Acting governor pledges to revamp Maluku administration

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.