Government washes its hands of dispute to remove mayor

Debbie A. Lubis and Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya

Instead of offering mediation, the central government sent a clear message on Wednesday that it was washing its hands of the controversial dismissal of Surabaya mayor Bambang Dwi Nugroho by local councillors.

Claiming that Jakarta should not intervene in regional matters following the implementation of regional autonomy, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said he would leave the dispute with the governor.

"I leave the matter with the governor to encourage warring parties to understand regional autonomy. It is impossible for the ministry to tackle the problems facing 370 regencies and mayoralties across the country," he said on the sidelines of a national meeting organized by the Ministry of Health.

He added that the discord could have been addressed if the conflicting parties refrained from showing arrogance and exercising excessive power.

Hari further said that he had received a report from Surabaya councillors detailing the process of the vote of nonconfidence against Bambang.

"I received the report this morning and immediately asked the East Java governor to set up an independent team to probe the case," he said.

The City Council decided to dismiss Bambang early this month after he failed to appear and present his revised budget accountability report for the 2001 fiscal year.

But the central government, which according to the law is authorized to appoint and remove local chief executives, recognizes Bambang as the incumbent mayor.

"Actually, the government, or in this case the Ministry of Home Affairs, recommends that Bambang stay mayor as long as the presidential decree stipulating his position remains unchanged. Based on the law, he is still the legitimate mayor," Hari said.

The minister said that Bambang's removal resulted from an absence of a ruling on political ethics in the relationship between the legislative council and regional administrations.

He said that the ruling would stipulate the extent of the council's authority in proposing for a mayor's removal or election.

"We should consider the public's interests if the council exercises its right every month or every year to fire a mayor," he said.

The council fully supported Bambang's rise to power just one- and-a-half months ago. Bambang took over from Sunarto Sumoprawiro, who was dismissed by the same councillors in January because of poor health and performance. Bambang, the deputy mayor under Sunarto, was formally sworn in as the new mayor in June.

Hari suggested changes to several articles of Law No. 25/1999 on regional autonomy, which requires the local administration to present an annual progress report before the council. He said the ruling had triggered a rift between the executive and legislative institutions.

"Referring to this case, I believe that it occurred due to a misinterpretation of these articles. So to avoid further problems, I think we must reevaluate these articles," Hari said.

Meanwhile, a reconciliatory meeting between Bambang and the councillors in Surabaya on Wednesday failed to materialize.

The much-awaited meeting was arranged by the mayor at his official residence at Jl. Walikota Mustajab No. 61.

Councillors from the National Awakening Party, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and the United factions did not turn up, and the council's speaker, M. Basuki, was away in Jakarta.

Only high-ranking city officials and security officers attended the coffee morning.

"Not to be prejudiced, but this meeting was aimed at fostering a mutual understanding that we have missed for long," Bambang commented on the absence of the councillors.