President strips Puteh of authorities
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Banda Aceh
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is often criticized for her ineptness in handling corruption cases, has taken a surprisingly quick decision to remove Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Abdullah Puteh, a suspect in a corruption case, from active duty as regional head and administrator of the civil emergency.
Megawati, who will very likely be the contender of Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the second round of the presidential election in September, appointed Puteh's deputy, Azwar Abubakar, as acting governor. Meanwhile she also assigned Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, who is also her acting chief security minister, to administer the civil emergency.
The minister said that the decision was taken to support the ongoing probe against Puteh and to facilitate the daily running of the government in Aceh. A presidential decree will be issued soon to implement the decision.
"The President instructed the deputy governor to handle the daily affairs of the province and interim coordinating minister for political and security affairs to oversee the civil emergency," Hari said on Monday.
Megawati took the decision after a meeting with Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki on Monday at the State Palace. The commission asked the President to suspend the governor last week, to accelerate the investigation into the alleged markup of the purchase of a Russian-made helicopter, which caused Rp 4 billion (US$440,000) in losses to the state, in which Puteh is declared a suspect.
Puteh has undergone four days of questioning by the commission which declared him a suspect in the case last week.
The KPK earlier asked Megawati to suspend Puteh. Citing a law, the President said, however, she only had the right to hire and fire a governor with the recommendation of the provincial legislative council.
"This is a solution for us, so as to continue with the questioning without hampering the daily activities in the province," Taufiqurrahman said after the meeting.
Puteh himself remained calm upon hearing the news. "I think we all have just to wait for the President's decision and we will accept it no matter what she decides," Puteh told reporters later.
Meanwhile Aceh Provincial Legislative Council speaker Muhammad Yus said, "There has not been any decision from us as yet because his legal status is still uncertain."
Meanwhile, Puteh's lawyers filed a lawsuit with the Central Jakarta District Court accusing the KPK of conducting an illegitimate investigation. Through his written statement Puteh said both his visits to the KPK on June 4 and June 10 were to testify, not to be interrogated as a suspect.
Judge Cicut Sutiarso said the trial was adjourned until Tuesday to hear the comments of the KPK.