Megawati should suspend Sutiyoso

In the debate between presidential and vice presidential candidates organized by the General Elections Commission at Borobudur Hotel on June 30, President Megawati, one of the candidates in the debate, said in reply to a question posed by a panelist that she would suspend Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, because he had been named a suspect in a graft case. It was feared, she said, that his status as a suspect would disrupt the running of the provincial administration there.

In view of this statement, Megawati, as president, should be consistent in her conduct. She should also immediately suspend Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, because he has also been named a suspect in the July 27 tragedy, by the combined civilian and military team assigned to look into the matter.

Sutiyoso should be suspended immediately because: * As a suspect, he has lost credibility and integrity as a regional chief. It is really not appropriate for Jakarta, as a city that serves as a yardstick for Indonesia, to be led by a suspect in a case of gross violation of human rights. * As a suspect, Sutiyoso can no longer focus his attention on his position as leader of the Jakarta administration. As a result, there are likely to be more examples of mismanagement in Jakarta and the city administration is likely to act arbitrarily with regard to Jakarta residents, particularly the poor. * As Sutiyoso is a governor and a retired Army general, he is in a position to affect the investigation being carried out by the combined civilian and military team (through unlawful approaches, lobbying, threats, etc.).

Sutiyoso's suspension should lead to the direct election of a new governor by all Jakarta residents. Such an election should be organized by an independent institution.

WARDAH HAFIDZ
Coordinator
Urban Poor Consortium (UPC)
Jakarta