Most councillors accept Sutiyoso's accountability<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): With a vote of 45 for and 37 against, the City
\nCouncil on Monday accepted the revised annual accountability
\nspeech of Governor Sutiyoso, saying that the latter has shown
\nsignificant improvement in his performance over the last 30 days.<\/p>\n
The Council reached its decision in a closed vote at the end
\nof a nine-hour plenary session at City Hall.<\/p>\n
After the vote, several councillors told The Jakarta Post that
\nthe 37 councillors, who rejected the revised speech, consisted of
\nall 27 council members from the PDI Perjuangan faction attending
\nthe meeting, all four members of the Justice Party faction, and
\nsix others, whose identities were not mentioned on the voting
\npapers.<\/p>\n
The council has 85 councillors from 11 factions.<\/p>\n
The three absent councillors were all from PDI Perjuangan. Two
\nof them were sick, while the other one, Santayana Kiemas, a
\nbrother-in-law of Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, was said
\nto be on a trip to Singapore with Megawati.<\/p>\n
Monday's session represents the final opinion of each faction
\nof the City Council after Sutiyoso's first delivery of the speech
\nbefore the council on June 5.<\/p>\n
In a session concerning the same matter on Aug. 21, the
\ncouncillors stunned the country when 68 of the attending
\ncouncillors voted to reject Sutiyoso's accountability speech due
\nto his perceived failure to provide detailed explanations to the
\ncouncillors' questions.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists after Monday's vote, PDI Perjuangan
\nfaction chairman Audi Tambunan said his faction had decided from
\nthe beginning to reject the governor's speech since they failed
\nto see improvements in Sutiyoso's administration.<\/p>\n
\"Our faction completely rejects his speech. There has been no
\nimprovement at all,\" Audi said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Justice Party faction chairman Achmad Heryawan
\nechoed Audi's opinion, saying that there was still rampant
\ncorruption in the administration, while gambling and prostitution
\nhad not been reduced at all.<\/p>\n
\"I cannot understand why the other factions have accepted the
\nspeech. Sutiyoso has failed in the running of his
\nadministration,\" Achmad said.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso, a 56-year-old retired three-star army general, has
\nbeen in the position for more than 2.5 years, or half of the
\nfive-year gubernatorial term.<\/p>\n
According to Law No.22\/1999 on Regional Autonomy, councillors
\nhave the right to evaluate, accept or reject the speech and to
\nsubmit the final outcome to the President as a recommendation.<\/p>\n
Most of the council's 11 factions which voted to accept the
\ngovernor's speech praised the progress made by Sutiyoso in the
\npast 30 days, particularly his efforts to reduce public order
\noffenses, improve public services and restructure the management
\nof city-owned companies.<\/p>\n
The pro-Sutiyoso factions also stated that the governor should
\nbe given more time, at least until the next fiscal year, to
\nfulfil his commitment to improve overall conditions in the
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso, who looked relieved after the outcome of the vote,
\npledged that he would continue his efforts in these three areas
\nand stated that he fully understood those who refused to support
\nhim, saying that it was a warning for him to work harder during
\nthe remainder of his term.<\/p>\n
\"This is proof that the councillors have regained their trust
\nin my administration and I will continue all of my programs
\nbecause the acceptance of my speech means that I must fulfil all
\nof my commitments,\" Sutiyoso said.<\/p>\n
\"I have to make a list of everything that still needs
\nimproving and I will act on that as soon as possible. My priority
\nwill be to provide sufficient public services for
\nunderprivileged residents,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the fact that many Jakartans still reject him,
\nSutiyoso simply said that it's something normal.<\/p>\n
\"Out of almost 10 million Jakartans, some might be unable to
\nsee the improvements I'm trying to make,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The plenary session was colored by anti-Sutiyoso protesters,
\nincluding hundreds of becak (pedicab) drivers, staging rallies in
\nfront of City Hall.<\/p>\n
The presence of the protesters, who had thronged the site
\nsince early morning, forced traffic police to temporarily close
\nJl. Kebon Sirih in front of City Hall for almost two hours.<\/p>\n
By noon, police estimated that the number of protesters had
\nalready reached some 2,000 people from different groups,
\nincluding the Jakarta Partners' Communication Forum (Fokorja),
\nthe Jakarta Residents' Forum (FAKTA), the Communication Forum of
\nthe 124 Victims of the July 27, 1996 Tragedy (FKK 124-27
\nJuli'96).<\/p>\n
They all had one object: demanding that councillors reject
\nSutiyoso's speech. (dja)<\/p>",
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