pemda juga tengah membahas pungutan atas ijintrayek, angkutan umum, pajak penggunaan alat-alat berat, dankendaraan angkutan di atas air.

� Pemda Kabupaten Magetan, Propinsi Jawa Timur telah mengajukanbeberapa Raperda tentang intensifikasi dan ekstensifikasi pungutanpajak dan retribusi, antara lain pajak/retribusi hotel dan restoran, airbawah tanah (ABT), air permukaan tanah (APT), terminal, IMB,pasar, tempat rekreasi dan olahraga, ijin gangguan (HO), danpemakaian kekayaan daerah. Pemda Magetan juga berupayamenghidupkan kembali beberapa retribusi yang pernah dihapus melaluiUU No. 18, 1997, seperti uang leges (menjadi retribusi pelayananadministrasi), ijin dispensasi jalan, kartu ternak, dll.

Sebagian dari kritik pemda terhadap UU No. 18, 1997 memang adabenarnya, tetapi semangat tinggi daerah dalam berotonomi nampaknyacenderung mau menabrak berbagai rambu yang dianggap menghambat.Tujuan yang diutamakan hanya pada bagaimana meningkatkankemampuan daerah dalam menggali sumber penerimaannya. Dalamkaitan ini terdapat kesan bahwa pemda sengaja menggunakan momen-tum otonomi daerah untuk memperkuat basis keuangannya dengan segalacara. Orientasi kebijakan pungutan di daerah sering hanya ditujukan

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inevitable distorting impact. Certainly it is important to increase aregion’s local revenues, but to achieve such a goal under the guise ofregional autonomy may well cause the people themselves to turnagainst the idea of regional autonomy. In addition, there is the re-sulting increase in levies and the consequent financial burden onthe community.

Recent developments show that such attempts by regional gov-ernments are not approved of by the central government. Law 34,2000 regarding the Amendment of Law 18, 1997 does not grant theregions the freedom to determine their own categories of taxes andregional levies. The number and types of taxes at the provincial andthe kabupaten and kota level are still limited. As for determininglevies, the regions still have to wait for the appropriate GovernmentRegulation to be enacted by the central government. � M. Sulton

Mawardi, Decentralization and Local Governance Division

A PORTRAIT OF LOCAL ASSEMBLIES IN TRANSITION

There is widespread agreement that those members elected to the1999-2004 local constituent assemblies (DPRD) have the highestlevel of legitimacy of any representatives of the local community inrecent times. This is a reflection of the demand for reform, and alsobecause of the increasing development of democracy in Indonesia.Furthermore, these developments have resulted in a period of sig-nificant change for the members of these local assemblies: from asituation in the recent past where the executive branch of govern-ment was powerful and dominant, to the present era where the ex-ecutive is required to work with the legislators as their equals.

A new paradigm has started to emerge in the regions at both theprovincial and kabupaten and kota levels. In all of the areas visitedby SMERU over the past nine months, it was apparent that there hasbeen a significant change in the attitudes of DPRD members. Theyhave obviously become more responsive to the aspirations of thelocal community, and have begun to involve themselves directly inclarifying and following up individual grievances and demands bymembers of the wider community. In addition, open public debateshave begun to flourish. The members of the local assemblies havestarted to use their position and authority to exercise some controlover the performance of the local executive (such as bupati, walikotaand senior officials) as well as becoming more critical of local govern-ment policies. All these changes are apparent in the increasingly dy-namic and transparent debates over policy issues surrounding the pas-sage of regional legislation and decrees through the local assemblies.

Unfortunately, these changing attitudes have not always been fullysupported by adequate technical skills and professionalism. This prob-lem is most clearly evident at the kabupaten and kota levels, wheremany members of the local assemblies appear to be lacking in formaleducation and general political experience, perhaps even more so thanthose members of the previous local assemblies. Of course this is adirect consequence of the democratic process and also reflects the edu-cational levels and political sophistication of the wider community.Of more serious concern, cases of ‘money politics’ are still frequentlyreported in the local and national press and directly involve membersof these local assemblies. This remains a serious concern and casts ashadow over the personal integrity of individual members and themoral authority of the local assemblies. It is apparent that many of

untuk memungut sebanyak-banyaknya, namun kurangmemperhitungkan dampak distortif yang ditimbulkan.Peningkatan PAD memang penting, tapi jika untuk tujuan inimenggunakan otonomi daerah sebagai "kedok" maka tidaktertutup kemungkinan otonomi daerah justru akan ditentangoleh rakyat sendiri. Selain itu hal ini akan berakibat padameningkatnya beban pungutan atas rakyat yang akhirnya akanmenjadi beban dana yang semakin tinggi bagi masyarakat.

Dalam perkembangan terakhir, upaya Pemda seperti ituternyata tidak disetujui oleh pemerintah pusat. UU No. 34,2000 tentang Perubahan Atas UU No. 18, 1997, tidak memberikebebasan kepada daerah untuk menentukan sendiri jenis-jenispajak dan retribusi daerah. Jumlah dan jenis pajak daerah propinsidan kabupaten/kota tetap dibatasi. Sedangkan dalam halmenentukan retribusi, daerah juga masih harus menungguPeraturan Pemerintah yang akan dikeluarkan oleh pemerintahpusat.

POTRET DPRD DI MASA TRANSISI

Banyak pihak sepakat bahwa anggota dewan perwakilanrakyat yang terpilih pada periode 1999-2004 ini adalah wakilrakyat yang paling sah. Hal ini tidak lepas dari tuntutan reformasidan karena kehidupan demokrasi di Indonesia sudah mulaiberkembang. Perubahan ini menempatkan anggota-anggotadewan tersebut pada kondisi peralihan yang penting: dari situasidi masa lalu dimana kekuasaan eksekutif sangat besar dandominan, ke situasi saat ini ketika pihak eksekutif harus bekerjadengan pihak legislatif sebagai mitra sejajar.

