REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, By: Ahmad Syafii Maarif
For Riau, at least, besides Central Kalimantan, there was a Governor Regulation No 11/2014 which gave permission to burn forests for land cultivation. The heads of village had an authority to grant permission for forest fires of two hectares areas. If the fires were more than 50 hectares, then there must be a permission of the governor.
However, the smog disaster had actually been going on for 18 years, long before there was such regulation. By the regulation, people would be more free to do mischief. So, this country did not really protect the people from smog. Many times the smog came, but burning the forest was repeated again and again. Did not ever want to learn from the terrible thing.
The following statistic was terrible: about 2,089,911 hectares of forest burned this year, 43 million Indonesian people in Sumatra and Kalimantan were tormented by smog, 500 thousand suffered from various diseases caused by smog, 19 souls had died. President Jokowi moved his office in smog area in South Sumatra, with a guarantee that burning forest was forbidden for the next years. If it was just merely symbolic, office move was a futility.
With Regional Autonomy Law, head of region could "do anything I want" in an effort to increase revenue (original income). If we could re-think, the Regional Autonomy Law should first be implemented gradually as an experiment. After it was evaluated properly and tight, then it could fully implemented. The euphoria of democracy in the early reform of the last century was a major trigger for the decentralization movement as an antithesis to centralist political system.
BJ Habibie government some years ago, did not have time to think calmly about the impact of massive decentralization. The result was clear, regional division was almost entirely not based on correct and accurate feasibility study.
We did not see long-term impact when it was associated with the spirit of Youth Pledge in 1928. Why the leadership of an area, for example, closed an opportunity for figures who were not native people, whereas we knew that they could be honest, dedicated, and had almost flawless integrity? If the tendency of local nationalism was allowed to grow, it was not impossible that the unity of Indonesia would turn into the satay of Indonesia.
In a position that was relatively intact, Indonesia failed against the smog that had also hit the neighboring countries. It was nauseating to hear Riau politician recently who were eager to secede from Indonesia because of the smog attack which until now had not been resolved by the fourth largest nation in the world.
Therefore, let's be honest with ourselves. It turned out this terrible disaster was created through local government regulation.
Facing the demands of autonomy, the central government had been tired to always become a prisoner of regional government. Now, it was reported that there were still 200 regions who requested to be expanded. Ladies and gentlemen could imagine how chaos political situation in Indonesia in dealing with hundreds of local autonomy in level two and tens of local autonomy in level one.
The chaotic would be more brutal, if the central government was weak. Would Indonesia survive under a weak government?
During the 70 years of independence, we had not been able to solve the leadership problem. How difficult it was. There was a great leader, but he fell at the end of his career and was fought by his own people. Our democracy had not grown up until today.
In relation to smoke, why before the local regulation was issued, it was not carefully studied the bad effect? Forest fires this year was incredible, including forests that were categorized as the lungs of the world. So, when the lungs were burned, the world's climate would increasingly heated and living on earth becomes uncomfortable.
Water resources would be increasingly scarce. The cry of sorrow because of the drought would be heard in every corners of the earth. Thus, the forest burning, in fact, was the enemy of civilization that must be condemned by human beings who were aware of its global responsibilities.
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