Political tension in S. Kalimantan persists

Political tension in S. Kalimantan persists

Yuliansyah, The Jakarta Post, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan

Political tension in South Kalimantan has escalated, with the
provincial legislative council refusing to accept the central
government's annulment of the dismissal last August of Governor
Sjachriel Darham and his deputy Hussein.

Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno recently issued a decree
to annul the dismissal of the governor and deputy governor, and
advised the legislative body that did not have the authority to
dismiss the governor and his deputy because they had been sworn
in by the President.

The provincial legislative council removed the governor in a
plenary session last year because the governor was considered
unable to cooperate with it in many fields.

The Golkar Party faction chairman in the legislative council,
Addy Chairuddin, said the legislative council rejected the
central government's intervention, and that 39 of the 45
councillors had agreed to submit an official request to the
Supreme Court to review the ministerial decree, and to sue the
home minister at the state administrative court.

"The governor and his deputy were not capable of leading this
province," Addy said, adding that irregularities had also
occurred during their term.

He also said that in line with Government Regulation No.
108/2002 on accountability, only President Megawati Soekarnoputri
had the right to issue a decree, not the home minister.

"Even if the decree was issued by the ministry, it should have
been done so with the President's consent," he said.

Addy reiterated that the ouster of the governor was based not
on the interests of the provincial legislative council, but
according to the local people's political aspirations.

The deputy chairman of the local chapter of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Bachrudin
Syarkawi, said he had yet to send the provincial legislative
council's decision on the governor's dismissal to PDI Perjuangan
chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"However, the PDI Perjuangan faction at the provincial
legislative council fully supports the governor's dismissal," he
said, adding that he intended to go to Jakarta to convey the
provincial legislature's decision to Megawati and seek direction
on what the party should do in line with the prolonged tension.

Many political analysts have regretted the dissatisfying
implementation of regional autonomy, saying that according to the
law, the legislative council could have proposed that the
President dismiss the governor after it rejected his annual
progress report.