Sebuah paradigma baru tampaknya telah muncul, baik ditingkat propinsi maupun di kabupaten/kota. Di semua daerahyang dikunjungi oleh Tim SMERU selama sembilan bulan terakhirini sangat jelas bahwa telah terjadi perubahan penting dalamsikap anggota dewan tingkat daerah. Mereka menjadi lebihtanggap terhadap berbagai aspirasi masyarakat setempat, danterlibat langsung dalam menindak-lanjuti atau mengklarifikasikeluhan dari individu atau tuntutan dari masyarakat luas. Disamping itu dialog langsung dengan masyarakat sudah mulaidikembangkan. Para anggota dewan juga sudah mulaimenggunakan kedudukan dan wewenangnya untuk melakukanfungsi pengawasan terhadap kinerja eksekutif (misalnya bupati,walikota dan pejabat tinggi lainnya), dan bersikap semakin kritisterhadap berbagai kebijakan eksekutif. Hal ini tampak jelas daripembahasan yang semakin dinamis dan transparan mengenaiberbagai bidang yang menyangkut rancangan keputusan atauperaturan daerah

Sayangnya, perubahan sikap anggota dewan tersebut belumsepenuhnya didukung oleh kemampuan teknis danprofesionalisme yang memadai. Kondisi demikian tampak lebihmenyolok di tingkat kabupaten/kota dimana kebanyakananggota dewan setempat memiliki pendidikan formal danpengalaman berpolitik terbatas, bahkan mungkin kurangdibanding dengan kemampuan anggota dewan periodesebelumnya. Tentu saja ini adalah konsekuensi langsung prosesdemokrasi, sekaligus juga mencerminkan tingkat pendidikan danmemampuan politis masyarakat secara umum. Yang lebih

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those who were elected to the DPRD do not owe their positionto their knowledge of local affairs or their special skills, butsimply because they had been proposed as candidates by thoseparties who secured a sufficient number of electoral votes. Tosome extent all of these problems are a consequence of theweakness of most political parties at the local level, where partyorganization and the development and training of the local cadreremain seriously limited in many regions throughout Indonesia. Inaddition, the limited preparation period and implementation pro-cess of the last election was not conducive to building sounddemocratic institutional support systems.

During the course of the SMERU team’s investigations wehave heard a range of criticisms of the work of the DPRD andthe elected members. It is reported that members, in theireagerness to exercise control over the local executive, havetoo often acted in an intolerant and aggressive manner, orhave attempted to interfere in technical matters beyond theircompetence. Some legislators are criticized for their lack ofinitiative, or their failure to scrutinize the details of local leg-islation before it is ratified. Other members have been ac-cused of ignoring the interests of their constituents in favor oftheir own personal ambitions or group interests.

However, many of those in leadership positions in thelocal assemblies are fully aware of the problems they arefacing. Many believe that support is required from externaladvisors, such as the staff from local public universities, toenable members to become more proficient in dealing withvarious technical issues. At present, plans are being dis-cussed to appoint a panel of special advisors to assist thevarious regions, although financial constraints may limitwhat can realistically be achieved.

Some practical steps are already underway in many partsof the country both to improve the skills of DPRD members,and also to give them a more comprehensive understandingof their rights, their duties, and their responsibilities as rep-resentatives of the local community. The local assembly inKota Sukabumi, for example, has agreed for its members toattend various training sessions and other forms of furthereducation. They are also learning to be more open to assistancefrom experienced professionals. In Central Java, there have beenseveral productive dialogues between the executive branch ofgovernment and local legislators so that each has an apprecia-tion of their respective tasks, as well as some efforts to improvethe formal education of local representatives. Meanwhile,DPRD members in Kota Banjarmasin have attended short train-ing courses in Yogyakarta on the practicalities of constructingregional revenues and public policies.

Yet, improving the technical capacity and general knowl-edge of the elected legislators is not the only guarantee ofthe smooth advancement of democracy throughout the prov-inces and the regions of Indonesia. It is also crucial that thewider community become directly involved in exercisingindependent and transparent control over the entire systemof local government. In this regard the local press and massmedia, and political parties, interest groups, and commu-nity organizations will all play an important role in the pro-cess of building democratic regional government. � Nina

Toyamah, Decentralization and Local Governance Division

memprihatinkan adalah adanya kasus 'money politic' yang masih seringdilaporkan dalam pemberitaan lokal atau nasional yang secara langsungmelibatkan anggota-anggota DPRD. Hal ini menjadi perhatian khususdan menimbulkan pertanyaan mengenai integritas anggota yangbersangkutan sebagai individu dan kekuatan moral DPRD setempat.

Jelas bahwa banyak dari mereka yang terpilih menjadi anggota dewanitu memegang posisi sebagai anggota DPRD bukan karena memilikipengetahuan mengenai masalah daerah pemilihannya atau karenakeahliannya di bidang tertentu. Mereka terpilih karena diajukan sebagaicalon anggota DPRD oleh partai-partai yang berhasil memperoleh suarapada saat pemilihan umum. Memang, sebagian besar dari keadaan inidiakibatkan oleh kelemahan yang ada dalam hampir semua partai-partaidi Indonesia dimana organisasi partai, pengembangan dan pelatihan kaderpartai masih sangat terbatas. Disamping itu periode persiapan yang singkatserta proses pelaksanaan pemilihan tidak cukup mendukung untukmembangun kelembagaan sistem pendukung demokrasi yang sehat.

Pada saat Tim SMERU melakukan penelitiannya Tim mencatatsejumlah kritik mengenai kinerja DPRD dan anggota-anggotanya.Dilaporkan bahwa beberapa anggota dewan yang terlalu bersemangatmenjalankan fungsi pengawasan terhadap pihak eksekutif seringmenunjukkan sikap berlebihan dan kurang toleran, atau mencoba turutcampur dalam bidang teknis di luar kemampuan mereka. Beberapa anggotalegislatif dikritik karena belum menunjukkan inisiatif nyata atau tidakmampu menanggapi rancangan peraturan daerah yang diajukan oleh pihakpemerintah sebelum disahkan. Anggota dewan juga dikecam telahmengabaikan konsituennya karena lebih dipengaruhi oleh ambisi pribadiatau kepentingan kelompok.

Namun demikian, khususnya di kalangan pimpinan DPRD, merekamenyadari berbagai masalah yang dihadapi. Banyak pihak menilai bahwadukungan tenaga ahli - khususnya dari perguruan tinggi negeri lokal-akan sangat membantu pemberdayaan penampilan anggota dewan dalammembahas persoalan-persoalan teknis. Saat ini rencana pengangkatantim ahli untuk membantu di beberapa daerah masih dalam prosespenjajagan, meskipun adanya kendala dana mungkin akan membatasiapa yang dapat dicapai secara nyata.

