Sutiyoso clears major hurdle for second term

Bambang Nurbianto and Novan Iman Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The City Council accepted on Monday the accountability speech of Governor Sutiyoso through a vote at the Council's plenary session although thousands of demonstrators demanded the Council reject the speech.

From the 82 councillors who attended the Council's plenary session, 57 voted to accept Sutiyoso's speech, 21 rejected it, and four abstained.

The acceptance of Sutiyoso's accountability speech will facilitate his efforts to seek reelection as the city's next governor for the 2002-2007 term on Sept. 11.

Sutiyoso has been nominated by three major factions: the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the United Development Party (PPP), Golkar Party, and the Unity and Justice Party (PKP), a minor party.

Councillors that rejected Sutiyoso's accountability speech consisted of all 13 members of the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction, the four members of the Justice Party (PK) faction, and the Crescent and Star Party (PBB) with two seats.

The other two councillors who rejected the speech were Tarmidi Edy Suwarno of the PDI Perjuangan faction and Djafar Badjeber, a former PPP councillor who has joined a splinter party of PPP, called PPP Reformasi, led by noted Muslim cleric Zainuddin M.Z.

Seven factions: Golkar Party, PDI Perjuangan, PPP, the Military and Police, the National Awakening Party (PKB), PKP, and Indonesian Unity in Diversity Party (PBI), voted to accept Sutiyoso's speech.

The four councillors who abstained are from the PDI Perjuangan faction, namely Ugiek Soegihardjo, Tarmidi Suhardjo, Dadang Hamdani and Sumiyati Soekarno.

Previously, the councillors voted to decide whether the voting on the accountability speech would be made through an open or secret ballot. The majority of councillors voted for an open ballot.

Before the voting, all spokespersons of the City Council's 11 factions read their respective final assessments of the accountability speech in turns.

A minor incident marred the plenary session when some 20 members of the PDI Perjuangan from East Jakarta expressed their disappointment when the spokesman of the party's faction Agung Iman Soemanto said that the faction accepted Sutiyoso's speech.

"You have lied to the party's grassroots. You said that you would reject Sutiyoso's accountability speech," said Sunaryo, treasurer of the party's Pulo Gadung chapter in East Jakarta while removing his PDI Perjuangan jacket in the plenary room.

Sunaryo was then escorted by security guards out of the plenary hall. He demonstratively threw down the red jacket in front of the City Council building.

Lucky R.D. Pesik from Ciracas, East Jakarta said that Agung had told them previously that nomination of Sutiyoso was only a party's tactic as they would reject his accountability speech.

"The acceptance of PDI Perjuangan faction has put us in the difficult position of having to explain the decision to the party's grassroots," Lucky told the media.

Sutiyoso, who attended the plenary session, asked the public to accept the City Council's decision as it had been made democratically. "You can see for yourselves that the decision was taken democratically. Therefore, there is no reason to reject it," he added.

Although, the majority of factions accepted Sutiyoso's speech, most of them expressed their concern over various failures of the city administration during Sutiyoso's five-year tenure.