Elections of Regional Leader in 2018

By: Dr. H. Fikri D. Parhanudin, SIP, M.PA, M.Sc

(dream, aamiin heheh )

The election of governor, regent and mayor directly and simultaneously in 2018 and will held on June 27, 2018. Will be implement in 171 regions covering 17 provinces, 115 districts, and 39 municipalities. This democracy party event followed of 565 pair of candidates, with details of 57 candidates for governor/vice governor, 371 candidates for regent/ vice regent and 137 candidates for mayor/vice mayor. Of these 439 candidates were headed by political parties and 126 candidates headed by individual lines (independent). 

This democracy party event must be support goodly by presenting a polite democratic practice, with good attitude and give better reference for people. Not just that, this general election must show off the best of candidates who has good record, concern to combat corruptions, and keep stay to make all term in process safe and peaceful. I really concern for this point. Hopefully in this event all the candidate must avoid practice of identity’s politic, hoax, and SARA. 

Candidates has to realist the concept of peace building to people. in the second the candidates must avoid the corruption practice (money politic). Obviously, money politic so dark and worst. For we know together currently, the commission of eradication corruption has arrested five candidates head of local government has become a suspect. I tried to evaluate why this happen, there are has 3 factors related with this case this is cost of democracy so high, rent seeker and hedonism also.  Corruption is the extraordinary crime but in Indonesia government can’t to eradicate this case quickly, enforcement the laws become the first step must be do it. Beside on data show most corruption organization in Indonesia involved by:  civil servant 44 percent, private sector 26 percent, legislative 19 percent, and the head of local government 3 percent. The practice in bureaucracy started in little aspect like give a money for apparatus in sub district to acceleration administration until to major corruption in the process of licensing and procurement of goods and services.

The ministry of home affairs indicates that there are 3 aspects that require strengthening so that the corruption in the local government can be suppressed, there are regional planning and budgeting, APBD Management and Permits.

The first, aspect of planning and budgeting, national conclusions have indicated an inconsistency between planning and budgeting. A total of 17.7 percent of the programs contained in the RPJMD are not spelled out in RKPD and 25.03 percent inconsistences between RKPD and PPAS. Base on the problem ministry of home affairs has obliged all local government to implement E Planning. The hope with implementation of e planning created the ideal conditions of planning documents, among other the document clean of intervention of the interests of individual or parties so that leads to the required rather that desired, maintaining consistency between planning and budgeting documents, and also the existence of clarity of budget performance structure between input, process, output, outcome and impact.

The second aspect that requires strengthening is related to the management of APBD. The problem during 2017 among are:

1. Level of obedience on time determination of APBD 2017 is still low that is 78 percent. However, for the year 2018 has increased significantly. Where only two provinces and 20 districts/cities are delay,
2. indirect spending structure that is 59.61 percent still bigger than direct expense which only 40.39 percent.
3. The degree of fiscal autonomy or the level of regional budget independence is still relatively low, namely on average 34.72 percent nationally. This show that local government still dependent on balancing fund and transfer funds from central government.
4. The proportion of capital expenditure is still small at only 18.13 percent and decreased nationally in the year2018 which is an average of 17.30 percent of the total expenditure. Ideally capital expenditure has the largest proportion in APBD, as it directly related to services and additional assets of central government.
5. The proportion of official travel, grant expenditure despite tightening the arrangement, the magnitudes of each year tend to remain and increase. There are still findings and repeated examination in the aspect of the management of grants expenditure, official travel and procurement of goods and services. 

Furthermore, the last aspect that requires strengthening in the licensing aspect, this greatly affects the ease of our doing business ranking. Currently, Indonesia is still ranked 72th from the president target of 40^th place.

Hopefully this year in the phase of general election goes well and succeeds in creating the good leader who is full of quality and concern to make people prosperous.