Beberapa langkah praktis telah ditempuh oleh beberapa daerah untukmeningkatkan kemampuan para anggota dewan, termasuk memberikanpemahaman lebih dalam mengenai hak-hak, kewajiban dan tanggungjawabmereka sebagai wakil rakyat. Anggota DPRD Kota Sukabumi, misalnya,sepakat untuk mengikuti berbagai bentuk pendidikan dan pelatihan. Merekajuga sedang belajar membuka diri untuk menerima bantuan dari paraprofesional yang berpengalaman. Sementara di Propinsi Jateng juga telahberlangsung dialog interaktif yang sangat bermanfaat antara pihak eksekutifdan legislatif, sehingga masing-masing memberikan penghargaan terhadaptugas-tugas yang dilakukan oleh mereka. Disamping itu juga ada upayapeningkatan jenjang pendidikan formal anggota. Demikian pula sebagian anggotadewan Kota Banjarmasin telah mengikuti pelatihan-pelatihan singkat tentangPAD dan kebijakan politik selama satu minggu di Yogyakarta.

Namun, peningkatan kemampuan teknis dan pengetahuan umumanggota legislatif bukan satu-satunya jaminan bahwa kehidupan demokrasiakan dapat berjalan dengan baik di semua propinsi di Indonesia. Sangatlahpenting bahwa masyarakat luas dilibatkan langsung dalam upayameningkatkan fungsi pengawasan secara independen dan transparanterhadap seluruh sistim pemerintah daerah. Dalam hal ini press lokal danmedia massa, partai politik, kelompok kepentingan dan organisasikemasyarakatan semuanya akan memainkan peranan penting dalamproses pengembangan pemerintah daerah yang demokratis.

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ARE POOR VILLAGES READY FOR AUTONOMY?ARE POOR VILLAGES READY FOR AUTONOMY?ARE POOR VILLAGES READY FOR AUTONOMY?ARE POOR VILLAGES READY FOR AUTONOMY?ARE POOR VILLAGES READY FOR AUTONOMY?

The implementation of the regional autonomy legislation doesnot only involve regional government autonomy at the kabupatenlevel but also at the village level. In the light of this, greater empow-erment of the villages is essential to encourage self-regulation, self-development and to bring prosperity to the entire local community.But the question, which also often arises in relation to poor anddisadvantaged regions, is whether villages in such areas are readyand able to manage themselves. The failure of many past attempts bythese villages to implement government empowerment programssuggests that autonomy in such areas is not possible.

A more positive outlook, however, is suggested in the followingaccount of the village of Tabek in West Sumatra. The poverty expe-rienced by these villagers has provided them with unique wisdomwhich allows them to work towards self-regulation. With a strongsense of togetherness and guided by the principle of sauh air mandikandiri, “working self-reliantly towards self-reliance”, the people of DesaTabek have been able to manage to move forward together. Thistype of community spirit gives hope for the successful implementa-tion of regional autonomy.

Desa Tabek, in Kecamatan Lembah Gumanti, is one of the so-called “left behind” villages of Kabupaten Solok, West Sumatra.Most of the population (433 households) work as farmers on theirown land. Because it is categorized as a left behind village, six yearsago it received revolving funds from the presidential instruction forleft behind villages. These funds were used for fattening local cattleon a rotational basis. In the first stage, 60 cattle were bred. The selec-tion of those individuals who were to receive cattle was based onpoverty levels, with the poorest families receiving the first opportunityto raise cattle over a three-year period. The funds generated from thisprogram are still revolving today. The profits from the sale of the cattleprovided many with significant financial assistance and enabled somefamilies to improve the quality of their housing.

In 1998, Desa Tabek also received Rp140 million in funding fromthe Kecamatan Development Program to develop the traditional sugarcane industry. These funds were used by 270 families for the replanting,maintenance and transportation of sugar cane along with support fortraditional sugar manufacturing. The recipients of the funds were se-lected through a village meeting chaired by the Village Head and alsothe Chairperson of the Village Development Committee. For everyhectare, recipients were provided with Rp360 000, at an interest rate of1% per month (12% per year) to be repaid over a three year period. ByJuly 2000, approximately 15 of the families who had received fundshad succeeded in repaying their loan, and this money has continued tocirculate amongst other sugar cane farmers.

As a result of these funds, sugar cane and sugar production levelshave both risen. Tabek currently has about 80 sugar manufacturingunits with a production rate per unit of about 30-50 kg for eachproduction cycle. With a selling price of Rp2000/kg, sugar produc-ers are able to receive an income of Rp60 000 - Rp100 000 for eachproduction cycle. Since each unit is able to produce twice a week,the monthly income for a unit owner (farmers and sugar producers)can reach between Rp 240 000 and Rp 400 000. According to sugarproducers, their loans can be repaid in 12 to 18 months.

Desa Tabek also has a Savings and Loans Cooperative which wasdeveloped through the Savings and Loans Village Economic Enter-

SANGGUPKAH DESA MISKIN BEROTONOMI?

Pelaksanaan UU otonomi bukan hanya menyangkutkemandirian pemerintahan daerah di tingkat kabupaten/kotatetapi juga menyangkut kemandirian pemerintahan di tingkatdesa. Oleh karena itu desa juga perlu memberdayakan dirinyaagar bisa mengurus rumah tangganya, membangun desanya,serta memakmurkan seluruh warganya. Tetapi seperti halnyadengan kabupaten miskin, masalah yang sering dipertanyakanadalah apakah desa miskin sanggup dan bisa diharapkan untukmengurus dirinya sendiri. Dengan mengacu kepada berbagai kasusgagalnya sejumlah besar desa dalam melaksanakan programpemberdayaan dari pemerintah, maka dapat diterka bahwa jawabanatas pertanyaan di atas cenderung mengatakan tidak mungkin.

