Two resign to avoid corruption charges
Two resign to avoid corruption charges
TANGERANG (JP): Two middle-ranking Tangerang Regency and
Mayoralty officials submitted their resignations yesterday in a
bid to avoid accusations of corruption.
The two were identified as Agus Rachmat, the head of the
regency's regional development board, and Muhaemin, the head of
the mayoralty's parks and funerals office.
Agus is the brother-in-law of regency secretary M.H. Thamrin,
while Muhaemin is the younger brother of Tangerang Mayor Djakaria
Mahmud.
Agus admitted yesterday that he had resigned to avoid
accusations that he was recruited nepotistically by Thamrin and
had thereafter frequently engaged in corrupt activities.
"It's better for me to resign now rather than be dismissed at
a later date," he said.
He said there were still two relatives of Thamrin working as
officials in his administration. The two are secretary of the
regency regional development board Muchtar Lutfi and deputy head
of economic affairs Dedy Kusnadi.
"But my resignation should not influence them and they don't
necessarily have to follow my example," Agus said. He now plans
to return to his former profession as a lecturer at Bandung
Institute of Technology.
Agus explained that he decided to resign as he had held his
current position for five years. "Usually this position is held
only in three years," he said.
He said that he had informed Regent Agus Djunara of his
intention to resign earlier this month.
According to Suparman, the mayoralty administration assistant,
Muhaemin sent his resignation letter to the Governor of West
Java.
"The letter has yet to be answered," Suparman added.
Djakaria Mahmud earlier denied that he had assisted his
brother rise through the ranks in the council, saying he had
gained promotion on his own merit.
"Muhaemin started as a section head, was promoted to division
head and now heads the office."
Tangerang Mayoralty Council deputy chairman Ruchiat recently
threatened to resign if corrupt officials did not step down from
the council. (41/jun)