Call for female governor

JAKARTA (JP): The wife of Home Affairs Minister Moch. Yogie S.M.'s has proposed that her husband appoint the first woman governor in 1998, when many of the 27 governors' term of office ends.

Emmy Yogie S.M., who is chief of the National Family Welfare Movement, made the proposal in Ketangbaru, North Sulawesi on Tuesday.

Emmy, who was in North Sulawesi with her husband, said that in fact she was only conveying Minister of Women's Role Mien Sugandhi's idea.

"Mrs. Mien Sugandhi has urged me to convey her message to the Minister of Home Affairs," she said when addressing recipients of government assistance for impoverished villages.

Mien has, on several occasions, proposed that Indonesian women be given wider opportunities to play a larger role in politics.

Last month, Mien proposed that 40 percent of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives be given to women, who comprise most of the Indonesian voters. Currently, women legislators comprise 17 percent of the total House members.

Emmy said she was optimistic Indonesia will eventually have a woman governor. She pointed out that the best graduate of the public administration academy in Jatinangor, West Java, recently was a woman.

"I think many women are able to carry out gubernatorial jobs as long as they are given a chance," Emmy said, as quoted by Antara. (pan)