Vocal army legislator sacked from the House<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Outspoken army legislator Maj. Gen. Theo Syafei
\nhas received his marching orders from the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
Theo was notified of his dismissal last week, but it has just
\nbeen made public.<\/p>\n
A fellow legislator, Rear Marshall Tjokong Tarigan, said
\nyesterday the dismissal came as a surprise but should be
\nconsidered a normal practice in the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
It was the prerogative of the Armed Forces chief to replace an
\nofficer in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
\"I had a feeling that he (Theo) would be removed from the
\nHouse (but not until) after the general election on May 29,\"
\nTarigan said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
Tarigan said the Armed Forces chief could recall military
\nlegislators anytime.<\/p>\n
\"Legislators usually retire due to their retirement age,
\nanother organizational commitment or faults they have made,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Theo is 54. Retirement age for generals is 56.<\/p>\n
Armed Forces personnel do not vote but have has 100 seats in
\nthe House since 1987. These will drop to 75 after the election.<\/p>\n
Chief of the military faction at the House of Representatives
\nLt. Gen. Suparman Achmad confirmed that Theo would be replaced by
\nthe chief of the Armed Forces mental development agency, Brig.
\nGen. Abdullah Hadi, Media Indonesia reported yesterday.<\/p>\n
Suparman dismissed speculation that Theo had been sacked for
\nsaying at a seminar in Surabaya recently that it was acceptable
\nto boycott the election.<\/p>\n
\"His dismissal was planned long before he delivered his speech
\nin Surabaya,\" Suparman said.<\/p>\n
Theo is expected to leave the House early next month. The
\nlatest officer sacked from the House was Maj. Gen. (ret)
\nSembiring Meliala, in 1993.<\/p>\n
Former Udayana military commander Theo said at the Surabaya
\nseminar that not voting in the election was \"a valid option\" so
\nlong as it did not involve encouraging others.<\/p>\n
He also said that responsible citizens should go to the
\npolling booths on May 29. But \"... nobody knows which picture you
\nhave punched. You may punch all of the pictures or leave them
\nblank.\"<\/p>\n
He said that although voting was not mandatory, it would be
\nbetter if people did. \"Don't just abandon the polls because you
\ndon't find (any parties) you like.<\/p>\n
\"If you do this, I'm afraid your ballot paper will be taken
\nand used by your district head,\" Theo said.<\/p>\n
The Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP), the dominant
\nGolkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) will contest the
\nelection.<\/p>\n
Theo reportedly criticized the government's national car
\npolicy at the seminar, which also featured Bambang W. Soeharto of
\nthe National Commission on Human Rights, Sembiring Meliala and
\nsociologist Hotman Siahaan. (nur\/amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vocal-army-legislator-sacked-from-the-house-1447893297",
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