Analysts regret Tanggamus issue
Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung
Political analysts regretted on Friday the mass resignation by dozens of village heads from Tanggamus regency, Lampung, in protest against the regency's legislative council's acceptance of the regent's accountability report.
Armen Yasir, a constitutional law expert from Lampung University in Bandar Lampung, said the move set a bad precedent for regional autonomy in the province.
"Regional autonomy is aimed at developing the democracy that can be implemented through the democratic election of a regent. The village and subdistrict heads' move is against democracy because they want to force their will. They have rights to oppose Achmadsyah but they could not force the legislative council to accept all the things they want to do," he said.
Jauhari Zailani, a political expert from the private University of Bandar Lampung, said both the legislative council and village heads should learn from the problem to help develop democracy.
More than 40 village heads from Tanggamus regency, Lampung have resigned following the regency legislative council's acceptance of Tanggamus Regent Achmadsyah Putra's accountability speech for his 1997 to 2002 term of office.
According to sources in the regency, the village heads announced their resignation to their own village councils because they said they could no longer cooperate with Achmadsyah who was expected to win his second term in office.
Buyung, chief of the Belu Village in Kotaagung subdistrict, said he resigned because he was disappointed with the legislative council which accepted the regent's accountability speech.
"It is the fact the legislative council has turned their deaf ears from the people, including village heads, and it looks as though they will no longer be accommodative in the future. So, it's better for us to step down," he told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Friday.
More than 100 uniformed village heads threatened to quit their jobs to protest the council's decision to accept the regent's final progress report during its plenary session on Wednesday. The protests revolve around Achmadsyah's alleged involvement in corruption cases during his term of office.
The village heads are supporters of legislature chairman Muaz Munziri, another regent candidate. They conducted the protest because the decision would allow Achmadsyah to run for regent for a second term.
Rahmatuddin, chairman of the Association of Village Heads in the regency, concurred, saying local chapters of political parties should monitor their councillors in the legislative council because they were not committed to upholding democracy.
He also said most village heads who joined the anti-Achmadsyah movement would likely resign for fears of possible retaliatory action from Achmadsyah's success team as he was expected to win the upcoming regency election for the second period.
Muas Munziri denied that he had used his success team to persuade the village and subdistrict chiefs to prevent Achmadsyah to quit his candidacy for the incoming regent election.
"The move is purely at the initiative of the village and subdistrict heads," he said.