Policy Politics of the Special Autonomy Fund Policy in the Aceh
Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBA) in the Fields of Education,
Poverty, Health, and Infrastructure
Safaruddin
Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
Keywords: Special Autonomy, Budget, Development
Abstract: This paper discusses Article 1 of the General Provisions of Law Number 11 of 2006 concerning the
Government of Aceh (UUPA) which states that, Aceh is a provincial area that is a special legal community
unit and is given special authority to regulate and take care of its own government affairs and the interests of
its own community. The birth of the UUPA provides an opportunity for Aceh to regulate and manage all
government affairs in all public sectors except government affairs which are the authority of the Government
in accordance with the Constitution. The method used in this paper is a qualitative analysis with a descriptive
type, which aims to thoroughly discuss the Political Policy of the Budget and the Special Autonomy Fund in
Aceh. The implementation of Aceh's special autonomy that can pay attention to the balance of development
of both provinces and regencies/cities so that development achieves targets optimally in improving human
resources.
1 INTRODUCTION
The implementation of local government is directed
to accelerate the realization of community welfare
through improving services, empowerment, and
community participation, as well as increasing
regional competitiveness by taking into account the
principles of democracy, equity, justice, and the
peculiarities of a region in the Unitary State system of
the Republic of Indonesia, as stated in the
consideration of Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning
Regional Government. The achievement of
community welfare can be pursued through policies
oriented towards human development. A prosperous
society is expected to no longer be shackled in
conditions of poverty (Sulistiyani, 2004).
Article 1 of the General Provisions of Law
Number 11 of 2006 concerning the Government of
Aceh (UUPA) states that Aceh is a provincial area
that is a special legal community unit and is given
special authority to regulate and take care of
government affairs and the interests of local
communities in accordance with the laws and
regulations in the system and principles of the Unitary
State of the Republic of Indonesia based on the 1945
Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, headed by
a Governor.
Uupa's consideration states that based on the
constitutional journey of the Republic of Indonesia,
Aceh is a special or special regional government unit
related to one of the typical characteristics of the
history of the struggle of the Acehnese people who
have high resilience and fighting power.
Aceh is one of the regions or parts of the Republic
of Indonesia that continues to experience political
turmoil which then leads to conflict. Aceh has
experienced war against the Portuguese since 1519,
the Dutch colonization in 1873-1913, and the Islamic
resistance to the Republic of Indonesia in 1953, then
the next period Aceh experienced conflict between
the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Republic of
Indonesia (Naruddin, 3:2014).
Conflicts that originate from natural resources,
economic and political interests, as part of the
substance of the prolonged conflict in Aceh as written
by Antonie Reid (2005) about the origin of the Aceh
conflict. Kurnia Jayanti (2013) mentioned that the
conflict first occurred at the same time as the
proclaimed independence of Aceh on December 4,
1976 in Pidie by GAM spearheaded by Muhammad
Hasan Tiro. The conflict that occurred in Aceh
436
Safaruddin, .
Policy Politics of the Special Autonomy Fund Policy in the Aceh Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBA) in the Fields of Education, Poverty, Health, and Infrastructure.
DOI: 10.5220/0011842400003460
In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Social and Political Development (ICOSOP 2022) - Human Security and Agile Government, pages 436-445
ISBN: 978-989-758-618-7; ISSN: 2975-8300
Copyright
c
 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia
and the Free Aceh Movement was one that did not
have justice as expected with reality in various fields,
the problems faced were very complex in the
economic and political fields, thus continuing from
the unresolved DI/TII war.
The very long Aceh conflict ended with a
Memorandum of Understanding between the
Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the
Free Aceh Movement which is often called the
Helsinki MoU signed on August 15, 2005 in Helsinki
Filandia, where each side has affirmed its
commitment to resolve the conflict peacefully,
thorough, sustainable and dignified for all parties and
determined to create peaceful conditions with a
democratic process. An important point in the
Helsinki MoU is the Law on the Implementation of
Aceh Government and is a form of dignified
reconciliation towards sustainable social, economic
and political development in Aceh.
