Government regulation saves Surabaya mayor<\/p>\n
Ainur A. Sophia'an, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
Surabaya Mayor Sunarto Prawiro was saved from impeachment by the
\nSurabaya legislature on Monday for his unexplained absence over
\nthe last four months, thanks to Government Regulation No.1\/2002
\non provincial and regency internal rulings.<\/p>\n
In a special plenary session attended by Deputy Mayor Bambang
\nD.H., the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan), the Joint faction and the Indonesian
\nMilitary\/National Police faction, the three largest groupings in
\nthe legislative council, gave their support to the proposed
\nimpeachment of Sunarto, popularly known as Cak Narto. However,
\nMohammad Basuki, chairman of the legislature, barred the special
\nsession from making a decision because it would have contravened
\nthe government regulation.<\/p>\n
\"We can not make a decision because the government regulation
\nbars a special plenary session from making a special decision,\"
\nhe told the council.<\/p>\n
Despite several interjections from the floor, Basuki, who
\npresided over the special meeting, proposed the establishment of
\na special team to seek a unanimous solution to the problem
\nthrough an ordinary plenary session, a proposal which eventually
\nwon support from a majority of legislators.<\/p>\n
The three factions proposed Sunarto's impeachment on the
\ngrounds that he was no longer able to do his job due to health
\nreasons.<\/p>\n
Augustin Poliana, spokesman for the PDI Perjuangan faction,
\nurged the legislative council to impeach the mayor and appoint
\nBambang as his replacement, because Sunarto was no longer able to
\nlead the city.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military\/National Police faction said the
\nlegislative council should remove the mayor in an honorable
\nmanner, to give him enough time to undergo medical treatment. The
\njoint faction shared the view that Sunarto was no longer able to
\nperform his daily tasks.<\/p>\n
The National Awakening Party (PKB) faction said it was ready
\nto cooperate with other factions to determine Sunarto's fate.<\/p>\n
The special plenary session was called because Sunarto had
\nbeen absent from his post for the past four months. The situation
\nbecame more pressing last October when the city was faced with a
\nserious problem of accumulating garbage while he was in
\nMelbourne, Australia receiving medical treatment.<\/p>\n
The precise nature of the medical condition affecting Sunarto,
\na retired member of the Army's Special Forces, is unknown. He is
\ncurrently still in Melbourne undergoing intensive medical
\ntreatment.<\/p>\n
In the end it was East Java Governor Imam Utomo who took
\ncharge of the garbage problem, conducting negotiations with
\nBenowo and Keputih residents that led to an agreement allowing
\nthe city administration to transport garbage to dump sites in the
\ntwo subdistricts.<\/p>\n
Basuki said he had no intention of preventing the legislature
\nfrom impeaching the mayor but added that the legislature should
\ncomply with the relevant regulation to prevent it from making an
\nimproper decision.<\/p>\n
Armudji, chairman of the PDI Perjuangan faction and Sudirdjo,
\nchairman of the joint faction, interrupted the plenary session
\nand called on other legislators to ignore Basuki's warning but
\ntheir interventions failed to gain a positive response from the
\nfloor.<\/p>\n
\"Major factions have expressed their aspirations and all
\nlegislators should ignore the chairman (Basuki)'s warning,\" said
\nArmudji.<\/p>\n
Basuki, whose PDI Perjuangan membership has already been
\nannulled because of his close links with PDI, a rival party to
\nPDI Perjuangan, ignored the interruption and reiterated the
\ndecision that Sunarto's fate would be determined during the
\nlegislative council's upcoming plenary session.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-regulation-saves-surabaya-mayor-1447893297",
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