Fadel to be sworn in as Gorontalo governor

Fadel to be sworn in as Gorontalo governor

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After months of uncertainty, Golkar Party treasurer Fadel
Muhammad will be installed on Monday as Gorontalo's first
governor.

The installation will be conducted by Minister of Home Affairs
Hari Sabarno who left here for Gorontalo on Sunday.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri officially endorsed Fadel as
the elected governor in a decree dated Nov. 30.

Fadel's inauguration had been up in the air for some time
after his credibility was questioned by some sections of the
Gorontalo community.

But the Gorontalo Provincial Council (DPRD) remained firmly
behind him after electing him as governor and Gusnar Ismail as
his deputy on Sept. 12 as the newly formed province's leaders.

The presidential decree said both Fadel and Gusnar met all
required legal and procedural conditions to be installed as
governor and deputy governor of Gorontalo.

Gorontalo, previously part of North Sulawesi, was established
as a separate province in February.

However, the gubernatorial election of Fadel has drawn strong
protests from various circles in the province, with critics
citing his poor track record and claiming money politics was
involved in the election.

Some groups in the local community members wrote to Megawati
and the home minister to express their disapproval of Fadel, but
recently a delegation from the provincial council came to Jakarta
and apparently succeeded to lobby for his inauguration.

Public resistance also stems from a recent court decision
declaring one of Fadel's companies bankrupt because of
irregularities in his deals with business partners.

Fadel has also been linked to the high-profile financial
scandal involving Rp 40 billion in funds from the State Logistics
Agency (Bulog) implicating House of Representatives Speaker and
Golkar Chairman Akbar Tandjung.