Dalam pemaparan kisah Desa Tabek di bawah ini, kesan pesimisitu mungkin bisa berubah menjadi optimis karena ternyatamasyarakat desa Tabek yang miskin dapat menunjukkan bahwakemiskinan yang mereka alami telah membawa hikmah tersendiri.Dengan rasa kebersamaan yang tinggi serta prinsip sauh airmandikan diri (bekerja secara dan untuk mandiri) penduduk DesaTabek dapat memperbaiki menajemen 'rumah tangga' nya untukmaju bersama. Semangat kebersamaan ini merupakan secercah harapandalam mendukung suksesnya pelaksanaan otonomi daerah.

Desa Tabek di Kecamatan Lembah Gumanti adalah salahsatu desa tertinggal di Kabupaten Solok, Sumatra Barat.Mayoritas penduduk (433 KK) desa ini bekerja sebagai petanidi atas lahan yang dimilikinya. Karena masuk kategori desatertinggal, maka enam tahun yang lalu desa ini mendapat danabergulir IDT (Inpres Desa Tertinggal). Dana itu digunakanuntuk usaha penggemukan sapi lokal secara bergiliran. Padatahap awal jumlah sapi yang diternak 60 ekor. Seleksi penerimasapi dilakukan berdasarkan tingkat kemiskinan, keluargatermiskin mendapat kesempatan pertama untuk memelihara sapiselama tiga tahun. Hasil kembang-biak ternak ini masih bergulirterus hingga sekarang. Keuntungan dari penjualan sapi dariusaha ini banyak membantu keuangan keluarga, bahkan adayang menggunakannya untuk memperbaiki rumah.

Pada tahun 1998 Desa Tabek juga mendapat dana Rp140juta dari dana PPK (Program Pengembangan Kecamatan) untukmengembangkan tebu rakyat. Dana ini dimanfaatkan oleh 270KK untuk peremajaan, pemeliharaan, dan pengangkutan tebu,serta pembuatan gula secara tradisional. Calon penerima danadi seleksi dan ditentukan melalui rapat desa yang dipimpin olehKepala Desa dan Ketua LKMD (Lembaga Ketahanan MasyarakatDesa). Untuk setiap hektar diberikan Rp360 ribu dengan bunga1% per bulan (12% per tahun) yang harus dilunasi dalam waktu3 tahun. Hingga bulan Juli 2000, sekitar 15 KK di antarapemanfaat dana telah berhasil melunasi pinjamannya dan danaitu tetap berputar untuk dipinjamkan kepada petani tebu lainnya.

Berkat dana tersebut produksi tebu meningkat sehingga usahapengolahan gula juga ikut meningkat. Sekarang di Desa Tabektelah terdapat sekitar 80 buah unit pembuatan gula denganproduksi rata-rata per unit sekitar 30-50 kg per setiap kaliproduksi. Dengan harga jual Rp2.000/kg, pendapatan produsengula per produksi di setiap unit produksi bisa mencapai Rp60.000- Rp100.000. Karena setiap unit bisa berproduksi dua kaliseminggu, maka dalam sebulan penghasilan setiap pemilik unit

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prise Program. The initial capital fund in 1997 was onlyRp 2.1 million with 58 members. By June 2000, the accu-mulated funds had reached Rp 72 000 000 with 500 mem-bers. The maximum loan available for each individual isRp 2.5 million and this is strictly for productive activities.

The successes achieved so far have engendered greaterself-confidence and pride amongst the people of Desa Tabek.This is demonstrated by their desire to become an indepen-dent nagari,1 declining to join together with two neighbor-ing villages, despite those villages being more developedand therefore not included in the left behind villagecategory.

The above account demonstrates that there are still somesuccess stories despite all the reports about the failure ofempowerment programs. Furthermore, the story of this vil-lage suggests how fostering solidarity amongst village mem-bers can play a vital role in helping them to overcome theirdisadvantages. When this commitment to one’s own villageis combined with regional autonomy polices that promotethe notion of ownership and solidarity between members ofthe community, there are very positive implications for re-gional development. � Ilyas Saad & Syaikhu Usman, Decen-

tralization and Local Governance Division

1 Nagari is the traditional system of government among theMinangkabau of West Sumatra. The area covereed by a nagari con-sists of a number of jorong, or villages (which in the New Orderperiod were forced to become desa). In a nagari government area, therole of customs and traditions in ordering the life of community is avery powerful element.

RETURNING TO THE NAGARI

Despite all the confusion in the regions about the scaleof the funding that will be derived from central government’sfiscal balance formula, there are some other interesting as-pects worthy of closer scrutiny that suggest a positive side toregional autonomy policies. One of these aspects is therevival of the role of traditional laws (adat) as a way ofregulating the life of the community, particularly in ruralareas. For example, for the Minangkabau community inWest Sumatra, the revival of the role of adat is inseparablefrom the return of harmony amongst the Minang commu-nity through a system of kinship ties known as the nagari. Thefollowing is a range of opinions from various sources aboutthe prospects for Kabupaten Solok in West Sumatra, if theordering of community life is returned to the nagari.

Community aspirations to return to traditional rule is re-garded positively by the local press and by community leaderswho believe that it will allow the region to advance morequickly. With the nagari system, the community can becomeunited within a unit bound strongly together by local adat.The harmony existing between religion and adat is reflectedin the Minang saying Syarak mengato, adat memakai, “reli-gious laws regulate, adat laws implement”. When the villagesystem of the New Order regime was in force, every villagewas required to have a village head (Penghulu) selected

(petani dan produsen gula) bisa mencapai Rp240.000 - Rp400.000.Menurut produsen gula, modal sudah dapat dikembalikan dalam waktu12 hingga 18 bulan.

Desa Tabek juga memiliki koperasi simpan pinjam (KSP) yang berkembangmelalui program UEDSP (Usaha Ekonomi Desa Simpan Pinjam). Danaawalnya pada 1997 hanya Rp 2,1 juta dengan 58 orang anggota. Padabulan Juli 2000, dana yang terakumulasi dan sedang berputar telah mencapaiRp 72 juta sementara jumlah anggotanya 500 orang. Maksimum pinjamanRp 2,5 juta per orang dan hanya untuk aktivitas produktif.

Keberhasilan yang mereka capai hingga saat ini membuat penduduklebih percaya diri dan merasa bangga sebagai warga Desa Tabek. Sikap iniditunjukkan dengan keinginan untuk menjadikan Desa Tabek sebagainagari1 tersendiri. Mereka berkeberatan bergabung dengan desatetangganya walaupun kedua desa tetangganya sudah lebih maju dantidak lagi termasuk dalam kategori desa tertinggal.

