After the fall of president Suharto Indonesia implemented sweeping decentralization
reforms with the goal of rebalancing powers and responsibilities between the central
government and the regions. Among the raft of new laws was legislation that allowed
for increased proliferation (pemekaran) at the district/municipality and provincial
level. In theory administrative proliferation would increase citizen participation and
efliciency in governance. After 12 years the number of districts in Indonesia has nearly
doubled, but there are indications that the performance of new regions is not living up to expectations. This paper examines one case: the creation of the administrative municipality ofSungai Penuh, which was split offfrom Kerinci District, Jambi Province, Sumatra, in 2009. I find that the process of new region creation in Kerinci has been dominated by local elites and has actually decreased unity within the district and has given rise to a movement to further sub—divide the district. The implementation of pemekaran created new tensions, and very likely will undermine the medium and long term prospects for development in the region.
