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.