President urged to suspend Riau Islands regent
President urged to suspend Riau Islands regent
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru
A Riau official called on President Megawati Soekarnoputri to
suspend Riau Island (Kepri) Regent Huzrin Hood who has been
accused of misappropriating Rp 87 billion in funds allocated for
the regency, to seek political support for the proposed formation
of Riau Island province.
Tabrani Rap, a member of the Regional Autonomy Advisory
Council (DPOD) from the province, told The Jakarta Post here over
the weekend that he had sent a letter to the President,
requesting that Huzrin be temporarily suspended while the scandal
is being investigated by the Attorney General's Office.
"It is the biggest scandal that has occurred in the autonomy
era because according to the Supreme Audit Agency's recent
examination, the funds were used to seek political support both
in the province and in Jakarta for the formation of Riau Island
Province," he said.
The incident caught the attention of the public when Huzrin
failed to show up several times for a hearing with the regency
legislature to discuss the Supreme Audit Agency's findings.
An alliance of local non-governmental organizations have
pressured the prosecutor's office in the regency and the
legislative council to investigate the scandal.
Tabrani said that the misappropriation of the funds was
revealed after he requested the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to
audit the regency's financial records following frequent mass
demonstrations supporting the proposed formation of the new
province.
"The demonstrations were financed by the regent from the Rp
95-billion fund disbursed by the central government to finance
development projects in the regency," he said.
Hundreds of local people went to Jakarta to attend the House
of Representatives' plenary session to decide the fate of the
proposed province.
The House received the proposal but the government turned it
down since it has yet to gain approval both from the Riau
provincial administration and the provincial legislative council
as required by Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy.
The proposal has also met with opposition from Natuna Regency,
which is supposed to be included in the proposed province. The
regency considers that the Riau archipelago is not politically or
economically prepared to become a new province.
A number of members of the Riau Legislative Council revealed
they had been pressured by the National Intelligence Agency (BIN)
to support the establishment of the new province. Huzrin is
reportedly a close friend of BIN chief M. Hendropriyono.
Tabrani said he had met Huzrin to seek clarification about the
scandal but the latter denied he had embezzled the regency's
funds.
He said that according to Huzrin, there was no embezzlement,
only an administrative problem.