The birth of the UUPA provides an opportunity
for Aceh to regulate and manage all government
affairs in all public sectors except government affairs
which are the authority of the Government in
accordance with the Constitution. The Helsinki MoU
states that Aceh will exercise authority in all public
sectors, which will be held in conjunction with civil
administration and the judiciary, except in the fields
of foreign relations, foreign defense, national
security, monetary and fiscal matters, judicial power
and religious freedom, where the policy is the
authority of the Government of the Republic of
Indonesia in accordance with the Constitution.
Aceh's development projections are inseparable
from planning that integrates all aspects of
development. The implementation of Aceh's special
autonomy that can pay attention to the balance of
development of both provinces and regencies/cities
so that development achieves targets optimally in
improving human resources. So that regional
development can be carried out in a transparent,
responsive, efficient, effective, accountable,
participatory, measurable, equitable, and
environmentally sound manner. Of course, broad
authority is given in organizing government with the
aim of creating economic welfare and equitable social
development. This is strengthened by the birth of Law
Number 11 of 2006 concerning the Government of
Aceh.
Development in Aceh has not been able to fully
realize the welfare of the people, justice as well as the
promotion, fulfillment, and protection of human
rights so that the Aceh Government needs to be
developed and carried out based on the principles of
good governance as stated in the UUPA. In the
implementation of government affairs that are the
authority of Aceh and implementing regional
autonomy at large in Aceh requires sufficient and
increasing budget allocations, therefore Aceh is given
a Special Autonomy Fund (Otsus Fund). The special
autonomy fund is one of the sources of income for
Aceh and districts/cities as stated in article 179
paragraph (2c) of the UUPA.
Article 183 or 1 of the UUPA states that the
Special Autonomy Fund is an acceptance of the
Government of Aceh aimed at financing
development, especially infrastructure development
and maintenance, community economic
empowerment, poverty alleviation, and education,
social, and health funding. The Special Autonomy
Fund as referred to is valid for a period of 20 (twenty)
years, with details for the first year to the fifteenth
year which is equivalent to 2% (two percent) of the
ceiling of the National General Allocation Fund and
for the sixteenth to the twentieth year the amount of
which is equivalent to 1% (one percent) of the ceiling
of the National General Allocation Fund. The
development program is outlined in the provincial
and district/city development programs in Aceh by
taking into account the balance of development
progress between districts/cities to be used as the
basis for the use of special autonomy funds whose
management is administered to the Aceh Provincial
Government. The use of the Special Autonomy Fund
is carried out for each fiscal year which is further
regulated in Qanun Aceh.
The Special Autonomy Fund Planning Process
has been carried out in 3 (three) models, namely: (1)
In 2008, when the special autonomy fund was first
implemented, the Aceh government did not have a
specific reference related to the planning and
budgeting of special autonomy funds. Therefore, the
allocation of special autonomy funds for provincial
and district/city development is based on Law No.
11/2006, while the preparation of the program refers
to the long-term development plan and work plan of
the district and provincial governments. The funding
allocation is 100 percent managed by the Province;
(2) After the birth of Qanun 2/2008, since 2010 the
preparation of programs in addition to referring to the
long-term development plans of the province and
each district/city also refers to the provincial work
plan and each district/city with a funding allocation
of 40 percent of the province and 60 percent of the
regency/city; (3) While the third mechanism model;
Starting in 2013 in line with the ratification of Qanun
No. 2/2013, through this Qanun the preparation of the
program is guided by the long-term development plan
Policy Politics of the Special Autonomy Fund Policy in the Aceh Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBA) in the Fields of Education,
Poverty, Health, and Infrastructure
437

of the province and each regency/city and refers to the
medium-term development plan of the province and
each district/city where the funding allocation is 60
percent provincial and 40 percent district/city using a
direct transfer mechanism to the Regency/City.
The preparation of the program must be guided
and refer to the RPJP and RPJM of the Province and
each Regency/City. The preparation of programs that
will be funded by the special autonomy budget must
be a strategic development program and activity, have
a strong thrust, and have a significant effect on
achieving the welfare of the Acehnese people that is
better, real, and fair, in accordance with the mandate
of Qanun Number 2 of 2008 and Qanun Number 2 of
2013 to be a benchmark for the success of programs
that can provide welfare to the Acehnese people as a
whole. In addition, the preparation of the program
must also meet the criteria for selecting programs and
activities regulated through the Pergub issued since
2010.
