MA to tackle local heads impeachment

JAKARTA: Although Supreme Court (MA) chief Bagir Manan opposes a stipulation in the amended autonomy law that allows impeachment of regional executive heads directly elected by locals, he said on Friday that his office will issue a ruling on this matter.

Bagir said the regulation will set out the mechanism of impeachment process at the court.

"It's the mandate of the law. We must implement it," he told journalists at his office in Central Jakarta.

Bagir said that court hearings for impeachment cases would be open to public because it is a sensitive political issue.

He earlier said that impeachment cases of regional heads are supposedly settled by local councils and the Supreme Court should not be given this duty as it has been struggling to finish nearly 20,000 backlog cases. -- JP