Cerita di atas menunjukkan bahwa masih ada kisah sukses di balikpemberitaan tentang kegagalan program pemberdayaan. Selain itu, ceritaini juga berisi pesan bahwa semangat memupuk kebersamaan sesama wargadesa sangat penting bagi masyarakat desa untuk maju mengejarketertinggalannya. Bila kecintaan terhadap kampung halaman diperkayadengan kebijakan otonomi daerah yang menumbuhkan rasa kepemilikandan rasa kebersamaan diantara anggota-anggota masyarakatnya, makaakan muncul implikasi positif terhadap pembangunan daerah.

1 Nagari merupakan sistem pemerintahan adat di Sumatra Barat yang wilayahnyaterdiri dari beberapa jorong (pada masa orde baru “dipaksa” menjadi desa).Dalam pemerintahan nagari peranan adat dalam mengatur tata kehidupanmasyarakat sangat kuat.

KEMBALI KE NAGARI

Di sela-sela hiruk pikuknya daerah memikirkan jumlah dana yang akandiperoleh melalui formula pusat tentang alokasi dana perimbangan, adabeberapa aspek lain yang menarik disimak lebih jauh yang memberi kesanpositif atas kebijakan otonomi daerah. Salah satu di antaranya adalahkembalinya peranan adat dalam mengatur kehidupan masyarakat terutamadi wilayah perdesaan. Misalnya, bagi masyarakat Minangkabau di Sumbar,berkuasanya kembali aturan adat tidak bisa dilepaskan dari kembalinyakerukunan masyarakat Minang dalam suatu ikatan kekeluargaan dalamwadah yang disebut nagari. Berikut beberapa pendapat berbagai kalangan

Villagers of Desa Tabek, Kabupaten Solok seriously discussing their own vision ofregional autonomy.

Masyarakat Desa Tabek Kabupaten Solok tampak serius membahas otonomi daerahmenurut visi mereka.

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through the village governance procedure, not through the traditionalnagari adat system where the village head is elected directly by thecommunity.

According to one prominent traditional adat leader, autonomy poli-cies are in accordance with the philosophy of the Minang people, thatis, Sauh air mandirikan diri, “working towards self-reliance”. In the nagarisystem every family has to be self-reliant. If every family can be inde-pendent, then the local community can develop more easily, and inturn the nagari itself will also progress. This is the essence of autonomy.

While the regional government supports the community’s desireto return to the nagari system, it also recognizes that it is unlikely thatthe community will be able to replicate the old nagari system par-ticularly as far as the area it will cover and the organizational struc-ture of its government.

In a broad sense the formation of the nagari is appropriate withthe essence of autonomy, that is, increasing community participa-tion in a way that provides the people with an opportunity for theirown self-determination. Despite the fact that a general nagari orga-nizational structure has been formulated by the province, the exactstructure to be applied will be decided by the particular communityinvolved. For example, in Desa Tabek, which is located inKecamatan Lembah Gumanti, Kabupaten Solok, the people want toestablish their own nagari, without reuniting with the twoneighbouring villages (the New Order government split the previ-ous nagari into several separate villages).

On the contrary, in Desa Alahan Panjang, Kecamatan Solok, theadat leaders and the entire community want to rejoin with otherneighbouring villages to reunite as a single nagari. The communitywishes to return to the original nagari system together with sevenother villages (jorong) to form Nagari Alahan Panjang.1 Discussionsabout this process have been held on several occasions resulting inthe formulation of a proposed organizational structure consisting ofvarious elements of the community such as traditional adat and adatlaw institutions, and representatives of each jorong.

However, some NGO activists have cautioned that a return tothe nagari system should not just draw on the symbols of traditionaladat but must develop the rational values which are drawn fromwithin the adat. For example, upholding the principles of democ-racy through the direct election of the members of the nagari consul-tative assembly. Another important adat value is egalitarianism, thatis, freedom of speech, and equality before the law, so that the tradi-tional adat leaders are held in no more esteem than the rest of thecommunity. A further concern is the involvement of the youngergeneration who have never experienced the nagari system before. Ifa return to the nagari system of village government does occur, thenmany believe that this group will need to receive an adequate intro-duction to the system. � Ilyas Saad, Decentralization and Local Gover-

nance Division

1 In the old system, the Nagari Alahan Panjang consisted of 11 jorong whichwere amalgamated into eight villages by the New Order regime becomingDesa Alahan Panjang. This desa has three tribal (suku) leaders, presidingover Suku Caniago, Tanjung and Malayu, and could become an example of arevival of the nagari government system.

2 Semula, Nagari Alahan Panjang terdiri atas 11 jorong yang kemudian

dilebur menjadi delapan desa oleh pemerintah Orde Baru. Desa AlahanPanjang mempunyai tiga penghulu suku, yaitu: Suku Caniago, Tanjung, danMelayu. Desa ini cukup baik sebagai desa percontohan proses kembali kepemerintahan sistem nagari.

tentang prospek Kabupaten Solok, Propinsi Sumatra Barat, jikatatanan kehidupan masyarakat kembali ke nagari.

Keinginan masyarakat kembali ke nagari ditanggapi kalanganpers dan tokoh masyarakat setempat sebagai langkah positif karenadiperkirakan bisa membuat daerah lebih cepat maju. Dengannagari masyarakat bisa bersatu dalam kesatuan yang diikat lebihkuat oleh adat. Keselarasan antara agama dan adat sebagaimanadicerminkan pepatah Minang yang berbunyi: "Syarak mengato,adat memakai" (hukum agama mengatur, adat melaksanakan)akan makin memperkuat kebersamaan warganya. Pada waktusistem desa diberlakukan oleh rejim orde baru, setiap desadiharuskan memiliki penghulu (ketua adat) yang diangkat melaluimekanisme pemerintahan desa, bukan melalui mekanisme adatnagari yang dipilih langsung oleh warga.