The development planning process is carried out
through the Special Autonomy Musrenbang.
Musrenbang Otsus is one of the planning mechanisms
for activity programs that have been prepared and
proposed by the Aceh Government and the
Regency/City Government. This forum is a forum for
the preparation of program plans and activities for
aceh development and regency/city development
sourced from special autonomy funds which are
attended by representatives of the Aceh government
and representatives of district/city governments and
can include other elements or representatives of the
community. Each proposed activity program that will
be discussed in the Special Autonomy Musrenbang
must first be discussed in the Regency/City
Musrenbang.
Be advised that papers in a technically unsuitable
form will be returned for retyping. After returned the
manuscript must be appropriately modified.
2 THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORKS
2.1 Budget Politics
The theory of the budget political process by
Wildavsky and Caiden to see how the budget political
process that occurred in the policy discussion of the
Aceh Province Special Autonomy Fund revealed that
the budget political process emphasizes more on the
political dimension in it, which involves the
interaction of actors both executive and legislative in
the process of formulating budget policies. As
Charles Lindblom wrote in understanding the policy
formulation process, it is necessary to understand
who the actors involved in the process of forming
such policies are. Both official and unofficial actors
(Winarno, 2008).
Some examples of cases related to budget politics
in the regions then encourage researchers to conduct
studies related to budget politics in a comprehensive
and in-depth manner to complement previous studies.
Researchers consider that the study of budget politics
cannot be seen only through an administrative or
political perspective, but must be seen from many
sides, both from the actors involved in the
formulation and also the implications of the policies
that have been launched. So researchers want to see
how the budgeting process is viewed from a political
and administrative point of view who then have to pay
attention to other aspects, especially the implications
of the budgetary political process on public services
received by the community.
2.2 Development Theory
Bryant and White (1982) Mentioned that
development is an effort to improve human ability to
influence its future by having five main implications,
namely: (1) development means optimally awakening
human abilities, both individual and group (capacity).
(2) development means encouraging the growth of
togetherness, equality of values and welfare (equity).
(3) development means putting trust in the
community to build itself according to its abilities.
This belief is expressed in the form of equal
opportunity, freedom of choice and power to decide
(empowerment). (4) development means awakening
the ability to build independently (sustainability). (5)
development means reducing the dependence of one
country on another, creating mutually beneficial and
respectful relations (interdependence). Bryant and
White further reminded that the five basic principles
of development above must be oriented towards
development with a people-centered development
perspective. (people-centered development), which
implies the existence of a development process with
the aim of increasing human ability to determine its
future.
In simple terms, development is a process of
change that is carried out consciously and
continuously to achieve progress and better
improvement of life towards the desired goal.
Therefore, in development there are elements : (1)
Change: that is, the change of something that is
considered to be lacking towards Perfection; (2)
ICOSOP 2022 - International Conference on Social and Political Development 4
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Objectives: i.e. goals directed from, by and for the
people (of men) towards the preservation, well-being,
and happiness of a good life; and (3) Potential: that is,
the potential of the community contained in the
community itself which can then be used to support
the implementation of development planning.
2.2.1 Title
Use 15-point type for the title, aligned to the center,
linespace exactly at 17-point with a bold font style
and initial letters capitalized. No formulas or special
characters of any form or language are allowed in the
title.
Words like “is”, “or”, “then”, etc. should not be
capitalized unless they are the first word of the title.
2.2.2 Subtitle
Added on the same line as the title preceded by a
colon (:). Use 15-point type for the subtitle, aligned
to the center, linespace exactly at 17-point with a bold
font style and initial letters capitalized. No formulas
or special characters of any form or language are
allowed in the subtitle.
Words like “is”, “or”, “then”, etc. should not be
capitalized unless they are the first word of the
subtitle.
2.2.3 Authors
Author(s) name(s) should be aligned to the center
with linespace exactly at 13-point. The text must be
set to 11-point and there should be a spacing before
of 24-point.
Please note that the name of each author must start
with its first name.
2.2.4 Affiliations
Affiliation(s) should appear aligned to the center
including organisation, address and e-mail.
The linespace must be of exactly 11-point with 9-
point of font size and the font style set to italic.
