INTRODUCTION

If we look back at the past six years of the present reform era, we recall that B.J. Habibie's rise to presidency was highly controversial, due to the fact that he had come to this office as vice-president of the last cabinet under Suharto's regime. Many high-ranking reform politicians in Jakarta therefore opposed Habibie's succession of Suharto as president. However, on 21 May 1998, he was inaugurated before the Supreme Court as third president of Indonesia. Just a few months after his appointment had been ratified by the DPR, President Habibie issued Law No. 22/1999 on Regional Autonomy. This law replaced Law No. 5/1974, which had become dated and obsolete.

Initially, Law No. 22/1999 provided local government with a fresh impetus for exercising its power in accordance with the will of the people in the region. Yet after a few months, some of the implications of Law No. 22/1999 made local government face new and unexpected challenges such as the issue of the interests, status and representation of the so-called “indigenous peoples”. Another unforeseen problem was the new status rivalry within the reorganized bureaucracy. The institution of governor as the head of provincial government, for instance, had lost out in prestige and status vis-à-vis the institution of the mayor as head of the municipal government and the institution of the bupati as head of the district government. Because the beneficiaries of the autonomy regulation are the districts and municipalities, and not the province, the mayors and bupatis have become independent from their governor with regard to the execution of their duties, for they no longer needed to consult him. This has led to tensions between those two offices, because governors have often felt to have lost their face.

The situation has become even more complicated, with more political players entering the regional stage as members of the local parliaments (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Kota/ Kabupaten, or DPRD Kota/ Kabupaten), who enjoy the prerogative of either accepting or rejecting the annual budget accountability report of the mayor and the bupati. In case of non-acceptance, the mayor or bupati would have to withdraw from office. Not only the mayors and bupati, but also the members of the DPRD Kota/ Kabupaten have thus become the new “little kings” (raja kecil) in Indonesia.