Public urged to give input on next governor

Public urged to give input on next governor

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta City Council urged the public
yesterday to give input to the selection of candidates for the
next governor.

Council speaker M.H. Ritonga said that Jakartans could propose
candidates to the council through its factions or directly to
him.

"We will wait for names of proposed candidates until June
20," Ritonga told a press conference.

He said that any proposed candidate should meet all
requirements set by the Ministry of Home Affairs before they
could be nominated for governor of Jakarta.

"So far, no candidates have been proposed," Ritonga said. "The
number of nominations should be, at the most, between three and
five," he added.

When asked whether the next governor should be from the Armed
Forces (ABRI), he said, "it doesn't matter if the next governor
is from the military or not, as long as he or she fulfills
requirements."

Ritonga said that public participation in selecting governor
candidates was necessary due to the important role of the
provincial leader. "As provincial leader, the governor should be
supported by his people," he said.

Before handing the candidate list to the President for
approval, the council will consult with the Minister of Home
Affairs, Ritonga said.

In response to whether or not incumbent Governor Surjadi
Soedirdja could be re-elected, Ritonga did not reject such a
possibility.

"In my personal opinion, Governor Surjadi has the right to be
re-elected," Ritonga said.

A 1974 government regulation stipulates that a governor may
serve a second five-year term.

Surjadi, whose term of office ends Oct. 6, already filed a
letter of resignation to President Soeharto through Minister of
Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. in March.

Basic requirements for Jakarta governor include, among other
things, loyalty to both the state ideology Pancasila and the 1945
Constitution, loyalty to the country and the government and never
being directly or indirectly involved in activities which
endanger the country, Pancasila or the 1945 Constitution.

The candidates should also be dedicated persons, have good
personality and leadership, be honest, intelligent, of good
integrity, must be at least 35 years of age, have adequate
ability and experience in administrative affairs and should be at
least university graduates.

Ritonga said that proposed candidates would be selected and
nominated by current City Council members, whose office terms end
July 18, and be continued by new council members, results of last
week's general election.

News reports had named several candidates, including Surjadi
himself. Other candidates were Chief of Jakarta Military Command
Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, and former chief of Jakarta Military Command
Lt. Gen. A.M. Hendropriyono, the current Secretary of Development
Operations.

When asked about the next council speaker, Ritonga said the
new speaker would be elected by the new City Council.

"The candidates would be selected from the 75 new City Council
members and would not necessarily be from the Armed Forces
(ABRI)," he said.

In response to whether or not the new speaker would be Tadjus
Sobirin, chairman of Golkar's city chapter, Ritonga just said
that the speaker would be decided by the new council members.

"The choice of new speaker is not based on which contestant
won this year's election," Ritonga said.

In this year's election, the three contestants vied for 60 of
75 City Council seats. The remaining 15 seats were reserved for
ABRI members who do not vote.

Golkar now has 31 council seats, the United Development Party
(PPP) 15, the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) 14, and ABRI 15.
(ste)