Minister officially fires school head

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bandung

The Ministry of Home Affairs has officially fired the head of the government-run Public Administration Institute (STPDN) in Sumedang, West Java following the controversial death of one of its students recently.

The ministry has also confirmed reports that it would take over management of the institute.

Home minister Hari Sabarno had decided to replace STPDN head Sutrisno with the ministry's secretary-general, Siti Nurbaya, ministry spokesman I Nyoman Sumaryadi said on Tuesday.

Siti will officially take over leadership of the institute from Sutrisno on Thursday, Sumaryadi added.

However, the fate of Sutrisno remains unclear.

"The secretary-general will be in charge as an interim head of the institute beginning Thursday, while the position of Sutrisno will be discussed further," Sumaryadi told reporters on Tuesday.

He asserted that Sutrisno would not be fired from the civil service.

As part of efforts to reform the institute's curriculum, Sumaryadi said the ministry had also decided to merge the management of STPDN with that of the Jakarta-based Institute of Public Administration (IIP), under a new name, the School of Home Affairs Administration.

The merger is expected to be completed by early in the 2004 academic year.

Sumaryadi admitted that the decision to revamp the institute's management was due to the controversial death of Wahyu Hidayat, a second-year student.

The 20-year-old died on Sept. 2 after he was allegedly beaten by seniors at the institute, which has a reputation for military- style discipline.

"While going through the revision, we will also invite several former ministers who were once in charge at the ministry, including Rudini, as well as experts from Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

"We will also seek input from STPDN alumni and the ministry's departments, such as the training and education department, the inspectorate general and human resources department," Sumaryadi said, without elaborating.

Hari had earlier sent a team from the ministry's inspectorate general to investigate the incident that had led to Wahyu's death and question all institute officials, including Sutrisno.

Separately, Vice President Hamzah Haz called for a revision of the curriculum at STPDN, saying that any act of violence in schools was not tolerable.

He welcomed the home affairs ministry's plan to merge the management of STPDN with that of the IIP.

Meanwhile, a private-owned television SCTV, aired a video recording of violent acts at the institute, which likely hastened Sutrisno's demise.

A coalition of prodemocracy groups, the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Professional Civil Society, and Indonesia Independent Committee for General Elections Watch (KIPP Indonesia), called for the closure of STPDN.

Ismed Putranto, coordinator of the Society, said that full legal action should be taken against those who tried to obstruct justice by keeping silent and allowed the violent, military-like education to go on at the school.

"There should also be interviews with STPDN alumni who now hold positions at regional administrations because they are potential threats to civilians who are opposed to violence in society," he said.

In Banda Aceh, Hari said that the ministry would not close STPDN despite mounting criticism.

"We will only close it if regional administrations stop sending their students to study there," he said.

The government set up the STPDN in 1992 to train government officials. The institute adopted a military-like education concept in a bid to create officials with authority, as former home affairs minister Rudini put it.

The institute does not charge tuition, as the students are sent by regional administrations from across the country. They automatically become government officials upon graduation.

The institute burst into the public spotlight following the death of Wahyu. On Tuesday, police declared nine more seniors as suspects in his death, bringing the number of suspects to 18.

Sumedang Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Yoyok Subagyono said on Tuesday that police were also investigating other cases of extreme violence at the institute.

Three STPDN seniors have been declared suspects in the torture of Jurinata, who suffered severe injuries after being beaten earlier this year.

Jurinata had said earlier that he was beaten after he caught a group of seniors smuggling alcoholic drinks into the dormitory. Drinking on campus is forbidden.

Meanwhile, West Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Dadang Garnida said his officers would protect witnesses who testify about violence at the institute.

"It is our duty. I expect the witnesses to report to the police to get protection if they feel threatened. Intimidation is punishable by a jail sentence," he told reporters in Bandung.

An STPDN lecturer, Inu Kencana Syafi'i, on Tuesday asked for protection from the House of Representatives after unidentified people threatened to kill him for reporting several cases of violence in STPDN to police.