DPR Chairman Asks Government To Be Transparent In Selecting Acting Regional Head, KPPOD: Public Participation Involved Gives Input On Figure Determination

JAKARTA - The Executive Director of the Monitoring Committee for the Implementation of Regional Autonomy (KPPOD) Armand Suparman, responded to the statement of the Chairman of the DPR, Puan Maharani, who asked the government to be transparent in selecting the acting regional heads. Puan assessed that public participation would strengthen the legitimacy of the acting regional head himself.

It is known, the first batch of acting regional heads will start serving in mid-May 2022 with a total of 101 to lead in 5 provinces, 6 cities, and 3 regencies. Meanwhile, in 2023, there will be 171 acting regional heads who will serve.

According to Armand, public participation is not meant as an election by the public. However, the public can provide an assessment and input regarding candidates for office.

"Participation means that the public does not vote, but what we mean is to provide notes, input on potential candidates or candidates prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the acting governor and those prepared by the governor for acting regents or mayors," said Armand Suparman, Wednesday, May 11th.

These public records and inputs, continued Armand, are expected to help the government in determining the official figure. In addition, he said, public participation will also strengthen the legitimacy of officials.

"With public records, the government can also pay attention to these records, so what we really hope is that when there are records related to the legitimacy of these officials by several parties/experts, of course with that participation we can fill the empty space," he said.

He also revealed the importance of public participation in the election of acting regional heads. Because according to Armand, these officials will face several challenges in carrying out their duties. Starting from responding to central government policies and recovery after the pandemic.

"Then what we need is an acting regional head who is competent, has capacity and integrity," explained Armand.

Previously, DPR Speaker Puan Maharani asked the government to be transparent in selecting the acting (Pj) regional heads. Puan also encouraged the selection process to involve public participation.

This was conveyed by Puan in response to 101 regions that will be filled by acting regional heads in 2022.

"Prepare adequate facilities if the community wants to provide input and carry out screening in a measurable manner and free from political interests," said Puan.