"The proposal is made to keep up with the times, the historical and cultural development of the nation," he said at the parliament building here on Thursday in connection with the submission of the bill on the special status of Yogyakarta by the government to the parliament.
Thousands of people in Yogyakarta recently took to the streets to protest against the idea of changing the current system of appointment for the governor of the region. Under the system the chief of the Yogyakarta traditional sultanate will automatically become the governor of the region.
Most of the political party factions in the regional legislative assembly had also agreed to maintain the current system. Marzuki said in line with the development direct election would be the right system for the implementation of democracy.
He said the implementation of direct election as mandated by the constitution would not undermine the positions of Sultan and Paku Alam as kings in Yogyakarta because under the new system Sultan and Paku Alam would remain as prime governor and vice prime governor, he said. With the position Sultan would no longer act as an executive with all his tasks and obligations but would act more as a symbol of unity with certain tasks and obligations that still have yet to be regulated.
"I am trying to compare it to the case in some European countries like Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden that still retain their royal system while their governments are elected democratically. The kings or queens in those countries still hold certain power but unlike before when they stlll applied a pure system of kingdom," he said.
So, he said, governments could run democratically and at the same time change in line with the people’s wish while the kingdoms remain in existence with certain powers. The system to be applied in Yogyakarta would be like that where the Sultan would still retain certain authorities that could not be contested.
"Let us see for example Britain. It is Queen Elizabeth II that inaugurates a prime minister after being elected. These countries are aware that democracy is a must but they are also aware that they also need to retain their kingdom and culture," he said.
He said maintaining the system that automatically puts Sultan as governor would also be risky especially with regard to budget.
"As a man he may make a mistake. If Sultan is the governor and in charge of the regional budget it will be impossible for him to be held responsible in case irregularities occur. It will cause other regions to be jealous if Sultan will not be held responsible in case of a budger irregularity and thus also a legal uncertainty," he said.
Marzuki said the government’s draft bill would accomodate such problems. Sultan and Paku Alam would be given a role like the king or queen in Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden and others. Like in the British kingdom, Yogyakarta will continue to be given a budget which is under the authority of Sultan and Paku Alam with regard to its use.
"This is in line with the spirit of democracy while at the same time preserving the culture and history of the nation and in this regard the special status of the region would remain as only Yogyakarta applies the system. This is what I have always explained to the people of Yogyakarta every time they ask me about the issue," he said.
Source : kompas
Sunday, December 19, 2010
What Marzuki Alie Said about Govt's Proposal on Yogyakarta
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