Assessing the Performance of New Provinces Decentralized Governance in Indonesia : The Case of Banten and North Kalimantan Provinces 

Prof. Dr. Wahyudi Kumorotomo, MPP; Prof. Dr. Haryanto Dr. I Wayan Nuka Lantara, Kurnia Cahyaningrum Effendi, Dr. Terry van Dijk

 

IGPA received a research grant from Fisipol UGM in collaboration with the University of Groningen, Netherlands. Decentralization policy in Indonesia, since Law no. 22 of 1999, has led to increasing turmoil in the region and the formation of the New Autonomous Region. This study aims to address this gap by analyzing Banten and North Kalimantan Provinces. Both Banten and North Kalimantan are newly established regions and are still struggling with issues of identity, governance, public services, financial management and accountability. The research results show that in Banten there is a tendency for strong patterns of corruption, collusion and nepotism, as well as dynastic politics. Apart from that, spatial inequality between North and South Banten is still visible in terms of the HDI index. The problems of the new autonomous region look different from those of North Kalimantan Province. The expansion of North Kalimantan province aims to reduce the gap in the border area with Malaysia. The success of this goal can be seen from the access and infrastructure that are starting to be improved. Politics in North Kalimantan is more stable than Banten, but faces economic problems in the form of low regional revenue, declining investment trends, and quite high access gaps between district areas.