Center-Regional Relations and Coronavirus

The central government seems to be ambiguous in placing the COVID-19 issue: is it classified as an infectious disease outbreak, non-natural disaster, or emergencies on public health and health quarantine.

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian gave a press statement after holding a meeting with West Java Province officials regarding Covid-19 at Gedung Sate, Bandung, on Wednesday (18/3/2020).

Some time ago, the public was stirred by a viral video in which the regent of East Bolaang Mongondow regent expressed anger over the central government’s regulation on COVID-19 social assistance, which she considered confusing and causing trouble in the regions.

This phenomenon can be understood. On the one hand, as leaders who deal directly with the people in facing the Covid-19 "national disaster", regional heads (regents/mayors) are required to adopt agile policies and provide security to their people. On the other hand, the central government -- which incidentally has constraints in terms of the range of control with various legal arrangements/norms -- is considered slow in making policies.

The central government seems to be ambiguous in placing the COVID-19 issue: is it classified as an infectious disease outbreak (Law No. 4/1984), non-natural disaster (Law No. 24/2007), or emergencies on public health and health quarantine (Law No. 6/2018). More than that, the public also sees the absence of disorganized/well-established relations among institutions, such as among the Health Ministry, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Home Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Transportation Ministry, Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry, Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry, Religious Affairs Ministry, Education and Culture Ministry, Finance Ministry, Industry Ministry, Trade Ministry, State-Owned Enterprises Ministry, Communication and Information Ministry, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police in handling Covid-19. Ministries and institutions (K/L) have not become a complete unity in overcoming Covid-19. Therefore, it can be understood if the problem becomes more complicated when it must synergize with local governments (provinces/regencies/cities).

Also read: Indonesia Unite, in Coronavirus Threat

Importance of togetherness and harmony between the center and regions

In dealing with COVID-19, the central government cannot be alone. Togetherness and harmony in acting with regional governments are very important. Even, also with the village governments (such as nagari), which are in the front guard in serving the people. The regional heads become the heads of the 2019 task force for the acceleration of the coronavirus handling in their respective areas. The governors become the heads of the task force in the provinces, while the regents head the task force in the regencies and the mayors head the task force in the cities. Each is in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 9 of 2020 concerning the 2019 Task Force for the Acceleration for Coronavirus (Covid-19) Handling. Ideally, the Task Force for the Acceleration of Covid-19 Handling is headed by the President, not the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. The President must be a "commander" in the war against the Covid-19 outbreak. The assumption is that if the president becomes the commander, all can be decided more quickly, directly on target and integrated.

The division of authority in administering the government affairs in the field of handling the Covid-19 outbreak refers to Law No. 23/2014 (concerning Local Governments) and Law No. 6/2014 (concerning Villages). The position of the governors as regional heads and representatives of the central government is important in the handling of Covid-19, particularly in relation to large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) and national disasters. Likewise, the position of regents/mayors as the heads of an autonomous regions in organizing the affairs for handling the Covid-19 outbreak. Moreover, it is also important that the management of budget allocations is linked to the 2020 State Budget (APBN), 2020 Regional Budget (APBD), and 2020 Village Budget (APBDesa) and refocusing the budget so that the results of the handling of Covid-19 is more effective and concrete.

KOMPAS/JUMARTO YULIANUS

Banjarmasin Mayor Ibnu Sina (front), who is also the Chair of the Banjarmasin City Covid-19 Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling, explained the extension of Banjarmasin Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) at Banjarmasin City Hall, South Kalimantan, on Thursday (7/5/2020).

The problem is the lack of clarity on the status of whether the handling of the Covid-19 outbreak is a matter of health as stipulated in Law No. 23/2014 and Law No. 6/2018 (on Health Quarantine), or disaster matters as regulated in Law No. 23/2014 (on Regional Governments) and Law No. 24/2007 (on Disaster Mitigation). Concurrent health affairs based on Law No 6/2018 are centralized (Health Ministry) and are implemented by involving the regions (co-administration). Emergency response affairs according to Law No. 24/2007 are centralized through the President (BNPB) and implemented by the provinces and regencies/cities (with the principle of decentralization).