2.2.5 Keywords
Each paper must have at least one keyword. If more
than one is specified, please use a comma as a
separator. Keywords should appear justified, with a
linespace exactly of 11-point, a hanging indent of 2-
centimeters, spacing before of 48-point, no spacing
after and font size of 9-point. The sentence must end
with a period.
2.2.6 Abstract
Each paper must have an abstract. The abstract should
appear justified, with a linespace exactly of 11-point,
a hanging indent of 2-centimeters, spacing before of
12-point and after of 30-point, and font size of 9-
point. The sentence must end with a period.
2.3 Public Policy
Carl Friedrich (Leo, 2008:7) defines public policy as
a series of actions/activities proposed by a person,
group, or government in a particular environment.
Public policy is proposed to meet the needs of a
person or group. Policy is an action that leads to the
goals of a person, group or government in a certain
environment in connection with the presence of
certain obstacles while looking for opportunities to
achieve the goal or realize the desired goal."
While another public policy expert, David Easton
(Dye, 1997:1) defines public policy as an
authoritative allocation of values for the whole
society, but only the government can do
authoritatively for the whole society, and everything
that the government chooses to do or not to do is the
result of the allocation of these values. Public policy
has several levels of policy. The first level of public
policy, namely policy choices. Decisions are made by
politicians, civil servants or others and lead to the use
of public power to influence the lives of citizens.
The second tier is policy outputs. The policy
option is passed into action. At this level, the
government does things, among others: spending
money, recruiting or using people, enacting certain
regulations that will affect the economy and society.
The third level of public policy, namely policy
impacts. The effects of policy choices and policy
outcomes for citizens (Peters, 1982:4-5). An example
is the choice of policy in the field of taxation made by
the government. Legislation on taxation produces a
policy impact that takes more from rich people than
from weak/poor people.
Public policy is a policy developed by
government agencies and government officials, non-
government actors and factors also influence policy
development. The special features of public policy
come from the fact that it is formulated by the ruler in
a particular political system. Winarno (1989:3-4)
states so that it can be said that public policy
alternatives in poverty reduction are closely related to
the stage process, the actors involved both at the time
of policy making and at the time of policy
implementation, and the basis of involvement as a
principle of formal legality. According to Goggin
Policy Politics of the Special Autonomy Fund Policy in the Aceh Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBA) in the Fields of Education,
Poverty, Health, and Infrastructure
439

(1990:34) to conduct an analysis of policy
performance must be distinguished between the
process and the results of implementation.
Furthermore, to state the results of the
implementation of the policy, Goggin separates in
two ways, namely "output" and "outcome".
Policy outputs are known by referring to the
extent to which program objectives have been
achieved, while outcomes are measured by changes
felt by the community at large which is the scope of
handling of the policies implemented. Evaluation at
the new output level can be assessed for the efficiency
of the policy, namely by comparing between "inputs"
to "outputs" in the implementation system.
Meanwhile, at the outcome level, policy effectiveness
can be measured, by assessing the suitability between
policy impacts and policy objectives.
2.4 Policy Implementation
Policy implementation actions can also be
distinguished into "Policy inputs and policy
processes" (Dunn, 1994: 338). Policy inputs are in the
form of resource inputs, while policy processes are
related to administrative, organizational activities,
which form the transformation of policy inputs into
policy outcomes (outputs) and impacts. The function
and purpose of implementation is to form a
relationship that allows the goals or objectives of
public policy (politics) to be realized as the
"outcome" of the activities carried out by the
government. Implementation can be referred to as a
"policy delivery system". That is, as a system of
policy delivery/forwarding. As a system,
implementation consists of elements and activities
that are directed towards achieving the desired goals
and objectives.
The elements of policy implementation that
absolutely must exist are: (1) There is an
implementing element (implementor); (2) There is a
program to be implemented, and (3) There is a target
group, (Abdullah, 1988: 11). Edward III proposed an
approach to implementation problems by first posing
two main questions, namely: (i) what factors support
the successful implementation of the policy? and (ii)
what factors hinder the successful implementation of
the policy? Based on these two questions, four factors
are formulated which are the main conditions for the
success of the implementation process, namely
communication, resources, bureaucratic or
implementing attitudes and organizational structure,
including bureaucratic work flow. These four factors
are important criteria in the implementation of a
policy.
