Mayor's dismissal stems from legal confusion: Expert

Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

The removal of Surabaya mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono by the City Council is the result of legal confusion which could, in part, be blamed on the central government, an expert has said.

Ryaas Rasyid, the former government official who largely drafted the regional autonomy law, said on the sidelines of a seminar here that Government Decree No. 108/2000 on the accountability of local chief executives did not stipulate in detail what steps a legislative council could take if the local chief executive's accountability statement was not revised despite a request to do so from the council.

"In addition, it is questionable whether the absence of the mayor during the council's second plenary session should lead to the councillors' automatic rejection of his accountability report," Ryaas said.

The city council decided to dismiss Bambang last Thursday after he failed to appear and present his revised budget accountability statement for fiscal 2001. But the central government, which according to the law is authorized to appoint and remove local chief executives, has continued to recognize Bambang pending an investigation into the case.

"The main concern now is how to resolve all this legal confusion. East Java Governor Imam Utomo and Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno should hold a meeting to end the misunderstanding between the City Council and Bambang," Ryaas said.

Ryaas, a former director general of regional autonomy, suggested that the two feuding parties reconcile their differences in order to reduce the political tension.

"You cannot work professionally in a situation of conflict," he added.

He said that if the government-sanctioned investigative team recommended that Bambang stay on as mayor, it would be necessary for the home minister or the governor to invite the two camps to sit down in order to formulate the best way of running the city.

Bambang took over from Sunarto Sumoprawiro, who was dismissed by the same councillors in January on account of his poor health and performance. Bambang, the deputy mayor under Sunarto, was formally sworn in as the new mayor in June.

In a related development, council speaker M. Basuki said the council would submit its report on Bambang's dismissal to Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno through Governor Imam Utomo on Friday.

Like the National Awakening Party faction on the council, the council itself has now decided to sue Bambang for libel. Basuki said Bambang had brought the council into disrepute with his allegation that the councillors had asked him for money in exchange for their approval of his accountability statement.