Minister officially fires school head

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.