Yogyakarta insists on deputy's election

Yogyakarta insists on deputy's election

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Yogyakarta's provincial legislative council
has decided to proceed with the election of a deputy governor, a
post which has been vacant for more than two years, contravening
the Minister of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy' letter
forbidding any election of deputy governors, a councillor said.

Budi Dewantoro, deputy speaker of Yogyakarta provincial
council told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the decision was
taken because the post had been left vacant for over two years,
and the province's governor required the assistance of a deputy
to carry out his daily duties.

He said that the decision to proceed with the election of a
deputy governor was made on Friday during an internal meeting.

"We, the councillors, think that the minister's letter is
against the spirit of regional autonomy. We refuse to be dictated
to by the central government," Budi said.

Minister Surjadi Soedirdja, in his letter No. 121/789/SJ dated
May 3, 2001, told Governor Hamengkubuwono X and the councillors
that plans to elect a deputy governor must be annulled. The
letter referred to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
stipulation No.IV/2000 which says that deputy governors elected
in 2000, should have been elected before December 2000.

Deputy governors should be elected together with the
governors, the ministry rules.

According to Budi, a deputy governor is a political post,
"therefore, it is improper to let the post remain vacant for two
years."

He said that councilors would soon hold a hearing with legal
experts to find the legal basis for the election of the deputy
governor.

Unlike most provinces in the country, which have more than one
deputy governor, Yogyakarta only had one deputy governor in the
past. The last deputy governor was Pakualam VIII, when the
governor was Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX. Current governor Sultan
Hamengkubuwono X has yet to have a deputy during his
tenure.

Separately, another deputy chief of the provincial legislative
council, Nur Achmad Affandi, said that according to Law No.
22/1999 on regional autonomy the Governor of Yogyakarta must be
the reigning sultan and the deputy must come from the Pakualaman
clan.

The sultan's family and the Pakualaman clan possess the same
lineage. Dutch colonialists made them share their territory,
Keraton (for the sultan's family) and Pakualaman for the Pakualam
clan.

Nur Achmad said that councilors still had no idea if the
incumbent Pakualam IX (the ruler of Pakualaman) would become
deputy governor.

"We will discuss the matter in the coming meeting." (44)