More teachers quizzed over regent's ouster
More teachers quizzed over regent's ouster
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau
Police here questioned three more educators on Wednesday in
connection with weeks of protests that resulted in the recent
ouster of Kampar Regent Jefri Noer in Riau province.
The three concerned were Facrul Rozi, Yusailin and Abunawas
who are respectively the heads of education and sports offices in
Tambang, in West Bangkinang, and Kampar Kota subdistricts.
The three teachers were quizzed at the Riau Police detective
unit in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau.
Riau Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Syarif Pandiangan said
the suspects were summoned for their role in deploying students
to protest against the regent from Jan. 10 in Bangkinang, the
capital of Kampar.
He argued that the students involved in the demonstrations
were under the age of 17.
"That's why the educators are charged with Article 87 of Law
No. 23/2002 on child protection. They are threatened with a
maximum penalty of five years in prison," Syarif said.
He said the investigation would determine whether the suspects
had deliberately deployed underage students to protest against
the regent.
Syarif said that more teachers could be summoned for
questioning in the case.
"Our investigation will develop based on witnesses'
statements. However, we cannot determine how many educators in
Kampar will be questioned," he said.
On Monday, the police questioned three other educators in
relation to the protests. They were Kampar's Indonesian Teachers
Association (PGRI) chairman M. Yasir, Siak Hulu subdistrict
education and sports office head Abdul Muis and former Kampar
education and sports head Basrun.
Separately, lawyer for the teachers Yuwilis said that 20
questions were posed to his three clients on Wednesday, all of
which were related to the manipulation of students in the
protests.
He denied that the educators had ordered their underage
students to take part in the protests, claiming that the students
had participated willingly.
"Teachers in Kampar even asked their students to continue
studying in schools, but they protested of their own volition,"
Yuwilis added.
However, the police claimed that they had obtained evidence
including a circular dated March 21 that asked teachers and
students in Kampar to stage a strike.
Local civil servants also participated in the strike, which
paralyzed classes and public services in the regency. The strike
was engineered to press the central government to approve the
dismissal of Jefri Noer as regent by the Kampar legislative
council.
On March 25, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno issued a
decree endorsing Jefri's ouster, sparking joyful celebrations
involving thousands of teachers, students and civil servants.
Riau Governor Rusli Zaenal, who was appointed to take over the
Kampar regency, said on Wednesday he had ordered local
administration secretary Zulher to act as the caretaker of the
regental administration.
Jefri had been under fire since February, when he reportedly
expelled a teacher from a meeting for questioning the
administration's low budget for education.
The expulsion was seen as an insult to the teaching
profession.