North Maluku confused over presence of 3 governors
Yongker Rumthe, The Jakarta Post, Manado
The people in North Maluku has been confused over the presence of three governors and their deputies in the province.
Following the central government's rejection of Thayib Armayin and Waisale who the North Maluku Legislative Council elected as new governor and deputy governor on March 7, 2002, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno installed Sinyo Harry Saundayang as acting governor last Friday in Jakarta to replace Muhyi Efendi.
The central government declined to accept Thayib Armayin and Waisale because the election was not conducted in accordance with the law.
Because of the complex problems surrounding the gubernatorial election, an alliance of mass-based organizations and non- governmental organizations installed Abdul Gafur and Thayib Armayin as the new governor and deputy governor.
All three sides claim that their action was in line with the Autonomy Law and Government Regulation No. 151 on the appointment of governors, regents and mayors.
Kuntarto, director general for public administration and regional autonomy at the home ministry, reiterated on Monday that the appointment of Sarundayang was valid and in line with the law because of the absence of a permanent governor elected democratically.
He said both the provincial legislature and the people in the province should comply with the central government's decision.
"Sarundayang will work as acting governor until a permanent one is elected according to the prevailing mechanism to replace him," TVRI quoted him saying.
Ibrahim Basrah, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction in the provincial legislature, lambasted the central government whom he said had harassed the legislative council and crushed the people's aspirations.
"The central government should accept Armayin and Waisale who were elected democratically by the provincial legislative council on March 7, 2002," he said.
He said that according to the law, the provincial legislative council has the full authority to elect the governor and the President should accept what has been decided by the legislature.
Basrah also lambasted the inauguration of Gafur and Thayib by their supporters because such an action did not have a legal basis.
"We will have more and more governors if all organizations and NGOs in the province swear in their own governor," he said.
Hendra Karianga, chairman of the Protection of Human Rights NGO, said the inauguration of Gafur as governor could not be accepted because besides the fact such an action was against the law, Gafur was still under investigation for his alleged involvement in money politics.
"It is better for the home minister to hold a dialog with the provincial legislature to seek clarification of the problem and the law in attempt to seek a peaceful solution," he said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of security personnel were deployed to step up security around Sarundayang's residence in Maluku due to the presence of hundreds of Gafur's supporters who wanted to hand over their petition to the acting governor.
There were no reported casualties in the clash between security personnel and Gafur's supporters.
Djafar Sah, the sultan of Tidore in the province, expressed full support for Gafur's installation as governor by his supporters.
"The people (Gafur's supporters) have acted because they were upset by the friction between the central government and the provincial legislature over the gubernatorial election," he said.