2.5 Regional Autonomy
Autonomy is expressed as a pattern of self-
government. The autonomy of a region is expressed
as the right of citizens living in an area, controlling
and establishing their own affairs for the purpose of
respecting applicable regulations (Haniff Nurcholiss,
2007). Regional Autonomy is the right, authority, and
obligation of autonomous regions to regulate and take
care of their own Government Affairs and the
interests of local communities in the System of the
Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (Law
Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional
Government).
Hanif Nurcholis (2007) explained that regional
autonomy is the right of residents living in an area to
regulate, manage, control and develop their own
affairs by respecting applicable laws and regulations.
Regional autonomy aims to create regional
independence in improving public welfare and
services, developing democratic life, justice, equity,
and maintaining harmonious relations between the
center and the regions and between regions. The
granting of regional autonomy affects the economic
growth of a region because it gives local governments
the freedom to make their own financial plans and
make policies that can affect the progress of their
regions.
Economic growth encourages local governments
to carry out economic development by managing
existing resources and forming a pattern of
partnerships with communities to create new jobs that
will affect the development of economic activities in
the area (Kuncoro, 2004). According to Suparmoko
(2005), regional autonomy is the authority of
autonomous regions to regulate and take care of the
interests of local communities according to their own
initiatives based on community aspirations. Some
important principles in the application of regional
autonomy, namely:
1. The principle of decentralization, namely the
handover of government authority by the
government to autonomous regions within the
framework of the Republic of Indonesia.
2. The principle of deconcentralization, namely the
delegation of government authority by the
government to the governor as a representative
of the government and/or to vertical agencies in
a certain region.
3. The purpose of assistance, namely the
assignment from the government to the
government and/or villages from the provincial
government to regencies/cities and/or villages
ICOSOP 2022 - International Conference on Social and Political Development 4
440

and from the regency/city government to the
village to carry out certain tasks.
Financial balance between the central and
regional governments, which is a government
financing system within the framework of a unitary
state, which includes the division of finances between
the central and regional governments and the equality
between the regions in a professional, democratic,
fair, and transparent manner by taking into account
the potential, conditions, and needs of the regions, in
line with the obligations and division of authority and
procedures for the implementation of such authority,
including financial management and supervision.
Indications of the success of regional autonomy
are the improvement of services and better social
welfare, an increasingly advanced democratic life,
justice, equity, and the existence of harmonious
relations between the center and regions and between
regions. This condition will be achieved if public
sector institutions are managed by paying attention to
the concept of value for money, namely bridges to
deliver local governments to achieve good
governance. The value for money must be
operationalized in the management of regional
finances and regional budgets to support the
management of public funds (public money), so it is
necessary to manage regional finances and regional
budgets by having a good accounting system
(Mardiasmo, 2004).
Regional autonomy is the delegation of authority
to take care of regions and communities in an
autonomous region independently and can ensure
overall welfare for the region and its people and
prioritize the principle of accountability and
independence in utilizing the special autonomy
budget.
2.5 Special Autonomy
Special autonomy is an authority given by regional
heads in terms of managing regional interests based
on the aspirations of the community. With the
enactment of this special autonomy, local
governments can freely utilize the authority in the
implementation of all government affairs ranging
from planning, implementing, supervising,
controlling and evaluating autonomy laws mandating
the importance of community empowerment, so that
the improvement of welfare at large can be fulfilled
by the existence of special autonomy (Yuwono:
2005).
Based on Law Number 18 of 2001 which states
that Aceh Province is given broad authority to run the
government in the form of autonomy, because one of
the natural distinctive characters that in the history of
the struggle of the Acehnese people is the existence
of resilience and high fighting power which comes
from a view of life, social character and society with
a strong Islamic culture so that the Aceh area becomes
a financier area for the struggle in seizing and
defending the independence of the Republic of
Indonesia.
Aceh province is privileged by being granted
special autonomy to be able to regulate and finance
development through the allocation of special
autonomy funds. The purpose of providing special
autonomy funds for infrastructure maintenance,
people's economic empowerment, poverty
alleviation, and education, social, and health funding.
