Govt undecided over governor's dismissal

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.