DPR Asks Minister Of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian And Governor To Be More Transparent In Appointing Acting Regents Or Mayors

Member of the House of Representatives from the Democratic faction, Achmad. (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - Member of the House of Representatives from the Democratic faction, Achmad asked the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri), Tito Karnavian to re-evaluate the process of appointing the Acting Regent/Mayor to be more open and transparent.

This was in response to the response of several governors who felt that the Minister of Home Affairs had not accommodated their recommendation, causing a polemic in the region which led to the postponement of the inauguration of the Acting Regent/Mayor.

"It is necessary to re-evaluate the policies implemented by the central government in this case the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the appointment of Acting Regents and Mayors who do not accommodate the proposal from the Governor," Achmad said in a written statement, quoted Friday, May 27.

Achmad said, indeed Law No. 10 of 2016, the Minister of Home Affairs has the prerogative in appointing the Acting Regent/Mayor without a proposal or without a proposal from the governor. However, he said, in exercising this prerogative, the Minister of Home Affairs should not only rely on the existing authority or regulations.

"But it must also consider morals, political ethics, and local wisdom so that it is hoped that policies with prerogatives will not cause conflict/noise, unrest in the region," he explained.

The legislator from Riau requested that in the future the Minister of Home Affairs hopes that conflicts and unrest will not occur again. For this reason, it is necessary to strengthen coordination, integration, and synchronization in the process of determining candidates for the Acting Regent/Mayor so that the principles of centralization and the principles of decentralization can go hand in hand and in line with the framework of running the government system in Indonesia.

"In addition, transparency from various parties, both from the governor and the Minister of Home Affairs is needed. So that an Acting Regent and Mayor after being sworn in is ready to work in their area and is not preoccupied with issues of the appointment process," he said.

Achmad said, in order to avoid polemics and seem to attract interests. The governor must also be more transparent in conveying the proposed name to the public.

"The governor must also be transparent about who the proposed name is. And the governor asks for views and opinions from community leaders, both traditional leaders, and political and educational leaders. Thus, the governor has carried out limited democracy," he explained.

Furthermore, the former Regent of Rokan Hulu for two terms said this was very important because a regional head had a heavy-duty as a government administrator, development and at the same time fostering community social welfare and socio-political development in the area.

"Moreover, the situation and conditions in our country that have been hit by COVID-19 for the last 2 years have resulted in the decline of the community's economy, disruption of public health, and also affecting other sectors of life. This is a challenge faced by the regions, especially the Acting Regents and Mayors," he said.

As the task of supervising the members of the DPR RI, Achmad remembers that there will be many more Acting Regents/Mayors who will be appointed to fill the vacancies of regional heads which end before the 2024 simultaneous Regional Head Elections.

"So cooperation in coordinating the integration of transparency synchronization is very much needed between the central government in this case the Minister of Home Affairs and the regional government in this case the governor in order to maintain a conducive safe and controlled situation and conditions to welcome the people's democratic party in 2024, namely general elections and regional elections," explained Achmad.

As a former bureaucracy and politician, Achmad said that the appointment of the Acting Regent/Mayor would not be separated from political interests, because the position was strategic and political.

"However, for the limited process and mechanism of democracy, transparency, local wisdom, morals, and political ethics should not be ruled out because we want to be together in the future this process of nominating the Acting Regent and Mayor does not add to the warmth, the hustle, and bustle of the 2024 Election and Pilkada 2024," he explained.

Achmad is of the view, Law Number 23 of 2014, Governors are central officials in the regions in the context of implementing the principle of centralization and also governors are regional heads who are directly elected by the people with strong legitimacy in order to carry out the principle of decentralization or autonomy.

Achmad said, it is better for the Minister of Home Affairs and the governor as regional heads to build a spirit and be determined to apply the government system in Indonesia so that mutual respect and respect for each other can be realized.

"So that in addition to a conducive, safe and controlled atmosphere, it can also accelerate development, reduce poverty, reduce unemployment, increase people's income, which leads to the realization of a prosperous and just society," he concluded.