The special autonomy fund is valid for a period of 20
(twenty) years, with details for the first year to the
fifteenth year whose amount is equivalent to 2% (two
percent) of the ceiling of the National General
Allocation Fund and for the sixteenth to the twentieth
year the amount of which is equivalent to 1% (one
percent) of the ceiling of the National General
Allocation Fund. The use of special autonomy funds
is then carried out for each fiscal year which is further
regulated in Qanun Aceh (Law No. 11 of 2006).
3 RESEARCH METHODS
This research uses a qualitative approach. Qualitative
research is a research procedure that produces
descriptive data in the form of written or spoken
words from people and observed behaviors. Thus, in
this case it should not isolate the individual or
organization into variables or hypotheses, but it is
necessary to view it as part of a need
(Maleong,2009:3). Qualitative descriptive research
was used in this study to get a deeper and more
specific picture of the budget politics of special
autonomy funds in Aceh Province. This research is
causistic and interesting to do a more in-depth study.
The political process and factors hindering the
political budget of the special autonomy fund in Aceh
Province.
Researchers as part of the Acehnese community
feel interested in contributing thoughts related to
communication science in looking at the political
process and the political inhibiting factors of the
special autonomy fund budget in Aceh Province.
Matters relating to the researcher's interest in this
issue have been presented simply on the focus of the
problem. The flexibility and access it has to the events
under study is still possible. For example, researchers
can contact the investigated actor directly to conduct
Policy Politics of the Special Autonomy Fund Policy in the Aceh Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBA) in the Fields of Education,
Poverty, Health, and Infrastructure
441

an interview. In contrast to the type of historical
research that deals with the past, namely if there are
no more living witnesses to contact.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Development in Aceh has not been able to fully
realize the welfare of the people, justice as well as the
promotion, fulfillment, and protection of human
rights so that the Aceh Government needs to be
developed and carried out based on the principles of
good governance as stated in the UUPA. In the
implementation of government affairs that are the
authority of Aceh and implementing regional
autonomy at large in Aceh requires sufficient and
increasing budget allocations, therefore Aceh is given
a Special Autonomy Fund (Otsus Fund). The special
autonomy fund is one of the sources of income for
Aceh and districts/cities as stated in article 179
paragraph (2c) of the UUPA.
Article 183 or 1 of the UUPA states that the
Special Autonomy Fund is an acceptance of the
Government of Aceh aimed at financing
development, especially infrastructure development
and maintenance, community economic
empowerment, poverty alleviation, and education,
social, and health funding. The Special Autonomy
Fund as referred to is valid for a period of 20 (twenty)
years, with details for the first year to the fifteenth
year which is equivalent to 2% (two percent) of the
ceiling of the National General Allocation Fund and
for the sixteenth to the twentieth year the amount of
which is equivalent to 1% (one percent) of the ceiling
of the National General Allocation Fund. The
development program is outlined in the provincial
and district/city development programs in Aceh by
taking into account the balance of development
progress between districts/cities to be used as the
basis for the use of special autonomy funds whose
management is administered to the Aceh Provincial
Government. The use of the Special Autonomy Fund
is carried out for each fiscal year which is further
regulated in Qanun Aceh.
The Special Autonomy Fund Planning Process
has been carried out in 3 (three) models, namely: (1)
In 2008, when the special autonomy fund was first
implemented, the Aceh government did not have a
specific reference related to the planning and
budgeting of special autonomy funds. Therefore, the
allocation of special autonomy funds for provincial
and district/city development is based on Law No.
11/2006, while the preparation of the program refers
to the long-term development plan and work plan of
the district and provincial governments. The funding
allocation is 100 percent managed by the Province;
(2) After the birth of Qanun 2/2008, since 2010 the
preparation of programs in addition to referring to the
long-term development plans of the province and
each district/city also refers to the provincial work
plan and each district/city with a funding allocation
of 40 percent of the province and 60 percent of the
regency/city; (3) While the third mechanism model;
Starting in 2013 in line with the ratification of Qanun
No. 2/2013, through this Qanun the preparation of the
program is guided by the long-term development plan
of the province and each regency/city and refers to the
medium-term development plan of the province and
each district/city where the funding allocation is 60
percent provincial and 40 percent district/city using a
direct transfer mechanism to the Regency/City.
