Govt undecided over governor's dismissal

Umi and Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Banjarmasin

The central government has failed so far to adopt a clear stance on the controversial dismissal of South Kalimantan Governor Sjachriel Darham by the provincial legislative council on Wednesday.

After receiving Sjachriel at his office on Thursday, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said he could not say whether the council's action was procedurally valid or not.

"It is being discussed," he told journalists before attending a limited cabinet meeting in Jakarta.

Hari further said he would investigate whether or not Sjachriel's dismissal was in line with the government's Decree No. 108/2000 on the accountability mechanisms for governors, mayors and regents in respect of their local councils.

Under this decree, a council is allowed to recommend that the home affairs minister dismiss a governor, mayor or regent after his or her accountability statement has been rejected.

However, Hari underlined that based on the prevailing laws, a legislative council could not unseat a governor, mayor or regent only because of pressure brought to bear by demonstrators.

"If the council makes a decision in violation of the prevailing laws and instead bows to pressure from radical demonstrators, this would be unconstitutional," he said.

Similar situations also arose when the last two Surabaya mayors, Soenarto Soemoprawiro and Bambang D.H., were dismissed by the municipal legislative council in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

The central government accepted Soenarto's dismissal but rejected Bambang's.

The provincial legislature bowed to the pressure brought to bear on Wednesday night by tens of thousands of protesters who demanded that Sjachriel and his deputy, Hussein Kasah, be dismissed for alleged corruption.

The decision was made at a meeting attended by 49 of the legislature's 55 members. Thirty-seven of them were in favor of the governor's removal, while the remaining 12 abstained.

Anti-Sjachriel protests have been mounting since early this week after the governor declined to step down voluntarily. His dismissal is closely linked to his controversial policies, especially on the dredging of the Barito River and a recent raid of gambling dens.

But Sjachriel has claimed the legislative council's decision was political and unconstitutional, while council chairman Hussein Achmad said the central government should respect the legislative council's decision.

Meanwhile, secretary of the South Sulawesi administration Bambang Setiawan claimed on Thursday that Sjachriel and Hussein remained the legal governor and deputy governor.

"As long as there has been no approval for their dismissal from the president, they are still lawfully in charge of this province," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said the governor has ordered his subordinates to continue working as usual, and not to be affected by what the latter called a "political event".

"The governor called me up this morning from Jakarta saying he will fly back to Banjarmasin tomorrow (Friday) to resume his duties," Bambang said.