Acting governor pledges to revamp Maluku administration
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Acting Maluku Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundayang has said he was working hard to revamp the provincial administration, which had been badly hit by the three-year-old conflict in the province, so as to make it more professional in providing public services.
Addressing a meeting with all local officials and staff in the gubernatorial offices here on Saturday, Sarundayang insisted that the bureaucracy must be revamped to allow all government officials in the province to improve their professionalism in performing their duties.
Sarundayang, also the inspector general of the Ministry of Home Affairs, was appointed as acting governor to replace Saleh Latuconsina, whose term of office expired on Nov. 11. His main task is to prepare for a gubernatorial election to elect a definitive governor. Beforehand, he also served as the acting governor of North Maluku.
The gubernatorial election has been delayed because of the critical situation in the province despite the signing by the two conflicting sides of the Malino peace agreement in February.
The government has maintained the state of civil emergency, which was imposed last July, as Ambon and several other islands are still prone to violence.
He called the revamp program strategic as it was intended to create a clean bureaucracy in an effort to improve the government's services to the public.
"So far, no officials have been removed but this could be an option in the future depending on how bad the bureaucracy continues to be," he said as quoted by Antara.
He added that he was evaluating the performances of all strategic positions and sections, and that renewal in the bureaucracy might be needed to create a more conducive situation.
One factor that has worsened the Maluku conflict has been the frequent appointment of Muslim officials to strategic positions, especially during the previous New Order era.
Sarundayang vowed to fight against widespread corruption in the bureaucracy at all levels regardless of rank or position.
"The local people should be behind me in facing all the forces that want to destroy this province," he said.
Separately, political observer Idrus Tatuhey called for all sides, including the local military and police, to fully support Sarundayang in his efforts to improve the situation in the province.
He was responding to several groups who have expressed their opposition to Sarundayang's appointment as caretaker governor.
"Sarundayang's appointment is final and is the prerogative of the President," he said, while expressing the hope that Sarundayang would be able to deal with the conflict, which has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 750,000 others.
In a related development, a number of Army personnel found a home-made bomb placed near a school building in Rehoboth in the Batugantung district of the city.
The defused bomb was handed over to the provincial police for further investigation.