At the level of praxis, there is disobedience, inconsistency and disharmony in the administration of government affairs under the various laws: the principle of co-administration does not work, and so does the principle of decentralization. Weak institutional coordination makes program execution slow. The problems arise because the supreme leader handling the Covid-19 outbreak since March is unclear and confusing the public: is it the Health Ministry or BNPB? Presidential Decree No. 12/2020 concerning Determination of Non-natural Disasters as National Disasters does not include the matter of national emergency response as regulated in Law No. 24/2007. This could be because PSBB has been stipulated in PP (government regulation) No. 21/2020.

Meanwhile, Presidential Decree No. 7/2020 (concerning the 2019 Task Force for Acceleration of the Handling of Coronavirus (Covid-19) and Presidential Decree No. 9/2020 (concerning Amendments to Presidential Decree No. 7/2020 concerning the 2019 Task Force for the Acceleration of the Handling of Coronavirus (Covid-19) only regulates the task force in handling Covid-19 without the authority to make decisions and actions of government administration, because the handling of this outbreak involves a lot of affairs that become the authority of the ministries/institutions/local governments. It seems that Presidential Decree No. 7/2020, Presidential Decree No. 9/2020, and Law No. 24/2007 does not adequately cover the assigned tasks.

Also read: The Peak of the Pandemic is Difficult to Determine

Strengthening general government affairs

Due to the many legal norms and ambiguities of the highest leader in handling the Covid-19 outbreak at the central level, as well as in connection with provincial and regency/city authority, it is important to take into consideration about the strengthening of the general government affairs as regulated in Law No. 23/2014 (on Regional Government). General government affairs are matters which become the authority of the president as head of government (Article 9), and are carried out by governors at the provincial level and regents/mayors at the regency/city level (Article 25 Paragraph 2). Thus, the synergy of the central, provincial and regency/city gpvernments in handling the outbreak can be carried out properly.

In this regard, a presidential regulation on the management of public health emergencies related to Covid-19 as a national disaster is needed, with a focus on several things. First, the need for a regulation regarding the status of handling the outbreak as a matter of general governance (inter-ministries/institutions, vertically between central and provincial and regency/city governments, and the funding). Second, as the highest leader in overcoming Covid-19, the President needs to be assisted by

the Coordinating Minister (executive chairman) and three task forces led by ministers (Health Ministry, Home Affairs Ministry, Head of BNPB). Third, the governors as the representatives of the central government, regents/mayors and vertical agencies, and the Regional Leadership Coordination Forum play a role in carrying out the assistance task assisted by the regional civil servants and carried out according to regional conditions. Fourth, in addition to the APBN, funding needs to involve the regional budget of each region, as well as the village budget. Fifth, changes in regional legal products and refocusing to carry out general government affairs handling Covid-19 are needed.

Also read: Government Can Extend Social Restrictions

Straightening the decentralization and regional autonomy

The Covid-19 problem can be solved more quickly if the government is able to build synergy, synchronization, collaboration, and good communication among the government levels (with the same perspective). Each level of government must not go it alone because this will disrupt the nationality and unity of Indonesia. At the same time the Covid-19 disaster must be an opportunity for Indonesia to improve the quality of the government, especially the pattern of central and regional relations. This is important so that there is no "repression" of the central government to the regional governments or the "resistance/dissent" of the regional governments towards the central government.

The central government needs to realign the practice of decentralization and regional autonomy to conform to the NKRI (Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia) principles and to reiterate that the practice of multiparty systems must not negatively affect the government bureaucracy because bureaucracy must not be politically interfered. The nature of the bureaucracy which is basically hierarchical (from center to regions) should not need to be confronted with the colorful reality of the parties that control the bureaucracy. Bureaucracy must be maintained and may not be used as a place for the tug of war of interests. Let alone in the fight against Covid-19. Whoever leads the bureaucracy must obey the ethics of government and be professional in carrying out their duties so that conflict between levels of government does not need to occur in the Covid-19 era.

R Siti Zuhro, Researcher at the Political Research Center of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)