Chaos in Kampar
Chaos in Kampar
It may be the buildup of pressure taking its toll, or it may
simply be the arrogance of power finding an outlet. Whatever the
cause, the uncontrolled outbursts of emotion that Kampar regent
Jefri Noer has been displaying in the past few days cannot but
worsen the damage he has already suffered.
Kampar regency in the northern Sumatra province of Riau with
its 400,000 population is not usually a region considered
important enough to merit headline news in Jakarta's newspapers.
To Jefri, therefore, must go the dubious credit of bringing his
region to the attention of a perplexed public in the capital and,
no doubt, beyond.
What, then, is wrong in Jefri's area of jurisdiction? For one
thing, Bangkinang, his regency's capital, has over the past week
been the scene of massive demonstrations, staged daily by more
than 40,000 striking teachers and students protesting Jefri's
insulting treatment of a much respected secondary school
principal in the modestly sized town.
Jefri, who was elected on Nov. 27, 2001, began his term as
regent of the regency well enough. He appeared to be committed to
fighting corruption in Kampar, but his moves to create a sense of
modesty seemed to cramp the style of many senior officials and
prominent businessmen. He did not hesitate to personally monitor
tender processes for government projects. He even distributed
replicas of small coffins containing mock corpses to all senior
local officials to remind them of retribution in the afterlife
for graft.
Not surprisingly, allegations arose that Jefri was only
pretending to be clean as a cover to hide his own murky past.
Jefri himself admits that he had been a disreputable timber
entrepreneur and contractor, although "that is all in the past
now". Still, harmful allegations persisted, including one that
Jefri may have used a faked high school diploma to get past the
eligibility test for candidates for the post of regent.
On Oct. 12, 2002, the Kampar Regency Legislative Council
unanimously voted to propose that the central government dismiss
Jefri and his deputy, A. Zakir, on the grounds of violations
committed during their term in office. Under the new
decentralization law, the dismissal of senior government
officials is the President's prerogative.
As it turned out, all that was only a prelude for the real
storm that was to come. On Feb. 5, a discussion was arranged
between the regent and teachers' representatives to resolve
differences between the two parties. During the meeting, the
question was raised by one of the teachers present, principal
Abdul Latif Hasyim, why only 5.39 percent of the regional budget
had been set aside for education, instead of the 20 percent
stipulated in the Constitution.
Stung by the question coming from a "mere" teacher, which he
apparently took personally, Jefri flew into a rage and rudely
told Abdul Latif to leave the room. A strike was consequently
called involving all 7,000 teachers and 100,000 students in the
regency. In addition, the teachers and students demanded that
Jefri be fired. Undeterred, however, Jefri publicly announced
that all the teachers taking part in the protest would be
dismissed, and teachers from other regions would be called in to
replace them.
Quite understandably, the incident has come to the attention
of the highest levels of government in Jakarta. Indra Jati Sidi,
the director general of basic and secondary education at the
Ministry of National Education, for example, said Jefri's threat
was "unrealistic, emotional and impossible to carry out". Even
though under the new deregulation law teachers are employees of
the regency in which they are employed, the administrative
consequences of replacing so many teachers at the same time would
certainly affect the budgetary arrangements between the central
government and the region concerned, he said. Coordinating
Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla concurred, saying that
"it is impossible to simply replace 7,000 teachers".
Perhaps the most reasonable suggestion to resolve the dispute
to date has come from Amien Rais, the People's Consultative
Assembly speaker, who proposed that all the parties involved in
the conflict sit down together to find the best possible solution
for the regency. Certainly, emotional outbursts that can easily
be mistaken for arrogance are most regrettable, especially when
they come from such highly placed dignitaries as Jefri. Prestige
may be important, but in the end, it is the future of the next
generation that counts most of all.