The discourse of establishing five New Autonomous Regions (DOB) in North Kalimantan (Kaltara) has returned to public discussion.
However, the hope to present five new areas, namely Kabudaya, Apau Kayan, Krayan, Sebatik City, and Tanjung Selor City still seems to have to be patient.
Apart from the lack of signaling the opening of a regional expansion moratorium from the Ministry of Home Affairs, regional fiscal capability factors are also the main obstacle.
Member of the DPR for the North Kalimantan electoral district, Deddy Yevri Hanteru Sitorus, assessed that the regional expansion plan must be taken with caution, considering that the current regional financial condition is not strong enough to support the birth of new areas.
"The current fiscal situation does not support realizing the DOB directly. The existing areas still have a difficult life. Moreover, transfer funds from the center continue to decline," said Deddy, Tuesday, October 21.
According to the PDI-P politician, forcing the formation of a DOB without careful readiness can actually cause new problems for the parent and provincial regions.
"If the DOB is added, the provincial budget and the main district will automatically be cut off to finance new areas. This has the potential to exacerbate existing fiscal limitations," he said.
Therefore, Deddy proposed a gradual transition approach through the allocation of mandatory funds for priority areas that were still lagging behind.
"For example, the Nunukan and Malinau Regency Governments can allocate special funds, each of which is around Rp. 100 billion for Krayan, Sebatik, and Kayan Apau. This fund can be focused on infrastructure development and increasing community productivity," explained Deddy.
He considered that this approach was more realistic because remote areas could still develop without having to burden the provincial or main district fiscal.
"If the infrastructure is good and the community is more productive, the need for DOB can be minimized. Because if it is forced now, both the parent and regional areas will be equally difficult," he added.
Deddy emphasized that he did not reject the idea of a DOB, but emphasized the importance of careful planning.
"The point is, we don't reject the DOB. But everything has to go through good stages and preparations," he said.
Deddy also reminded his experience during the formation of North Kalimantan Province several years ago. At that time, districts and main cities in East Kalimantan had to be willing to lose part of their budget to support the new province.
At that time, the district/city budget was taken and only added a few from the center. As a result, the local area of the parent was disrupted and all parties felt burdened," said the legislator from Kaltara.
According to him, this experience should be an important lesson so that local governments do not repeat the same mistakes.
As a follow-up step, Deddy plans to have a dialogue with the Regent of Nunukan and the Regent of Malinau to discuss a more proportional budget division, especially for areas that are still left behind under development.
"This is a more realistic and wise step. We can still accelerate development without sacrificing regional fiscal stability," he concluded.
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