17 councillors fired for defiantly voting got their choice

Oyos Saroso HN, The Jakarta Post, Bandar Lampung

Leaders of three political parties have dismissed 17 councillors loyal to Lampung governor-elect Alzier Dianis Thabrani.

The 17 councillors were dismissed after they voted for Alzier in the Lampung gubernatorial election in December 2002, and at the same time disregarded an instruction from the central and provincial executive board of the three parties to vote for rival Oemarsono, the incumbent governor of Lampung.

The 17 councillors comprise 10 from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), six from the National Awakening Party (PKB) and one from the Crescent Star Party (PBB) factions.

Sahzan Safri, the chairman of PDI-P's Lampung chapter, said that the party had had second thoughts about the agreement to vote for Oemarsono.

He said that prior to their dismissals, they had been warned several times concerning their blind loyalty to Alzier.

"But they remained adamant, and the councillors even rejected a later decision by the government to annul the election of Alzier," Safri said.

Safri was referring to the 17 councillors move to file a request for a judicial review of the central government's recent annulment of the result of the gubernatorial election. The request was filed with the Constitutional Commission.

Abbas Hadisunyoto, spokesman for the 17 councillors, fought back, saying that the councillors would immediately file a lawsuit against the decision to dismiss them, which was made by the executives of the three political parties, both at the provincial and national levels.

Abbas said that the December 2002 gubernatorial election was legal, so that the party executives did not have strong grounds to dismiss them.

Alzier was elected the governor of Lampung on Dec. 30, 2002, defeating then-incumbent governor Oemarsono, who was backed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The central government annulled Alzier's electoral victory last year after having delayed the swearing in of Alzier for months, claiming the election had breached procedures.

Police then laid graft charges against the governor-elect, and Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno recommended a revote to elect another governor while installing one of his aides as the acting governor for the province.

Most factions in the Lampung legislative council agreed with the call for a revote, but the council leaders, including Hadisunyoto, vowed to request a judicial review to challenge Hari's annulment of Alzier's election.

Alzier is reportedly preparing to take legal action against the central government over the annulment.

He is also fighting a legal battle against the state for allegedly falsifying a document before his election last year. The charge carries a 10-month jail term.

Alzier has been implicated in a fraud case involving 500 tons of fertilizer worth Rp 502.5 million (US$59117) belonging to state-owned firm PT Pusri, and in using an illegal diploma to make him eligible for the gubernatorial election, according to prosecutor R. Onggan Siahaan.