Expert calls for lawsuit over Lampung governor debacle

Expert calls for lawsuit over Lampung governor debacle

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A constitutional law expert said the Lampung provincial
council could sue the central government for overstepping its
authority and causing a four-month delay in the inauguration of
governor-elect Alzier Dianis Thabranie.

Constitutional expert and West Nusa Tenggara Governor Harun Al
Rasyid said the government violated autonomy law No. 22/1999,
which grants regions the right to elect their own governors.

"The government must play by the rules, and it did not," Harun
said on Thursday during a seminar on the election of heads of
regions.

He suggested the provincial council sue the government in the
administrative court.

Alzier was elected governor by the Lampung council last
December. However, Jakarta has yet to endorse his election,
leaving the province without a governor.

There have been numerous protests in Lampung to demand
Alzier's inauguration, the first elected governor in the province
for over 30 years. But Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno has
refused to endorse the election, saying Alzier may be guilty of
corruption.

"It would not be efficient or effective to swear in Alzier at
present because another gubernatorial election would have to be
held if he is found guilty (of corruption)," the minister said
last week.

Harun dismissed the government's argument. "The government
should proceed with the endorsement of the council's election of
Alzier. If he is indeed implicated in a graft case, this should
be pursued separately."

He said that once Alzier was inaugurated, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri could make the governor nonactive pending an
investigation into the allegations against him.

Alzier was flown to Jakarta last week and detained at the
National Police Headquarters, angering hundreds of his
supporters.

"For three decades we have had our governors dropped in from
Jakarta, and now that we elect one by ourselves this is how they
treat us," said the deputy speaker of the Lampung provincial
council, Muchtar, during the seminar.

Minister Hari has appointed Tursandi Alwi, who heads the
research and development division at the home ministry, acting
governor of Lampung.

The minister also criticized the Lampung council for going
ahead with the election despite a letter raising graft
allegations against Alzier.

However, Harun blasted the government's moves as outright
intervention.

"The law is very clear. The council has completed the election
process from A to Z and this is what the government must
endorse," Harun said. "Don't confuse the election process with
the criminal case. Deal with them separately."

In February, former regional autonomy minister Ryass Rasyid
voiced similar criticism, saying the government's refusal to
endorse Alzier's election violated the autonomy law.

Alzier won 39 of 75 votes in the Dec. 30, 2002, gubernatorial
election. His nearest competitor was Oemarsono, who received only
33 votes despite being backed by Megawati and her Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Even before his nomination and election, Alzier was being
dogged by allegations of corruption. In addition, many activists
in Lampung questioned his support at the grassroots level, saying
they suspected he paid protesters to demand his inauguration.

Earlier this month, about 50 supporters of Alzier intimidated
journalists at the Lampung Post daily because they were
dissatisfied with the paper's coverage of the governor-elect.