Govt to probe council's motion to dismiss Surabaya mayor

Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno has asked Surabaya Mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono to continue working as usual, pending an investigation sanctioned by the ministry into the latter's dismissal by the city council.

East Java Governor Imam Utomo told reporters on Friday that the dismissal of a second Surabaya mayor within six months had caught Hari by surprise.

"The minister expressed his surprise upon hearing the Surabaya mayor had been discharged by the city legislature, given that he had been working for just one month. He asked the mayor to continue in his duties," Imam said.

He said he had spoken with Hari on Thursday evening while the minister was visiting Aceh.

"Bambang carries no responsibility for presenting an accountability report on the 2001 budget since it was drawn up under the tenure of former mayor Sunarto Sumoprawiro," Imam quoted Hari as saying.

Sunarto was dismissed by the relevant councillors on Jan. 15, 2002 over a prolonged illness, lying to the public and lack of public trust. The council unanimously lodged a vote of no confidence while he received medical treatment at a Melbourne hospital in Australia. Sunarto won his second term in 2000 at the expense of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Bambang, who is a PDI Perjuangan member, was the deputy mayor under Sunarto's brief second term. He replaced Sunarto after Hari approved the results of an investigation carried out by a government-mandated team.

The councillors decided to dismiss Bambang during a plenary meeting on Thursday summoned to hear Bambang deliver a review of the accountability report of the 2001 budget, which had been demanded by the council in an earlier session on June 13. The mayor neither showed up nor presented the required response to the council's rejection.

PDI Perjuangan, which had initially accepted the accountability report, made no protest when other factions decided to remove Bambang.

Hari said the government would set up a verification team to investigate the case in accordance with Law No. 22/1999 on Regional Autonomy and Government Decree No. 108/2000 on the dismissal of mayors, regents and governors. As in the past, the team will be comprised of independent experts.

He said the team would recommend to the President and Minister of Home Affairs whether to veto or endorse the councillors' vote of no confidence.

In a related development, council deputy speaker Herman Rivai said Bambang had been discharged for his contempt of the legislature.

"Bambang's absence was deemed by most councillors to be arrogant and disrespectful of the council that had elected him. It was a blunder," said Herman of the National Mandate Party.

Meanwhile, Surabaya's PDI Perjuangan office slammed Bambang's removal, branding the move as illegal as the council had not rejected his accountability report.

"In fact, the council had suggested that the mayor revise the report," the party chapter said in a political statement on Friday.

"We shall send the whole blow-by-blow story of the dismissal process to the governor, the home minister and the President as soon as possible," said acting chairman of the PDI Perjuangan chapter Armudji.

He was named as acting chairman to replace M. Basuki, the current council speaker, who has been dismissed by the party's central executive board for moral violations.