DEPUTY chairman of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) of the Republic of Indonesia Sultan B Najamuddin expressed his views on increasing the role of the DPD in the era of regional autonomy. An issue that is still a question and discourse of the public and constitutional experts.
In the FGD which carried the theme “Almost three decades, has regional autonomy met expectations?”, the Sultan said that the DPD RI is actually able to play a role and contribute significantly in encouraging the acceleration of democratic consolidation and regional fiscal independence.
“It can be said that the DPD and regional autonomy are two crucial biological children of reform for equitable national development. However, in practice, the relationship between the two has not been truly established in an accurate and complementary manner due to the absence of a standard mechanism between the two institutions,” said Sultan as quoted in Jakarta, Friday (5/7).
The Sultan, who was specially invited to deliver his views on the role of the DPD in encouraging development and regional autonomy, explained that the Bicameral system in the Indonesian parliament is not running effectively. The gap in authority between the two institutions (DPD and DPR) has a serious impact on the acceleration of regional autonomy development.
“As representative institutions that both receive the mandate of the people’s sovereignty, the DPR and DPD should be able to work together and complement each other in their duties and functions,” stressed the former KNPI activist, Friday (5/6).
To improve the quality of the Bicameral System that has not been perfectly formed, said the Sultan, at least we can work around it with the Collaborative Parliament approach. The collaboration of these two institutions, for us, is the best solution to encourage the improvement of the quality of legislation and supervision (check and balance) of executive power.
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“Of course, by first revising the MD3 Law and the Law on the Formation of Legislation. We will build communication and lobby the general chairmen of political parties and the DPR to revise the Law related to the legislative and supervisory authority of the DPD,” he said.
“We need to prepare a double check mechanism in the drafting of laws. In carrying out the supervisory function, both institutions can share roles proportionally according to the type of law and needs,” said the prospective DPD RI chairman candidate.
Furthermore, the Sultan explained that the DPD internally also needs to improve the capacity and capability of its members. The ideal competency standard for prospective DPD members is a prerequisite for raising the prestige and dignity of the institution. Both to gain public support and to increase the DPD’s bargaining position among other state institutions.
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“Therefore, we personally and as leaders always try to encourage DPD members to be more proactive and innovative in the future as catalysts for the progress of their respective regions. Namely, acting as a Mediator, when there is a conflict or disharmony, both vertically and horizontally. Including conflicts that lead to the disintegration of the Republic of Indonesia,” said the Sultan.
Second, is the role as a Promoter, who promotes the potential of his region, both to national and international business actors. DPD members are expected to have a diplomatic agenda to introduce the potential of their region to ambassadors of friendly countries or investors when visiting abroad,” continued the Senator from Bengkulu.
Next, the role of Aggregator, where DPD members are expected to be able to collect community aspirations and read regional potential data maps to be recommended to the central government when discussing the budget, especially regarding central-regional transfer funds.
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And the last is the role as a supervisor and auditor of regional financial politics. This role is very crucial, considering the DPD’s supervisory function. In addition, the DPD is also involved in the recruitment process of BPK commissioners.
“We hope that the DPD can be involved together with the BPK or BPKP to supervise the finances of the regional government. This aims to suppress the potential for buying and selling WTP by individuals who harm the region,” concluded the Sultan.
Also present at the event was the Chief Editor of Kompas Daily as the host. Also present were the Deputy for Regional Development of the Ministry of Bappenas, experts in Government Science and Senior Researchers of LPEM University of Indonesia. (Z-8)
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