City Council gets new speaker
City Council gets new speaker
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Agung Imam Sumanto of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan) has been elected the new speaker of the City
Council, securing 44 votes from the 81 councillors who attended
Thursday's plenary session.
Agung's election was made possible after City Council deputy
speaker Tarmidi Suhardjo, also of PDI Perjuangan, stepped aside
after receiving a letter from the party's executive board
approving a proposal by PDI Perjuangan's Jakarta chapter to
replace him.
Agung defeated three other candidates to become speaker. They
were Chudlary Syafi'i Hadzamy of the United Development Party
(PPP), who received 18 votes, Ibnu Sumantri of the National
Police/Indonesian Military faction with 10 votes and Muhammad
Suwardi of the National Mandate Party (PAN), who received five
votes. Four councillors abstained.
The position of City Council speaker has been vacant since
August of last year, when Edi Waluyo of the police/military
faction resigned as speaker to contest the gubernatorial
election.
Tarmidi earlier lost his position as chairman of the PDI
Perjuangan Jakarta chapter when he chose to contest the
gubernatorial election against the wishes of the party's central
board, which had thrown its weight behind incumbent Governor
Sutiyoso, who eventually won reelection.
Tarmidi said he decided to stand for governor because many PDI
Perjuangan members opposed the candidacy of Sutiyoso, who is
suspected to have been involved in the attack on the party's
Jakarta headquarters on July 27, 1996, when Sutiyoso was the
city's military commander.
Governor Sutiyoso welcomed Agung's election, saying that he
enjoyed a good relationship with the new City Council speaker.
The governor expressed hope that Agung would continue the good
cooperation the council has enjoyed with the city administration.
"Agung is a very good communicator and he works in a very
transparent manner," he said of Agung, who was helpful in helping
Sutiyoso win September's gubernatorial election.
Before Thursday's election took place, the council appointed
Agung and Ibnu Sumantri as deputy speakers after Tarmidi
announced that he was resigning from that position.
However, Syarifien Maloko, a councillor from the Crescent Star
Party (PBB), questioned the validity of Agung's replacement of
Tarmidi, saying the City Council should report the election to
the home affairs minister.
Syarifien said Tarmidi's replacement would only be valid after
it was approved by the home affairs minister.
He was referring to Article 39 of Government Regulation No.
1/2001 on the City Council's internal regulations.
Syarifien's argument loses some weight, however, when it is
considered that Chudlary earlier replaced Djafar Badjeber as a
deputy speaker of the council in the same manner.