Habibie approves Sultan's governorship

JAKARTA (JP): Yogyakarta's traditional monarch Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X has won the president's approval and will soon be installed as the new governor of the special province.

Secretary-general of the Ministry of Home Affairs Feisal Tamin, confirmed on Monday that President B.J. Habibie has issued a decree on Sri Sultan's appointment as Yogyakarta governor, replacing Sri Paku Alam VIII who died earlier this month.

"Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X will be the 1998/2003 governor of Yogyakarta," Feisal said, quoting the presidential decree No. 268/N/1998 which was issued on Sept. 24, 1998.

Paku Alam died of old age on Sept. 11 in Yogyakarta's Sardjito General Hospital after 24 days of intensive treatment for respiratory problems. Paku Alam, from the royal house of Paku Alaman, succeeded the sultan's father, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX, who died in 1988.

Asked about the legal grounds for appointing the Sri Sultan as the new governor, Feisal said the government had no intention of revoking the special regional status for Yogyakarta.

He did say however, that the government also applied the same governorship regulations as it does in other provinces.

The government recognizes two different regulations on Yogyakarta's governorship. One is the Law No. 3/1950, which stipulates that governors in the special province must come from the royal family and be appointed directly by the president through a presidential decree.

The other is the Law No. 5/1974 which limits a governor's term in office to a maximum of two periods.

The government had earlier caved in to overwhelming public sentiment and agreed that Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X would be the lone candidate for Yogyakarta's special region governorship.

The Yogyakarta provincial legislative council last month unanimously elected Sri Sultan as the only candidate for governor to replace then acting governor Paku Alam VIII. (imn)