DPD Members: The Expansion Of Bureaucratic Technical Areas, First If The Region Has Developed

DPD member Abdul Kholik (right) during a Focus Group Discussion "The Expansion of the Greater Banyumas Province from an Academic Perspective" at UMP, Banyumas. (ANTARA/Sumarwoto)

BANYUMAS - Member of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) Abdul Kholik said the expansion of a region is a bureaucratic technical matter. Initially carried out by the government in view of the development of a region.

"I emphasize that actually the division was originally a bureaucratic technical matter. In the past, the design was when a district or province had developed, it was prepared, one of which was actually a Kotatif (Administrative City) to get ready to become a new autonomous region (DOB). " he said in Purwokerto, Banyumas Regency, Central Java, Tuesday afternoon, March 29.

Abdul Kholik said this when opening the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) "The Expansion of the Banyumas Raya Province from an Academic Perspective" which was organized by the DPD in collaboration with the Muhammadiyah University of Purwokerto (UMP).

Due to the reform process, he said, the issue of regional expansion changed from a bureaucratic technique to a political one and then there were various dynamics.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the Purwokerto case, which was prepared for expansion from Banyumas Regency, became interesting because Central Java was relatively passive in terms of expansion.

Thus, until now Banyumas Regency has two district courts, two district attorneys' offices, and two religious courts.

"So this is special, there is no district/city like this. That's because earlier, it failed to go beyond the (expansion) phase. Well, actually because of bureaucratic technicalities, the most interesting thing if we try to disentangle, we start from academically, "he said.

Therefore, he said, the discussion of the expansion material starts from the campus and is expected to continue after the first round at UMP, then at Jenderal Sudirman University (Unsoed) Purwokerto, State Islamic University (UIN) Prof. KH. Saifuddin Zuhri, and so on.

Meanwhile, when delivering material on the expansion of the Banyumas Raya Province, Abdul Kholik said Central Java along with West Java and East Java were the three regions with the largest populations.

"The success of development in these three regions will greatly affect the success of national development, and vice versa," he said.

Regarding the prospect of the expansion of Banyumas Raya Province or southern Central Java, he said that in line with the need for the development of the economic axis, the expansion area should cover Banyumas and Kedu to become South Java or Jasela.

This has the potential to accelerate the development of economic potential in the southern region of Central Java, which is based on agriculture, tourism and maritime economics.

In this case, the maritime economic potential on the South Coast of Java reaches 1.5 trillion US dollars per year which is equivalent to seven times the 2021 APBN, 45 million jobs, and the multiplier effect is very wide.

"This has the potential to balance development in Central Java, both in the northern and southern regions, and focus on handling the problems faced and their solutions. Also synergies and collaborations between regions in the southern Central Java region to create efficiency and effectiveness in resource management and development programs," explained Kholik.

When met on the sidelines of the discussion, UMP Chancellor Dr. Jebul Suroso said that his party in collaboration with the DPD RI wanted to examine the potential of Banyumas Raya to be expanded into a province.

"In my opinion, as an academic, management is good in terms of input, output, and process. I think it will be very adequate. Starting from a simple thought that when access to the highest leadership or to the center is experiencing obstacles, in our opinion the development of an area will hindered," he said.

Therefore, he said, when access to the center of regulation, facilitation, and quick decision-making is brought closer, it can overcome the problems of poverty, hampered education, and regional progress.

However, it is still only a discussion, so he invited academics not only from UMP but also from other universities to discuss.

"What's the ending? Not agreeing or disagreeing, but the ending is that this idea needs to be issued, it needs to be conveyed, so that the community can understand, oh there is a will like this. The government can also pay attention that there are elements of society who have the will to there," said the Chancellor.

He said there were those who agreed or disagreed, that was the review of each. However, his party as an academician thinks straightly that progress should perhaps be made through the comprehensive ideas of academics.