N. Sumatra poll urged to resolve crisis

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 02/09/2006 10:44 AM

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

A political observer believes an immediate gubernatorial election is the only way to resolve the leadership crisis in North Sumatra.

Speaking Wednesday, two days after police questioned Deputy Governor Rudolf Pardede as a suspect in a criminal case, Arief Nasution, the dean of the School of Social and Political Sciences at North Sumatra University, said there was a leadership vacuum in the province that only an election could fill.

He said that regardless of Rudolf's status as a suspect, he was not the legitimate leader of North Sumatra. Rudolf has been serving the roles of the province's head since governor T. Rizal Nurdin died in a plane crash in Medan last September.

Arief said that according to the 2004 Regional Administration Law, the deputy governor did not answer to the provincial council but only to the governor.

""As long as an acting governor is not appointed, the administration doesn't really exist. If Deputy Governor Rudolf Pardede promotes or dismisses administration staff or submits a draft budget to the council, like he did earlier this month, it is in fact illegal because he's not the acting governor and has not been given an official mandate from the council. Remember, the deputy governor answers only to the governor,"" Arief told The Jakarta Post.

He said the central government should immediately appoint an acting governor to run the administration while preparing for a gubernatorial election.

""The central government should think about this matter, instead of allowing it to drag on and on .... We don't want North Sumatra's image to be ruined because the administration is unable to function without a leader,"" Arief said.

Meanwhile, administration spokesman Eddy Sofyan said Deputy Governor Rudolf was in his office and working as usual, despite being questioned by police for five hours on Monday as a suspect in a case involving the use of fake school diplomas.

""His status as a suspect does not prevent Deputy Governor Rudolf Pardede from carrying out his duties. This (Wednesday) afternoon, he's scheduled to issue a decree about the acting regent of Central Tapanuli,"" the spokesman said.

North Sumatra Police chief of detectives, Sr. Comr. Ronny F. Sompie, who was among the officers who questioned Rudolf on Monday, confirmed on Tuesday the deputy governor was a suspect.

He said that during questioning, police asked Rudolf 12 questions related to his alleged use of fake diplomas to meet administrative requirements when running for deputy governor in 2003 as a candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

At the time, Rudolf was declared eligible to run even though he only submitted letters, supposedly from his alma maters explaining of his graduation, as his high school and university diplomas had been lost.

Candidates for public office are required to provide proof of graduation from either high school or university, depending on the position.

After Rizal and Rudolf were inaugurated in June 2003, several people came forward to claim the letters submitted by Rudolf to replace his lack of diplomas were fake.

The witnesses included Martha Cristiawati, the principal of SMU BPK Penabur high school in Sukabumi, West Java, who claimed Rudolf never attended school there as he claimed.

When the Post asked whether Martha's claim was confirmed during questioning, officer Ronny declined to provide any details, only saying the police would cross-check all of the information in their possession.

""We will be careful in handling this case because of its strong political context. One thing is certain, we want to complete this investigation as quickly as possible and submit the case file to prosecutors,"" he said.

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