The Prototype Model of Asymmetric Decentralization in Providing Public Services to the Island Areas

This study aims at identifying the main obstacles to optimizing the provision of public services to the districts in the island areas and to discussing the prototype model of asymmetric decentralization in providing public services to the island areas. This study was conducted in three districts of small islands at the Tual city of Maluku province namely the districts of Kur Island, South Kur Island, and Tayando Tam island. The data were collected through triangulation of sources and methods. The informants were selected based on consideration of the position and competence of the required information. The methods were the in-depth interview, observation, documentation, and the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The results showed that there were three main obstacles in providing public services to the districts in the island areas. Firstly, the partial authority of Mayor of Tual city had not given yet to the Head of Districts based on the Article 226 of Law No. 23 in 2014 about Regional Government. Secondly, the transportation for the islands was inadequacy and the natural conditions were challenging that obstructed the mobility of citizens to access the service center and it was difficult for officers to reach people who want to be served. Thirdly, the lack of resources (human resources, funds, and facilities) in some districts at the island areas. To overcome those problems, specific autonomous was required by island province that concerned different treatment settings to the districts within the island areas namely the expansion of authority, the increase in the position, and the development of resources and the organizational capacity and districts management.