JP/5/palsu

JP/5/palsu

Three charged councillors miss inauguration

Yuli Tri Suwarni
Bandung

Three councillors-elect charged with using false diplomas were
not among those sworn in on Monday to the Bandung and Cimahi
regency legislatures in West Java.

The three councillors are Agus Setiadi and Tata Taryana, both
elected to the Bandung council from the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and Ahmad Jaoji, who was elected to
the Cimahi council.

The Bale Bandung District Court acquitted Jaoji of all charges
related to the use of a false diploma on Aug. 9, but he has been
detained at the Kebonwaru penitentiary since Aug. 16 as
prosecutor Marihot Silalahi appeals the verdict to a higher
court.

The same district court is currently hearing the cases against
Agus and Tata.

Under the Election Law, legislators convicted of a crime lose
their legislative seats after the Supreme Court hands down a
legally binding verdict.

The chairman of the Cimahi election commission, Ikin Sodikin,
said on Monday his office had yet to remove Jaoji's name from the
list of the elected councillors, pending a legally binding
verdict.

More than 200 councillors elected in the April 5 legislative
polls are facing criminal investigations on various charges,
including the use of false diplomas and graft.

Meanwhile, peaceful protests marked the inauguration
ceremonies for the new Bandung and Cimahi councils on Monday.

Hundreds of student demonstrators urged the 43 new Bandung
councillors and the 39 new Cimahi councillors to demonstrate
their commitment to fighting corruption.

The protesters, grouped in the United Front for Indonesian
Muslim Students, urged the Bandung councillors to vow that they
would not become involved in graft while in office.

Dozens of people from the Democratic Party staged a separate
rally during the Cimahi council's inauguration. They questioned
the residency status of at least two elected councillors from the
party.

"The two councillors have never stayed in their houses in
Cimahi, because they are actually residents of Bandung who only
have domicile in Cimahi," said one of the protesters, Sarya.

However, the demonstrators declined to name the two
councillors.

They urged the Cimahi General Elections Commission to
investigate whether the two elected councillors held double
identity cards in order to advance their political interests.