The preparation of the program must be guided
and refer to the RPJP and RPJM of the Province and
each Regency/City. The preparation of programs that
will be funded by the special autonomy budget must
be a strategic development program and activity, have
a strong thrust, and have a significant effect on
achieving the welfare of the Acehnese people that is
better, real, and fair, in accordance with the mandate
of Qanun Number 2 of 2008 and Qanun Number 2 of
2013 to be a benchmark for the success of programs
that can provide welfare to the Acehnese people as a
whole. In addition, the preparation of the program
must also meet the criteria for selecting programs and
activities regulated through the Pergub issued since
2010.
The development planning process is carried out
through the Special Autonomy Musrenbang.
Musrenbang Otsus is one of the planning mechanisms
for activity programs that have been prepared and
proposed by the Aceh Government and the
Regency/City Government. This forum is a forum for
the preparation of program plans and activities for
aceh development and regency/city development
sourced from special autonomy funds which are
attended by representatives of the Aceh government
and representatives of district/city governments and
can include other elements or representatives of the
community. Each proposed activity program that will
be discussed in the Special Autonomy Musrenbang
must first be discussed in the Regency/City
Musrenbang.
ICOSOP 2022 - International Conference on Social and Political Development 4
442

Figure 1: Budgeting Planning Model of Aceh Province
Special Autonomy Fund.
The programs and activities of the Special
Autonomy Fund in the health sector are also not fully
based on needs. Although data shows that the
distribution of health service centers in Aceh has not
been evenly distributed, the allocation of special
autonomy funds for the construction of new health
service centers for districts/cities looks different from
the needs. For example, Simeulue Regency, which
has an average distance between residents and health
facilities of 11.3 kilometers, has a spending allocation
of Rp. 2 billion, while East Aceh has a higher
spending allocation, although it has a closer distance,
On average, the closest distance from residents'
residences in Aceh to the nearest public health facility
is 8 kilometers.
The use of special autonomy funds used for the
development and welfare of the people is expected to
boost regional economic sectors. Economic growth
certainly requires clear indicators so that it can be
illustrated the ups and downs of a country's economy
(Supriyanto, 2018). Such a rapid economic
development makes people more critical in thinking
about keeping up with the development of economic
information. One of the information used is financial
information (Wahyuni, 2016).
Regional financial management, especially
special autonomy funds, is very important in
determining the capacity to implement regional
autonomy. The budgeting process of special
autonomy funds can be ineffective if it is not oriented
towards performance indicators. The process of
preparing budgets in the regions has two existing
mechanisms, namely administrative mechanics and
political mechanisms. Administratively, in terms of
managing the Aceh special autonomy fund, it is
divided into two stages, namely the stages in the
executive, namely the Aceh Government and the
stages in the legislature, namely the Aceh People's
Representative Council. The process of preparation
to the discussion of the Regional Revenue and
Expenditure Budget, in Aceh called the Aceh Budget
(APBA) there is always an element of interest from
both the executive and legislature.
Legislative interests can be said to be political
planning because they directly intersect with
constituents. Meanwhile, the interests of the
executive normatively are to improve the welfare of
the people through priority programs of regional
heads included in the Regional Medium-Term
Development Plan (RPJMD) can be referred to as
bureaucratic planning, then the bureaucratic and
political interests are broken down in the Regional
Government Work Plan (RKPD). It is therefore very
important for both executive and legislative parties to
manage the Special Autonomy Fund with due regard
to the interests of the people as a target of
development.
Aceh is one of the provinces granted special
autonomy whose development is quite significant
whose purpose is to improve the welfare of the
Acehnese people which is one of the sources of
income in the Aceh Budget (APBA). The Aceh
special autonomy fund began to be allocated in 2008
amounting to Rp3.6 trillion and increased to 8.3
trillion in 2019. In 2020, the total amount of Aceh
special autonomy funds amounted to IDR 6.25
trillion. The amount of Aceh Special Autonomy Fund
Receipts per year until 2020 can be seen in table 1
below.
Table 1: Total Receipts of Special Autonomy Funds and
Allocation of Aceh Revenue and Expenditure Budget
(APBA) for 2008-2020.
