Govt to probe council's motion to dismiss Surabaya mayor

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.