Surabaya legislators deride team on Sunarto dismissal

Surabaya legislators deride team on Sunarto dismissal

Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Legislators in the East Java capital of Surabaya have criticized
as useless a central government plan to investigate whether the
dismissal of Surabaya's mayor Sunarto Sumoprawiro was legal or
not.

They said whatever recommendation was issued by the inquiry
team, it would not affect the Surabaya district legislature's
decision to sack Sunarto.

"Our decision is final and the team is nothing significant,"
Armudji, chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI
Perjuangan) faction in the legislative council, told The Jakarta
Post on Tuesday.

He said the team's establishment was contrary to law No.
22/1999 on regional governance, under which the central
government had to endorse any decision by the regency or
provincial legislature (DPRD).

Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno last week said he would
form an independent team to assess the validity of Sunarto's
dismissal.

He has rejected the sacking of Sunarto and instead still
recognizes him as the legitimate mayor of Indonesia's second
largest city.

He said that regional legislative councils had no right to
remove governors, mayors or regents, saying the DPRD should have
proposed its decision to the president for endorsement. It was
not legal otherwise, he said.

Ryaas Rasyid, a former administrative reforms minister,
challenged Hari's arguments and said a DPRD, by law, could remove
a mayor for substantial reasons, including a serious illness or
mental disorder and oath of duty violation.

The president must accept the removal of Sunarto as the law
did not suggest that the head of state could reject any decision
by the DPRD, he said.

Sunarto was sacked after being absent from office for three
months. He claimed to have obtained permission from the home
minister to abandon state duties for medical treatment in
Melbourne, Australia.

Surabaya DPRD speaker Herman Rivai said the planned
independent team would only waste its time and money and prolong
the dispute.

The plan showed that the central government was not ready for
reforms in relation to the implementation of regional autonomy
laws, he said.

"The sacking of Sunarto was not a hasty decision. We invited
political scientists and constitutional law experts to discuss
this issue," Herman said.

Noted constitutional law expert Suwoto Mulyosudarmo said the
team would be useless because the Surabaya DPRD would stick with
its decision despite a possible contradicting recommendation.

"Under the president's approval, the home affairs minister can
investigate the case using his staff in Jakarta and Surabaya. But
it is not meant to veto the decision by the council," he said.

"The best way for the home minister is to directly present the
report on Sunarto's removal to the president for endorsement
because the decision has met the required procedures," added
Suwoto from the Surabaya-based Erlangga University.

Meanwhile, Musyafak Rauf, a senior legislator of the National
Awakening Party (PKB) that opposed Sunarto's dismissal, said his
faction supported the establishment of the team. It would help
resolve the problem, he added.

He said the PKB had told the council to be careful when it
came to a decision to remove Sunarto because the move could set a
bad precedence for future political stability.