Proposal for Inquiry Rights Against East Kalimantan Governor Signed by Nearly Half of DPRD Members

A coalition of protesters from the 21 April (214) demonstrations in East Kalimantan (Kaltim) staged another rally in front of the Kaltim DPRD office in Samarinda on Monday (4/5). This time, the 214 Volume 2 crowd consisted of students from several universities, community elements, and workers in Kaltim. During the action, they demanded transparency regarding the signing of the inquiry rights proposal. The protesters acted because there had been no information on their demands following the 21 April demo. In this week’s early action, the crowd managed to breach the area of the regional legislators’ building after breaking through the barbed wire barricades set up by the authorities and the DPRD building fence. Meanwhile, on the same day, discussions on the inquiry rights proposal took place inside the Kaltim DPRD building during a plenary session. Citing detikKalimantan, the plenary discussion grew heated, and the final outcome saw more than half of the Kaltim DPRD members—or 21 individuals—signing the inquiry rights proposal. The session heated up when, amid debates on the Advisory Board (Bamus) agenda, Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the Kaltim DPRD, Akhmed Reza Fachlevi, temporarily left the meeting room. The atmosphere grew even tenser as the inquiry rights discussion was perceived to shift towards factional positions rather than the substance of public demands. Several council members exchanged views before Reza eventually chose to exit the meeting room. Reza stated that he personally advocated for the inquiry rights to be included in the Bamus schedule. According to him, this step was part of following up on public aspirations that had previously come to the Kaltim DPRD. “I am fighting for the people of Kaltim to include this inquiry rights in the Bamus schedule,” he told journalists in front of Building D of the Kaltim DPRD Office after the discussion session on Monday. He explained that the inquiry rights discussion had actually been scheduled previously. However, during the meeting, discussions arose regarding the positions of several factions, which he believed should not be interfered with. According to Reza, each faction has its own authority in determining political stances. He also alluded to council members who were seen as rarely engaging directly with action crowds or receiving public aspirations in the field. “Once in a while, they should go down to face the volunteers or demonstrators. Because so far, we have been constantly going down to listen to their aspirations,” he said. He mentioned that his side had also received a community alliance a few days earlier at the Kaltim DPRD Building. Therefore, according to him, the inquiry rights represent a mandate from the public that only awaits further processing by the council leadership. “This is an inquiry right that we must indeed carry out. This is a mandate from the people; it’s just a matter of the process now,” he emphasised. Inquiry Rights Meets Administrative Requirements Meanwhile, Chairman of Commission I of the Kaltim DPRD, Baharuddin Demmu, stated that the inquiry rights proposal has met administrative requirements because it is supported by more than 10 DPRD members across factions. He noted that at least 21 DPRD members have signed the proposal. The Kaltim DPRD members for the 2024-2029 period, elected from the legislative elections two years ago, total 55 individuals. The breakdown by faction is as follows: Golkar (15 seats), Gerindra (10), PDIP (9), PKB (6), PKS (4), PAN (4), NasDem (3), Democrat (2), and PPP (2). According to Baharuddin Demmu, the requirements met by the proposers are sufficient to advance the inquiry rights proposal to the next stage. “We signed the initiative proposal for the inquiry rights. There are about 21 signatures, and that already meets the requirements,” he said. The PAN politician explained that the next mechanism is to await the scheduling of a Bamus meeting before the proposal is brought to the plenary. According to him, the DPRD leadership now only needs to determine the schedule for further discussions. “Once accepted and meets the requirements, it must be scheduled in Bamus to be included in the plenary. We wait for the chairman,” he said. After the inquiry rights discussion session, council members exited the building one by one, leaving the location. Meanwhile, Kaltim DPRD Chairman Hasanuddin Mas’ud—who is also the eldest brother of Kaltim Governor Rudy Mas’ud—emerged later. Hasanuddin provided no response to media questions. Both Hasanuddin and Rudy are Golkar cadres—the party with the most seats in the Kaltim DPRD.