Sutiyoso preparing to deliver revised annual speech<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As a consequence of the City Council's rejection
\nof his annual accountability speech on Thursday, Governor
\nSutiyoso said on Friday he would continue running the
\nadministration while preparing a redrafted speech next month.<\/p>\n
City councillors voted on Thursday to reject the governor's
\naccountability speech by 68 votes against and 16 in favor.<\/p>\n
\"It's O.K. by me if the councillors want to remove me from the
\ngovernorship as long as it as long as they act objectively and
\nreasonably,\" Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall.<\/p>\n
\"The problem is whether my successor will be able to overcome
\nall problems facing us at present or not. The new governor will
\nfirst have to adapt to his or her new position before taking any
\naction,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso denied allegations that some of his officials bribed
\ncouncillors to secure their approval for his accountability
\nspeech.<\/p>\n
Rumors were rife that some councillors of the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction and the
\nUnited Development Party (PPP) faction went against their
\nfactions' stance to reject the speech.<\/p>\n
\"I don't need such maneuvers to get the councillors' approval
\nbecause all I require is my own hard work and a good
\nperformance,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Bribing the councillors would mean that I don't respect them
\nor myself,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The governor also asked city councillors to be objective in
\nassessing his revised speech, which is to be delivered next
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
Most factions on the City Council concluded that the governor
\ndidn't provide adequate answers to their questions and used this
\nas the grounds for rejecting Sutiyoso's speech.<\/p>\n
\"I have reviewed all my answers and it seems to me that I
\nanswered most of their questions. It's likely that they didn't
\nread my answers carefully,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"My answers were not very detailed as I provided detailed
\ninformation in a separate addendum to my speech. I wonder whether
\nthe councillors had read the addendum or not,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The governor said he would change the mechanism for his
\nrevised speech.<\/p>\n
\"I'll provide a separate addendum for each faction so it will
\nbe easier for them to look up the answers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Tired<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso stressed that he appreciated the objective assessment
\nmade by city councillors and would improve his performance,
\nespecially as regards issues concerning corruption and
\nirregularities.<\/p>\n
\"But, every time I tried to explain these matters, the
\ncouncillors always thought that I was only defending myself and
\nthat I was doing nothing to stop such practices,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's impossible to stop these irregularities in a single day.
\nBesides, we have to have sufficient evidence before imposing
\npunishment,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Most councillors criticized the administration for only
\nimposing administrative sanctions on guilty employees, instead of
\nsubmitting the relevant dossiers to the police or the
\nprosecutor's office.<\/p>\n
\"Administrative sanctions have a psychological effect on a
\ndefendant's friends and subordinates. It's bad for their career,\"
\nsaid Sutiyoso in defense.<\/p>\n
\"Besides, the police or prosecutor's office will only return
\nthe dossiers to us to be completed, but without solid proof.
\nThat's why we're very careful in investigating such cases,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the morning, Chief Inspector of City Administration
\nHendarmin Ono Saleh said his inspectorate had made all efforts to
\neradicate irregularities from the administration.<\/p>\n
\"We have investigated numerous cases of irregularities but we
\nmust find solid evidence before declaring that someone is guilty
\nor innocent in such cases,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"However, we also can't interfere with the legal process in
\nthe prosecutor's office or before the court,\" he added.<\/p>\n
\"We can't do that because both institutions are part of our
\nlegal system, and are separate from the executive,\" he said.
\n(nvn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sutiyoso-preparing-to-deliver-revised-annual-speech-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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