Sultan, Pakualam sworn in for second term

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

After days of uncertainty, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno (Photo: right) swore in Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X for a second five-year term on Thursday.

Also installed by the minister on behalf of President Megawati Soekarnoputri was the sultan's deputy Pakualam IX of Pakualaman Principality.

The swearing-in ceremony, held at Bangsal Kepatihan Hall in the Yogyakarta gubernatorial office complex on Jl. Malioboro, came only a day after the State Secretariat in Jakarta notified the local administration about the date on Wednesday afternoon.

Sultan and Pakualam were unanimously declared governor and deputy governor for a second term on Sept. 3 by the Yogyakarta Legislative Council.

Speaking at a press conference after the ceremony, Minister Hari said that the appointment of Sultan Hamengkubuwono and Pakualam was in line with prevailing regulations on the province's special status.

He was referring to Article 122 of Law No. 22/99 on regional government that stipulated that the lineage of Yogyakarta Palace and Pakualaman Principality has the privilege to hold the top posts in the province.

"The candidates, therefore, were selected from among the lineage of the Palace and the Principality," Hari said.

The Sultan Hamengkubuwono and Pakualam ended their first five- year term on Oct. 3. But it was only on Oct. 8, that the presidential decree on their appointment was issued.