Embattled Kampar regent comes under more pressure
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau
Kampar regent Jefri Noer is facing widespread opposition in the regency as calls increase for his ouster.
As of Thursday, more than 100 civil servants from various divisions of the Kampar government urged the regency council to dismiss the regent, following massive protests by students and teachers in the regency. The demand came only one day after 10 high-ranking regency government officials filed a similar call with the regency council.
Syafrizal, the deputy chairman of the council's special team investigating the case, said that the representatives of the civil servants handed over a letter to him in which they expressed disappointment with the regent.
A total of 136 civil servants signed the letter, he said.
"The demand by civil servants shows that the crisis of confidence has become widespread in the regency," he told The Jakarta Post.
In the written statement, the civil servants expressed concern that chaos would prevail in the regency if the regent continued to stay in power.
Most schools have been closed since students and teachers began to protest last week. The wheels of Kampar's bureaucracy were also badly affected by the protests, as demonstrators occupied the Kampar government's office on several occasions.
The civil servants have demanded that the council force the regent to resign, so that the situation in the regency could return to normal.
Separately, thousands of teachers and students continued to strike on Thursday, the ninth day of the protest, despite calls from various parties that they should end it.
Riau governor Rusli Zainal, argued that the protesters should stop the strike, because the demand was being processed at the Kampar Regency Council.
The council will convene on Saturday to decide the fate of the beleaguered regent. A special team established by the council to investigate the brouhaha has already recommended that the council fire Jefri.
Separately, support for the teacher and student protesters continue to pour in. Nurhadi, the chairman of Tapung district All Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI), said that several representatives from four regencies visited him on Thursday.
They were from Pekanbaru, Pelalawan, Kuantan Singingi and Rokan Hulu regencies. "They strongly support our fight to force Jefri to resign," said Nurhadi.
The protests against the regent date back to two weeks ago, when the regent held a meeting with representatives of teachers in the regency. They met at the regental office, some 60 kilometers west of Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province.
Tension rose in the meeting, when a teacher, Abdul Latif, questioned the regent on the regency's low education budget.
The regent became angry and ordered the teacher to leave the room.
The incident was not the only cause of the protests, as Jefri has been the center of controversy before. In 2002, he was accused of using a fake senior high school diploma to gain eligibility to take the post of regent.
The regency council voted, on another occasion, for his dismissal over various controversial policies, but the decision was annulled by Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.