No Tahun
Jumlah Dana
Otsus
Jumlah APBD
Aceh
1 2008 3,6 triliun 8,5 triliun
2 2009 3,7 triliun 9,79 triliun
3 2010 3,8 triliun 10,56 triliun
4 2011 4,5 triliun 12,65 triliun
5 2012 5,4 triliun 13,75 triliun
6 2013 6,2 triliun 12,64 triliun
7 2014 8,1 triliun 13 triliun
8 2015 7,05 triliun 12,6 triliun
9 2016 7,6 triliun 12,87 triliun
10 2017 8,2 triliun 14,29 triliun
11 2018 8,03 triliun 15,14 triliun
12 2019 8, 3 triliun 17,32 triliun
13 2020 6,52 triliun 17,27 triliun
Source: Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Allocation of Autonomy Funds
based on the 2008-2015 Development Program can
be seen in Figure 2 below.
Policy Politics of the Special Autonomy Fund Policy in the Aceh Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBA) in the Fields of Education,
Poverty, Health, and Infrastructure
443

Figure 2: Allocation of Special Autonomy Fund 2008 –
2015.
Figure 2 shows that the allocation of Aceh special
autonomy funds is more used in infrastructure
development than other sectors from 2008 to 2015
which reached Rp 20.25 trillion (49.07%). The
allocation of spending in the Government is the
existence of more APBA to drive the bureaucratic
machine for the benefit of the people. This suggests
budget politics has not been in the right direction.
Meanwhile, the portion of People's Expenditure is
often prone to corruption which is ineffective in
solving problems for the benefit of the regional
community. Budget politics must be controlled by the
goals to be achieved (policy driven).
The total allocation ceiling for the Special
Autonomy Fund of the Aceh Government and
Regencies/Cities and the realization for the
predetermined development program can be seen in
table 2 below.
Table 2: Budget Allocation of the Special Autonomy Fund
of the Government of Aceh and Regencies/Cities in 2019.
The table above explains that the allocation of the
autonomy fund budget used to the Government of
Aceh and regencies/cities in 2019 reached Rp
8,357,471,654,000.00. The distribution is distributed
according to the fields specified in the Laws and
Regulations. The budget allocation in the
Infrastructure sector reached IDR
3,055,973,531,474.00 which was then only realized
at IDR 2,821,205,244,943.00 (92.32%). In the field
of People's Economic Empowerment, the budget
ceiling reached Rp 592,063,808,077.00, which was
then realized at Rp 504,180,066,997.00 (85.16%).
The budget ceiling for the Poverty Alleviation sector
is IDR 1,140,138,301,828.00, realized at IDR
868,157,906,167.00 (76.14%). The budget ceiling for
the education sector reached Rp
2,082,462,227,226.00, which was realized at Rp
1,722,946,125,572.00 (82.74%).
The budget ceiling for the Social sector is IDR
103,793,278,263.00, which is realized at IDR
96,990,556,455.00 (93.45%). The budget ceiling for
the Health sector is IDR 1,153,607,386,402.00 which
is realized only IDR 1,104,890,730,923.00 (95.78%).
The budget ceiling for the Aceh Privileges sector
reached Rp 229,433,120,730.00 which was realized
only Rp 208,594,400,581.00 (90.92%). The special
autonomy fund budget that was realized
compulsively for 2019 reached Rp
7,326,965,031,638.00 of the budget ceiling given at
Rp 8,357,471,654,000.00. So that the implementation
reaches 87.67% of the overall budget. The remaining
budget for the special autonomy fund in 2019
amounted to Rp 1,030,506,622,362.00 and this
budget was recorded in the Aceh government treasury
with a note that it would then be allocated to the
revenue budget for the following year.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Aceh province is privileged by being granted special
autonomy to be able to regulate and finance
development through the allocation of special
autonomy funds. The purpose of providing special
autonomy funds for infrastructure maintenance,
people's economic empowerment, poverty
alleviation, and education, social, and health funding.
The special autonomy fund is valid for a period of 20
(twenty) years, with details for the first year to the
fifteenth year whose amount is equivalent to 2% (two
percent) of the ceiling of the National General
Allocation Fund and for the sixteenth to the twentieth
year the amount of which is equivalent to 1% (one
percent) of the ceiling of the National General
Allocation Fund. The use of special autonomy funds
is then carried out for each fiscal year which is further
regulated in Qanun Aceh (Law No. 11 of 2006).
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