Mayor's dismissal stems from legal confusion: Expert

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.