Menurut salah seorang tokoh adat, kebijakan otonomi sangatsesuai dengan falsafah hidup orang Minang, yaitu: Sauh airmandikan diri. Dalam nagari, setiap keluarga berusaha mandiri.Kalau setiap keluarga mandiri maka lingkungan dapat lebihmudah berkembang, dan pada gilirannya nagari pun juga maju.Pada hakekatnya itulah otonomi.

Pihak pemerintah daerah mendukung keinginan masyarakatnyakembali ke sistem nagari, namun disadari bahwa kemungkinan besarmasyarakat tidak bisa lagi kembali ke bentuk aslinya. Nagari yang baruakan berbeda dengan nagari lama terutama dalam hal luas wilayah danstruktur organisasi pemerintahannya.

Pada dasarnya pembentukan nagari sesuai dengan semangatotonomi, yaitu meningkatkan partisipasi masyarakat termasukmemberikan kesempatan kepada mereka untuk menentukankeinginannya. Walaupun format umum struktur organisasinagari telah dibuat oleh propinsi, tetapi bentuk yang akan dipakaiadalah bentuk yang dibuat oleh masyarakat nagari yangbersangkutan. Misalnya, di Desa Tabek, Kecamatan LembahGumanti, Kabupaten Solok, penduduk ingin menjadi nagarisendiri, tidak ingin bergabung kembali dengan dua desa lainnyaseperti sebelumnya (nagari awal sebelum dipecah menjadibeberapa desa oleh pemerintah Orde Baru).

Sebaliknya, di Desa Alahan Panjang, Kecamatan Solok,pemuka adat dan masyarakatnya ingin bersatu kembali dengandesa-desa lainnya di dalam satu nagari. Masyarakatmenghendaki kembalinya sistem pemerintahan nagari sepertidulu, bersama-sama dengan tujuh desa lainnya bergabung dalamNagari Alahan Panjang.2 Musyawarah untuk bersatu kembalitelah berulang kali dilakukan. Salah satu hasil rumusanmusyawarah tersebut adalah sebuah rancangan strukturorganisasi yang terdiri dari berbagai komponen masyarakat, sepertilembaga adat, lembaga hukum adat, dan wakil jorong.

Namun, beberapa aktivis LSM mengingatkan agar jikakembali ke bentuk sistem nagari jangan hanya menonjolkansimbol-simbol, tetapi harus mengembangkan nilai-nilai rasionalyang bersumber dari adat, seperti demokrasi (pemilihan BPN,Wali Nagari, Tuo Lintang, dll. secara langsung oleh rakyat),dan egaliter (setiap orang mempunyai kesempatan yang samauntuk berusaha dan berbicara, berkedudukan yang sama di mukaadat, dan pemuka adat tidak lebih istiwewa dari rakyat lainnya).Kekhawatiran lain timbul karena menyangkut generasi mudayang belum pernah mengetahui sistem nagari yang sebenarnya.Kalau akan kembali ke sistem pemerintahan nagari, makakelompok ini perlu mendapat sosialisasi yang memadai.

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Education Levels of Village Headsin the Era of DecentralizationTingkat Pendidikan Kepala Desa di Era Desentralisasi

Saat ini Indonesia sedang melaksanakan kebijakan desentralisasi secarabesar-besaran. Sesuai dengan kebijakan tersebut maka sebagian besartanggungjawab pemerintah akan bergeser dari pemerintah pusat kepemerintah kabupaten/kota. Daerah yang kaya sumber daya alam akanbanyak menikmati manfaat dari bentuk pembagian pendapatan daerahyang baru ini. Misalnya, daerah penghasil produk kehutanan,pertambangan dan perikanan, kini akan menerima 80 persen daripenerimaan pendapatan tersebut, sementara pemerintah pusat hanyamenerima sisanya, yaitu 20 persen. Daerah penghasil minyak akanmenerima 15 persen dari seluruh pendapatan yang diterima darieksploitasi kekayaan alam ini, sedangkan daerah penghasil gas alammenerima 30 persen.

Sebagian besar diskusi yang berlangsung mengenai prospek keberhasilanpelaksanaan otonomi daerah tertuju pada masalah perimbangan anggaranantara pemerintah pusat dan pemerintah daerah. Tampaknya ada asumsibahwa dengan memiliki anggaran belanja yang besar maka pemerintahdaerah (pemda) akan mampu mengelola pelaksanaan desentralisasi. Seiringdengan asumsi ini, maka pemda yang diuntungkan dengan adanya carabaru pembagian perolehan dari kekayaan sumber daya alam tersebutdianggap akan berhasil mengelola proses desentralisasinya.

Jelas kekayaan sumber daya alam adalah faktor penting dalammenentukan kemampuan pemda dalam melaksanakan kekuasaan otonomiyang diberikan secara efektif. Pemda yang memiliki kekayaan alam besarmempunyai sumber dana potensial yang akan mengalir ke daerahnyasebagai hasil pendayagunaan sumber-sumber alamnya. Karena itu daerahtersebut dimungkinkan memiliki kekuatan dana lebih besar dibandingdengan daerah yang miskin sumber daya alam.

Namun, seperti ditunjukkan oleh pengalaman banyak negara diberbagai penjuru dunia, kekayaan sumberdaya alam bukanlah satu-satunya faktor penentu keberhasilan pembangunan, juga bukan faktoryang terpenting. Sudah banyak contoh mengenai keberhasilanpembangunan negara-negara yang miskin sumber daya alam.

Salah satu faktor penentu keberhasilan pembangunan suatu negaraatau wilayah yang sama pentingnya, atau bisa jadi lebih penting, daripadakekayaan sumber daya alam adalah kualitas sumberdaya manusia. Jepang,Singapura, dan Korea Selatan adalah contoh tepat mengenai negara miskinsumber daya alam tetapi unggul dalam pembangunannya, terutamakarena kualitas sumberdaya manusianya.

