Verdict is not final: Minister

Verdict is not final: Minister

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The decision by Kampar Regency Council to dismiss Kampar regent
Jefri Noer and his deputy A. Zakir is not final, according to
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.

The decision can only take effect when President Megawati
Soekarnoputri endorses it, he said on Wednesday.

"The President has the sole authority to decide whether the
decision is lawful. But surely, she will listen to my advice and
that of the Riau governor," Hari told reporters after meeting the
President at the State Palace.

Hari was commenting on Saturday's plenary meeting at the
Kampar Regency Council, which decided to dismiss Kampar regent
Jefri Noer and his deputy A. Zakir.

Both leaders were dismissed by the council, following massive
teacher and student protests in the regency, which paralyzed
classes for almost two weeks in Kampar, some 60 kilometers west
of Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province.

The massive protest came after Regent Jefri Noer ordered
teacher Abdul Latif Hasyim out of a meeting room. The teacher was
told to leave the meeting after he questioned the regent on the
low budget allocation for education in the regency.

Teachers and students later accused the regent of insulting
the teaching profession and staged almost two weeks of massive
protests that led to the dismissal of the regent by the regency
council.

The deputy regent was also dismissed on the grounds that both
Zakir and the regent were responsible for a crisis of confidence
among the people for the government of Kampar regency.

The popularity of the regent has been declining over the last
two years. In 2002, he was accused of using a fake senior high
school diploma to gain eligibility to take the post of regent.
The regency council voted for his dismissal, but the decision was
annulled by the Minister of Home Affairs.

Hari said that he had reported the problems in Kampar to the
President, while at the same time, the Ministry of Home Affairs
has assigned an investigating team.

The outcome of the investigation will be forwarded to the
President for consideration.

While awaiting for the President's decision, Hari said that
the regent and deputy regent should continue their duties to keep
the wheels of bureaucracy running in Kampar, in order to avoid a
power vacuum.

But, the minister ordered them not to take any strategic
decisions, pending the decision of the President.