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  • Essay / The third most populous democracy in the world: Indonesia

    Indonesia is a presidential representative democratic republic where the president is both the head of state and head of government. The president and vice president are elected for a 5-year term and eligible for a second term by direct vote of the citizen, while the cabinet is appointed by the president. The People's Consultative Assembly is the upper house of Indonesia's legislature. It is made up of members of the House of Representatives and the Regional House of Representatives. The mandated role of the People's Consultative Assembly is not to formulate national policy. Instead, their function is to inaugurate and impeach the president as well as amend the constitution. At the national level, legislation is formulated and passed by the House of Representatives. The role of the Regional House of Representatives includes providing legislative input to the House of Representatives on regional issues. The country is divided into 33 provinces and each of them is headed by a governor. Two of the provinces have special region rights, namely Aceh and Yogyakarta. And as the capital, Jakarta is called a special capital district. Following the implementation of decentralization from January 1, 2001, regencies and municipalities became the main administrative units responsible for providing most government services. Although it is known as the third most populous democracy in the world, Indonesia's democratic government faces many problems after years of military dictatorship. Separatism occurred in Papua and Aceh was encouraged by the successful separation of East Timor in 1999 after 25 years under Indonesian rule. However, Indonesia and Aceh reached a peace agreement in 2005, followed by democratic elections in 2006. In the rest of the country, Indonesia still faces low-intensity separatism from armed Papuan separatists (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka). The religious issue has also become increasingly sensitive in recent times. Militant Islamic groups have become active in recent years and religious conflicts have erupted in some areas. The island of Bali suffered terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2004 which killed hundreds of people, most of whom were tourists. A year after the second Bali bombing, a devastating Indian Ocean tsunami hit several parts of Indonesia and killed more than 200,000 people. The Indonesian justice system is not fully independent and remains susceptible to political influence. Irrelevance, distortions and discrimination also often occur during law implementation. Slow, inefficient bureaucracy and widespread corruption, particularly at the regional level, make it difficult to implement effective policies..