Hingga kini studi mengenai apakah pemda mempunyai kemampuanuntuk melaksanakan desentralisasi lebih terfokus pada kemampuanpemerintah pusat, propinsi, dan kabupaten/kota serta parlemennya masing-masing. Sesungguhnya, sebagian besar wilayah Indonesia masih merupakankawasan perdesaan, dan salah satu indikator keberhasilan desentralisasiadalah pembangunan di tingkat desa. Karena itu kami ingin memperluaswacana mengenai hal ini dengan meneliti tingkat pendidikan kepala desadi seluruh wilayah , dengan memberikan perhatian khusus pada propinsiyang akan sangat menikmati manfaat dari pengaturan pembagianpendapatan kekayaan sumber alam. Bagaimanapun juga, sumberdayaalam dan pendapatan daerah dari sumber daya alam tersebut hanya akan

Indonesia is currently implementing a policy of majordecentralization. The present plan will see most govern-ment responsibilities shift from the central government tothe regional level (kabupaten and kota) governments. Re-gions rich in natural resources will benefit greatly from newforms of revenue sharing. Regions producing revenue fromforestry, mining and fisheries will now receive 80 percentof this income with the central government taking the re-maining 20 percent. Regions producing oil will receive 15percent of the revenue generated from this resource whilst30 percent of the revenue from natural gas will also remainin the regions.

Much of the current debate about the prospects for thesuccessful implementation of regional autonomy has fo-cused on the fiscal balance between the center and theregions. There has been an assumption that ‘with a suffi-ciently large budget, the regions will be able to managedecentralization’. In line with this assumption, it has alsobeen argued that the regions benefiting most from the newnatural resources revenue-sharing agreements will managedecentralization successfully.

Being rich in natural resources is certainly an importantfactor in determining a region’s ability to implement effec-tively a greater level of autonomy. Regions rich in naturalresources have the potential to exploit these resources, andhence, are more likely to acquire greater fiscal strength com-pared to those regions with poor natural resources.

However, as the experiences of many countries all overthe world have shown, natural resource levels are not theonly factor or the most important factor in determiningsuccessful development. There are many examples of coun-tries with limited natural resources which, nonetheless, haveexcelled in their development. One factor that is equallyimportant in determining a country or region’s successfuldevelopment, is the quality of its human resources. Japan,Singapore, and South Korea are well-known examples ofcountries with low levels of natural resources which havestill managed to excel in their development due to thequality of their human resources.

Until now, investigations of whether regions have thecapacity to manage decentralization have focused almostexclusively on the capacity of the central, provincial andthe kabupaten or kota governments and their respectiveparliaments. As a matter of fact, Indonesia remains largely arural country and one of the tests of successful decentraliza-tion will also be development at the village level. Hence,we would like to broaden the debate by considering theeducation level of village heads across the country1 , pay-ing particular attention to those provinces that will benefit

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memberi manfaat bagi masyarakat di daerah yang bersangkutanbila keduanya dikelola dengan baik.

Sebelum kebijakan desentralisasi diberlakukan, kepala desatelah memegang peranan penting dalam pelaksanaan berbagaiprogram pemerintah. Contoh paling terakhir adalah dalampelaksanaan program Jaring Pengaman Sosial, dimana tampakjelas bahwa pada akhirnya kepala desa yang menetapkanbagaimana suatu program akan dilaksanakan di tingkatmasyarakat bawah. Misalnya, pada saat penjualan beras murahProgram OPK, banyak kepala desa memutuskan untuk tidakmengikuti ketentuan program mengenai pendistribusian beraskepada rumah-tangga yang sebetulnya secara resmi berhakmenerima. Sebaliknya mereka memutuskan untukmendistribusikan beras secara lebih luas untuk berbagai lapisanpenduduk.

Dengan desentralisasi diharapkan peran kepala desa bahkanakan lebih menonjol. Terutama karena kini rantai komandoproses pembuatan keputusan di tingkat kabupaten/kota kelangkah pelaksanaan di tingkat desa akan menjadi semakinpendek. Sesungguhnya, otonomi daerah bukan hanyamenyangkut pembagian kekuasaan antara pemerintah pusat dandaerah, tetapi juga berkaitan dengan pembagian dalam prosespengambilan keputusan antara pemerintah dan masyarakat.Tak dapat dihindari bahwa dalam aspek ini peranan kepala desaakan menjadi sangat menentukan.

Berikut ini adalah analisa mengenai tingkat pendidikankepala desa di seluruh propinsi Indonesia. Data diambil dariSurvey Potensi Desa 1999 yang dilakukan oleh BPS. Secaranasional, 5 persen dari kepala desa tidak menyelesaikanpendidikan dasar mereka, 17 persen hanya lulusan SD, 28 persenlulusan SMP, 39 persen memegang ijazah SMA, dan 11 persenlulusan perguruan tinggi.

Tingkat pendidikan kepala desa juga sangat bervariasi antarwilayah. Grafik terlampir menunjukkan tingkat pendidikankepala desa di 26 propinsi, disusun dari arah kiri ke kananberdasarkan persentase kepala desa lulusan perguruan tinggi.Grafik tersebut menunjukkan bahwa propinsi yang mempunyaiperingkat tertinggi adalah DKI Jakarta, ibukota negara, disusuloleh Propinsi Bali dan DIYogyakarta. Lebih dari 46 persen kepaladesa di Jakarta mempunyai klasifikasi sarjana, 52 persen lulusanSMA, dan hanya 1 persen lulusan SMP, sementara yangberpendidikan SD atau tidak tamat sekolah kurang dari 1 persen.

Peringkat propinsi-propinsi di Pulau Jawa umumnya tinggi,empat dari lima propinsi di Pulau Jawa masuk dalam 10 propinsiperingkat tertinggi secara nasional: Jawa Timur berada padaurutan ke enam, dan Jawa Tengah pada urutan ke 9.Propinsi di Jawa yang mempunyai peringkat rendah adalahJawa Barat, yaitu pada urutan ke 11.

Propinsi dengan tingkat pendidikan kepala desa terendahadalah Propinsi Papua. Hanya dua persen kepala desa daripropinsi ini lulusan perguruan tinggi, 12 persen lulusan SMA,24 persen lulusan SMP, 38 persen lulusan SD, sementara 23persen bahkan tidak menyelesaikan pendidikan SD. Lebih darienam persen kepala desa di Propinsi Papua sama sekali tidakmengenyam pendidikan. Angka ini jauh lebih tinggi daripadaprosentase di propinsi-propinsi lainnya. Propinsi yang memegangposisi kedua tertinggi dimana kepala desa tidak mengenyampendidikan sama sekali dapat ditemui di Propinsi Kalimantan

most from the natural resource revenue-sharing arrangements. Afterall, natural resources and the revenues gained from these resourceswill only benefit people in the regions if these resources and rev-enues are well managed.Well before the decentralization era, village heads were already play-ing an important role in implementing government programs. Themost recent example is the implementation of Social Safety Netprograms, where it is clear that in many cases it was ultimately thevillage heads who determined how the programs were implementedat the grassroots level. For example, in the case of the subsidized riceprogram, many village heads decided to disregard the official pro-gram guidelines which stipulated that the rice was only to bedistributed to officially eligible households. Instead, they choseto allocate the rice to a broader spectrum of the population ac-cording to various local criteria.

