Legislative Oversight in the Digital Era: Infrastructure Governance and Public Accountability in Maros Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

Legislative oversight of infrastructure development depends on the ability to connect information about implementation with explanation, correction, and accountable follow-up. This study examines how oversight operates in Maros Regency, Indonesia, and how digitally mediated public scrutiny interacts with institutional practices. A descriptive-exploratory qualitative case study draws on in- depth interviews, non-participant observation, and document analysis involving legislative members, government officials, and community representatives. Monitoring, evaluation, correction, and ensuring accountability organize the analysis, while the police-patrol and fire-alarm distinction explains how scrutiny is activated. The findings suggest that monitoring is intermittent and frequently prompted by publicly visible concerns. Evaluation relies substantially on executive reporting, with limited independent verification. Hearings and recommendations provide mechanisms for correction and answerability, but inconsistent follow-up leaves uncertainty about substantive resolution. Social media complaints, photographs, and online discussion amplify infrastructure concerns and create pressure for institutional response. Their contribution is clearest in activating attention; they do not establish comprehensive monitoring or guarantee completed remedies. The study contributes a contextual interpretation of digitally amplified fire-alarm oversight, distinguishing public visibility from verification and sustained accountability. It concludes that effective scrutiny requires continuity across the oversight sequence, supported by usable information, competent assessment, identifiable responsibilities, and a reviewable account of implementation. The conclusions concern qualitative institutional patterns rather than causal effects or project-wide prevalence.