Kampar legislature dismisses regent Jefri
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau
The Kampar regency legislative council in Riau unanimously agreed on Saturday to dismiss regent Jefri Noer and his deputy A. Zakir to end the two weeks of massive protests by teachers and students in the province.
In the meantime, Jefri rejected his dismissal, saying he was still in control of the administration and would await a decision from the Ministry of Home Affairs because the regency legislature lacked the authority to dismiss him.
Responding to the recommendation given by a special inquiry team in a plenary session, the five majority factions called for Jefri's dismissal while the two minority and the military/police factions were initially against his dismissal.
The special team set up by the regency legislature to investigate the case recommended the dismissal of the regent and his deputy because the people had lost confidence in them.
The confidence crisis spread through the province when teachers and students hit the streets for over two weeks to call for the regent's dismissal.
The crisis began three weeks ago when Jefri ordered high school principal Abdul Latif Hasyim to leave a meeting Jefri was hosting, a move labeled harassment by people.
During the meeting the regent became angry when the principal questioned the regency's education allotment from the budget. The regent had only allocated 5.39 percent of the Rp 700 billion (US$82.2 million) budget this year for education, far below the minimum 20 percent required by the Constitution.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar and the United Development Party (PPP) factions said the two officials should be dismissed because the case had caused a serious crisis in the province, plus the regent's recent response to the legislature's questions over the case were unacceptable.
The joint faction of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and other minor parties, and the military/police faction suggested that the police step in and handle the case and then take it to court, but after a 10-minute discussion, the two factions agreed to fire Jefri and Zakir.
Only 34 of 45 members of the legislative council attended the plenary session.
The legislative speaker who presided over the plenary session told The Jakarta Post via telephone that he would immediately convey the results of the plenary session to President Megawati Soekarnoputri. He said the President was expected to approve Jefri's dismissal to end the crisis.
Jefri has insisted that he will continue to lead the regency administration while waiting for a decision from the central government.
"My boss is the home minister," he said, adding that it was not that easy to dismiss him in such a case, otherwise there would be regent dismissals every day.
Responding to the massive protests, home minister Hari Sabarno said recently he would send a team to the regency to investigate the case if the legislative council proposed Jefri's dismissal.
Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy regulates that a regency legislature has the authority to dismiss a regent only when he/she is found guilty of committing a crime.
The legislature also tried to oust Jefri in 2002 for allegedly using a fake school diploma to make him eligible to run for election in 2001, but the home minister rejected the legislature's decision.