With decentralization, the role of village heads will become evenmore important. Now there will be a shorter chain of command fromthe decision-making process at the kabupaten or kota levels to theimplementers at the village level. Ultimately, regional autonomy isnot only about power-sharing between the central and regional gov-ernments, but also a sharing of the decision-making process betweenthe government and the communities. It is inevitable that the role ofvillage heads will be a crucial factor in this process.

We present here a succinct analysis of the level of education ofvillage heads across the country. The source of the data is the 1999PODES (Village Potential) survey conducted by Statistics Indonesia(BPS). Nationally, 5 percent of village heads have not completedprimary education, 17 percent have only a primary school educa-tion, 28 percent have a lower secondary school education, 39 per-cent have an upper secondary school education, and 11 percenthave a tertiary education.

The education level of village heads also varies greatly acrossregions. The attached table summarizes the education level of vil-lage heads across 26 provinces, ranked from left to right according totertiary education levels. The data re-veals that the highest-ranked provinceis the nation’s capital, Jakarta, followedby Bali and Yogyakarta.Provinces in Java generally rank highlyin relation to the level of education ofvillage heads, with four out of its fiveprovinces included in the nation’s top10 provinces. East Java is ranked 6th

and Central Java is ranked 9th. The prov-ince in Java with the lowest rank is WestJava, which is ranked 11th.Nationally, the province with the lowest level of education amongstits village heads is Papua. Only 2 percent of village heads in thisprovince have tertiary qualifications, 12 percent have an upper sec-ondary school education, 24 percent have lower secondary schooleducation, 38 percent have a primary school education, whilst 23percent did not finish primary school. In fact, more than 6 percent ofvillage heads in Papua never attended school at all. This is a muchhigher percentage than any other province. The province withthe second highest percentage of village heads without school-ing is East Kalimantan (1 percent).

Village heads throughout Kalimantan generally have a low levelof formal education. Three out of Kalimantan’s four provinces are

“There is a need tobalance discussions on the

merits of regionalautonomy by focusing not

only on the benefits ofnatural resource revenue-sharing but also on the

available human resourcesat all levels of regional

government”

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amongst the country’s five lowest-ranked provinces. Cen-tral Kalimantan ranks 22nd, South Kalimantan is 24th andWest Kalimantan is 25th. Meanwhile, East Kalimantan,which is ranked 13th and is a resource-rich province, isKalimantan’s highest-ranking province.

Interestingly, two of Indonesia’s top four resource-richprovinces rank among the lowest in the country in terms ofthe level of education of village heads. Papua has the low-est rank in the country and Aceh is ranked 20th. Riau,which is another resource-rich province, is in the 9th rank,the highest ranking amongst the resource-rich provinces.

These results suggest that there is clearly a need to bal-ance discussions on the merits of regional autonomy byfocusing not only on the benefits of natural resource rev-enue-sharing but also on the available human resources atall levels of regional government, including the villagelevel. In many regions, especially the resource-rich regions,the level of education of village heads is still relativelylow, and, hence, there is room for considerable improve-ment. This having been said, it is important to understandthat formal education is not the only factor determiningthe quality of human resources and, hence, the success ofdevelopment. Factors such as personal integrity and workethics, which are difficult to measure but almost certainlyof equal importance, and therefore must also be taken intoaccount. � Asep Suryahadi & Sudarno Sumarto, QuantitativeAnalysis of Poverty and Social Conditions

Timur, yaitu satu persen.Umumnya kepala desa di Pulau Kalimantan memiliki pendidikan

formal rendah. Tiga dari empat propinsi di Kalimantan tergolong dalamlima propinsi peringkat terendah. Kalimantan Tengah pada urutan ke22, Kalimantan Selatan urutan ke 24, dan Kalimantan Barat urutan ke25. Sementara itu Kalimantan Timur yang menduduki peringkat ke 13dan merupakan salah satu propinsi kaya sumber daya alam yang mendudukiperingkat tertinggi di antara propinsi-propinsi di Kalimantan.

Yang menarik, dua dari empat propinsi kaya sumber daya alam diIndonesia ternyata memegang peringkat terendah ditinjau dari tingkatpendidikan kepala desanya. Secara nasional propinsi Papua berada diurutan terendah, sementara Aceh di urutan ke 20. Riau yang jugamerupakan propinsi kaya sumber daya alam berada pada urutan ke 9,atau peringkat tertinggi diantara propinsi-propinsi kaya sumber daya alam.

Hasil studi ini menunjukkan bahwa jelas tampak adanya kebutuhanuntuk mengimbangi diskusi-diskusi mengenai manfaat otonomi daerah:dari fokus utama yang tertumpu pada manfaat pembagian perolehan darisumber daya alam ke arah memperhitungkan beberapa pertimbanganmengenai sumber daya manusia yang dibutuhkan pada semua tingkatpemerintah, termasuk di tingkat desa. Banyak daerah, termasuk propinsikaya sumber daya alam, mempunyai kepala desa dengan pendidikan relatifrendah, dan karena itu masih membutuhkan banyak peluang untukmeningkatkan kemampuan mereka. Namun demikian, perlu dipahamibahwa pendidikan formal bukan satu-satunya faktor penentu kualitassumberdaya manusia atau keberhasilan pembangunan. Faktor lainnya,misalnya integritas pribadi dan etika kerja, yang sulit diukur tetapi hampirdapat dipastikan tidak kalah pentingnya, sehingga juga harusdipertimbangkan.

Figure 1. Education Level of Village Heads, 1999

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Unfinished primary Primary Lower secondary Upper secondary Tertiary

Education Level of Village Heads, 1999/Tingkat Pendidikan Kepala Desa, 1999