New governor for East Kalimantan

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: Brig. Gen. Suwarna Abdul Fatah, 54, was elected provincial governor for the 1998/2003 term after receiving 38 of the 45 votes in an election in the provincial legislature Saturday.

He defeated two other nominees, Chaider Hapidz and Jurnalis Ngayoh, who received four and three votes respectively.

Suwarna will replace HM Ardans who cannot be reelected since he has served the maximum of two consecutive terms, Antara reported.

Born in Bogor, West Java, Suwarna graduated from the military academy in 1966.

He is no stranger to the province having served as deputy governor in charge of economics and development supervision.

The election process was slightly disrupted by a group of protesters who demanded that the election be canceled because, they claimed, it did not represent the people's aspirations.

Security officers quickly arrived on the scene and forced the protesters to disperse. (mds)