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)