SBY to discuss term extension with Yogya governor

Desy Nurhayati and Tarko Sudiarno ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta, Yogyakarta   |  Tue, 10/07/2008 9:56 AM  |  The Archipelago

State Secretary Hatta Rajasa said on Monday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was scheduled to meet Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of extending his tenure.

"The President asked me to arrange a meeting with the sultan. They were originally planning to meet today, but due to a tight schedule the meeting was postponed until tomorrow. However we still need to schedule a time," Hatta said.

One item on the agenda for the meeting, Hatta said, was to discuss the presidential decree on extending Hamengkubuwono's tenure as Yogyakarta governor.

"The draft of the presidential decree is complete. I am sure the President will discuss it with the Sultan directly. Whether the President will hand it over to the Sultan straight away we have no idea yet. There are definite mechanisms involved in handling such regulations."

Hatta added that President was not likely to ban the Sultan from running in the 2009 presidential election with the decree. Rather, the main point of the decree was to extend the governor's term for about three years.

Based on existing regulations, Hamengkubuwono's tenure would come to an end Oct. 8, despite no gubernatorial election having been held in Yogyakarta.

Separately, Hamengkubuwono told The Jakarta Post in Yogyakarta that he would go to Jakarta on Tuesday to meet the President and discuss the possibility of the extending of his term in office. He said, however, he had no idea how long he would continue in that position.

Meanwhile, thousands grouped under the Yogyakarta People's Movement staged a rally in front of Yogyakarta Legislature on Jl. Malioboro on Monday.

The crowds demanded the government re-elect Sultan Hamengkubuwono X as Yogyakarta governor and Paku Alam IX as deputy.

They said the government had no firm standpoint and that it had not respected the community's wishes for the Sultan to remain as governor of Yogyakarta.

Even though the President was likely to extend the tenures of both the governor and deputy, demonstrators said this would not meet their demands.

The National Awakening Party (PKB)'s Yogyakarta chapter head Sukamto said, "We have told the government that the governor position should automatically go to Kasultanan Yogyakarta palace and the deputy governor position to Puro Pakualaman palace.

"We also suggested the government appoint the Sultan and Paku Alam as governor and deputy for life."

A similar proposal was made by The Golkar Party's Yogyakarta chapter head Gandung Pardiman.

Gandung said this privilege was related to Yogyakarta being a special region, and was based on Yogyakarta's historical importance in the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia.

During the peaceful demonstration, the protesters symbolically installed Hamengkubuwono as governor and Paku Alam as deputy in a mock ceremony, however neither the Sultan or Paku Alam were in attendance.

The same demonstrators were planning another rally on Tuesday, urging the government to retain Yogyakarta's status as a special region.

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