New subdistrict heads installed amid controversy

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar reportedly swore in on Monday 77 village chiefs as acting subdistrict heads amid a controversy over a bylaw on transforming village administrations into subdistrict governments.

Bylaw No. 14/2004 has not yet been enforced by the Banten provincial administration.

The swearing-in ceremony took place behind closed doors at the Pondok Cabe Udik subdistrict office in Pamulang district, Tangerang.

The regent's decision to change the status of the village chiefs, who are traditionally elected by residents and not accountable to the regent, raised eyebrows among some members of the regency council.

"I do not understand what is actually happening. It seems that everything was done in a hurry without considering the legal aspects or the wishes of the people," councillor Basuki Rahardjo of the Lintas Lima faction told The Jakarta Post.

"The inauguration was definitely against the law," he added.

Dakaudin of the council's Commission A for regional administrations said he received an invitation to the swearing-in ceremony over the weekend.

"I was surprise by the invitation. There are no legal grounds for the inauguration," he said.

However, Ismet said all he had done was issue decrees on the new status of the village heads, not inaugurate them as subdistrict heads.

"Also, we do not have to wait for the governor to enforce the bylaw because that requirement was revoked in the law on regional autonomy, which gives more authority to us to issue our own bylaws," he said.