Governor told to pick acting mayor

CIREBON, West Java: The Cirebon legislature demanded on Tuesday that the West Java governor appoint an acting mayor for the sake of continuity of public services.

Speaker of the legislature Suryana said he had written to Governor Denny Setiawan to officially ask him to name a replacement for former mayor Subardi, who was dismissed earlier this month.

"We sent the letter on Monday and hope to receive a quick response from the governor," Suryana said, adding that the governor had in principle supported the proposal when he met Cirebon councillors on Saturday last week.

Suryana said the acting mayor would take over the day-to-day jobs of the former mayor for three months, until the appointment of a replacement.

The Cirebon legislature dismissed Subardi on Dec. 17 for incompetence only eight months after the same legislative body elected him the mayor.

Subardi has insisted he remains the legitimate mayor as the President has not approved the legislature's decision. -- JP