New Mentawai decree goes against \'spirit of pluralism\'

The Mentawai Islands regency council, along with regional NGOs, has rejected the ratification of a provincial decree because it contains Islamic philosophy and most of the people in Mentawai are Protestant or Catholic.

The decree is of the subdistrict level -- or Nagari -- and is the basic administration approved by the West Sumatra legislative council.

\"It\'s the same as forcing the wishes of one ethnic group against another with an oppressive hand -- (it has similarities with) the New Order administration,\\\" said the speaker of the Mentawai legislature.

\\\"It\\\'s also against the spirit of pluralism,\\\" Kortanius Sabeleakek told The Jakarta Post.

The Nagari administration was established in Mentawai in the 1950s but it did not originate from the Mentawai people -- they were unaware of its existence.

\\\"There are two indigenous groups in West Sumatra -- the Minangkabau and Mentawai.

The Nagari administration originated from the Minangkabau culture.

Kortanius said the lowest level of administration in Mentawai is the laggai, which is in operation today.

\\\"And then suddenly this decree appeared, indicating the provincial legislature was regarding us as newcomers.\\\"

A special commission has been established to prepare the regency\\\'s own regulation on the lowest level of administration.

Kortanius said the deliberation task force from Commission I of the provincial legislature had not discussed the matter with the Mentawai legislature.

\\\"They came (to Mentawai) but did not discuss the draft of the decree, article by article.

\\\"So, we don\\\'t know what the outcome was,\\\" he said.

Just before the decree was passed, nine Mentawai legislative councilors met leaders from the provincial legislature to raise objection over the new ordinance.

They were joined by NGOs in Mentawai as well as law and environmental NGOs in Padang.

Kortanius said the provincial legislature would make its voice heard in the near future.

The Mentawai legislature is gathering advice from various corners of society in the regency now, he said.

\\\"We will definitely reject the Nagari version of administration. We will formulate our own decree which will not be in line with the decree as Law No.22/1999 and No. 32/2004, as regional administration stipulates,\\\" he said.

The West Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) reminded the provincial administration that during the regional autonomy era it was authorized to only facilitate the regencies.

\\\"The decree should have accommodated the existing differences -- it should not be discriminatory and it should recognize the existence of traditional people in West Sumatra, such as the Mentawai ethnic group,\\\" said Walhi program manager Khalid Syaifullah.

Chairman of Commission I of the provincial legislature Yul Achyarli Satra said the implementation of the Nagari as the lowest level of administration throughout the province included Mentawai \\\"as a form of equality\\\".

\\\"What else differentiates us as a province if we don\\\'t have a similar form of administration,\\\" he said.

West Sumatra provincial secretary Yohannes Dahlan said after the session he was optimistic there would not be any problem with the implementation of the new ordinance in Mentawai.

\\\"Only the name Nagari is the same. Mentawai has the option to impose the decree according to its traditions,\\\" he said.

The decree is a revision of Decree No. 9/2000. This decree has articles that specifically regulate the lowest level of administration, which is decided by the local community and implemented in the Mentawai Islands.(Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang)

(Dikutip dari: The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 05/12/2007 )