Camelia Pasandaran & Ulma Haryanto – Syamsul Arifin is still officially the governor of North Sumatra despite being sentenced to 30 months in prison on Monday for corruption.
The home minister, Gawawan Fauzi, said his ministry was waiting for the completion of all the legal processes before issuing the order to officially remove Syamsul from his position. The minister did not say how long this might take, nor did he specify what further processes needed to be completed.
"We're waiting for the final court ruling," he said on Tuesday. "If all parties accept the ruling, then we will process it. As they're still studying the ruling, nothing is yet definitive."
Syamsul was temporarily suspended from the job in March. The Anti-Corruption Court in Jakarta sentenced him on Monday to 30 months in jail for embezzling Rp 98.7 billion ($11.5 million) while head of Langkat district from 2000-07. It also fined him Rp 150 million. Prosecutors had been seeking a five-year sentence and a fine of Rp 500 million.
Hasril Hertanto, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday that once a state official was found guilty by a court, then by law, that official should be removed from office. "As he has already been convicted by the court, there is no longer any legal basis for him to be governor," Hasril said.
He speculated that when Gamawan said he was waiting for a final court ruling before issuing a letter of dismissal for Syamsul, what the minister meant was that he was waiting for all the administrative processes to be completed.
This could entail drafting a letter to appoint a replacement for Syamsul or holding elections for a new governor, Hasril said. "The letter is used to appoint someone to replace him, or to call for a new election," he said. "But the [court] ruling already amounts to Syamsul having been dishonorably dismissed."
Syamsul, who suffered a heart attack during his trial, was found to have collaborated with others to disburse money from state coffers for expenses not included in the regional budget.
The 58-year-old had to be placed in a medically induced coma for several days in June because of complications from the heart attack and heard the verdict in a wheelchair.
According to the court, the embezzled money was used by Syamsul's family, to purchase 37 cars for Langkat district councilors and to bribe officials from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and other financial controllers.