Minister Tjahjo says the regent sent the letter to "wrong party".
ome Minister Tjahjo Kumolo confirmed on Sunday that Mandailing Natal Regent Dahlan Hasan Nasution composed a resignation letter addressed to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the ministry, but Tjahjo said the reason was "unusual".
"Yes, he wrote the letter," Tjahjo told journalists. "But he sent it to the wrong party. It was supposed to be sent to the regional representatives council and then forwarded to the Home Ministry via gubernatorial letter,” he said.
Tjahjo said the reason behind his request was unusual and also "hurt the public who directly elected him”.
Read also: Regent resigns after Prabowo wins in Mandailing Natal
Dahlan won the regional leader election in 2015, garnering more than 103,000 votes, about 56 percent of the total. It is his second term as regent. His background was not that of a politician but of a civil servant, Tjahjo said.
Dahlan's letter, in which he said he was asking to resign because he had not made incumbent presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo win in the regency despite successful developments in the region, went viral on social media on Sunday. Dahlan himself had confirmed the letter.
Tjahjo said he would summon Dahlan and North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi to a meeting because the cited reason for his request could be just a "blunder" on Dahlan's part. (evi)
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