Parties agree to keep deliberating bill on Yogya status

Eight out of nine political party factions at the House of Representatives home affairs commission have agreed to continue the deliberation of a long-awaited bill on Yogyakarta’s special status.

The faction that opposed the decision was the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura), which, through its representative Akbar Faisal, demanded Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi to come up with an alternative plan.

"If the government wants to remove Sultan Hamengkubuwono from his position as governor and only grant him the title of traditional king and give him a symbolic post in the upcoming administration, then the special status of Yogyakarta is just empty rhetoric. We want the ministry to improve the concept," Akbar said Monday.

Meanwhile, other parties agreed that Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and Sri Pakualam IX, Yogyakarta’s current governor and deputy governor, should still be allowed to hold their positions as king and governor at once.

"But we strongly encourage them to be freed from all political interests, because they should set a good example of impartiality," said Malik Haramain of the Nation Awakening Party (PKB).

The deliberation of the bill on Yogyakarta’s special status began almost five years ago, but has made little progress.

Last year, the bill and its deliberation came under fire after various elements suspected that the government wanted to remove the sultan from the national political stage.