Councillors have 'no plan to drop Governor Sutiyoso'

Councillors have 'no plan to drop Governor Sutiyoso'

JAKARTA (JP): Two city councillors said on Sunday they had no
intention of removing Governor Sutiyoso from office by rejecting
his accountability speech.

"The governor can only be removed if he deviates or commits a
crime... not via judgment of his accountability speech," head of
the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
Audi Tambunan told Antara on Sunday.

"This does not mean we intend to accept the speech. PDI
Perjuangan is still discussing the matter. We know that he has
taken pains to do something about street vendors causing traffic
congestion; he sealed the Citra Hotel in West Jakarta over
building violations and other matters."

Separately, councillor Tjuk Sudono from the National Mandate
Party (PAN), said that if the speech was found unacceptable, the
councillors would not hesitate to reject it.

"This does not mean we want to bring down Sutiyoso though,
since we would be left with no governor. Would losing Sutiyoso
solve the capital's various problems?" Tjuk said.

City councillors agreed on Friday to decide by ballot the
voting method to be employed for their final judgment of Governor
Sutiyoso's accountability speech on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference after a coordinating meeting
with the council's 11 factions, deputy speaker Tarmidi Suhardjo
said: "We have agreed to conduct a ballot on Monday to decide
whether the voting by the councillors on Sutiyoso's
accountability speech will be done openly or by secret ballot.

Friday's meeting was attended by 70 of the council's 85
members.

During the meeting, 52 councillors voted for the ballot, 16
for an open vote and two abstained.

The meeting was held after the councillors failed to reach an
agreement earlier.

During a plenary session on July 20, the councillors rejected
the governor's accountability speech in an open vote.

Tjuk expressed his faction's disappointment with the results
of Friday's meeting.

"PAN has insisted from the beginning that open voting is
important as it is the most reliable way to show the public each
councillor's stance on the governor's performance," he said.

Tjuk views open voting as a sort of public accountability.

"We just want to avoid the impression that the councillors are
hiding something," Tjuk said. (ylt)