Candra Malik & Camelia Pasandaran, Yogyakarta – First Jakarta ruffled feathers in the special territory of Yogyakarta by pushing for the direct election of the governor there instead of the traditional appointment. Now it is causing confusion with a proposal to extend the governor's term by two years.

The current governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, and his deputy governor, Prince Pakualam, are due to see their terms end on Oct. 9. But the Home Affairs Ministry is now talking about the possibility of extending their terms to Oct. 9, 2013.

"Jakarta is caught in a web of complexity that it created," Joyokusumo, a younger brother of the sultan, told the Jakarta Globe. "They themselves created the problem and now they are at a loss to find a solution," he said, referring to the central government. "They fell victim to their own political engineering."

Joyokusumo said he believed Jakarta was now thinking about extending the terms because of the unlikelihood that it would be able to pass the controversial bill on the special status of Yogyakarta by the end of the year.

The draft bill seeks to do away with some of Yogyakarta's privileges as a special region, a status it received for its key role in the country's independence fight.

Among the privileges it would scrap is the direct appointment of the reigning sultan as governor, and the head of the minor house of Pakualaman as deputy governor.

The central government said governors should be elected, including in Yogyakarta, raising the ire of residents in the region, where the sultan is revered by much of the population.

The Yogyakarta Legislative Council has said that it will ignore any attempt by Jakarta to do away with the system of direct appointment for governor and deputy governor.

Janu Ismadi, deputy chairman of the provincial council, said the extension of the two leaders' terms had been recommended by the director general of regional autonomy and the director in charge of assisting regional heads at the Home Affairs Ministry, during a consultation meeting with Yogyakarta's provincial legislature this month.

However, the legislature has said it will settle for nothing less than Jakarta backing down on its attempt to change the system of direct appointment.

The chairman of the legislature, Yoeke Agung Indra Laksana, said until that happened they were not interested in implementing the recommendations of the ministry.

"We are sticking to the aspirations of the people, that the sultan be automatically appointed as governor," he said. "We made a decision on this issue during a plenary session on December 18, 2010, and our vote was unanimous."

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi told the Globe that extending the term of the sultan was not a new idea. Gamawan, a staunch proponent of gubernatorial elections in Yogyakarta, said extending the terms was part of the preparations for the implementation of the law on the special status of Yogyakarta if it is passed.

"It is part of the draft bill," the minister said on Monday. "If the bill is passed, we will need preparation time in order to implement the law."

Gamawan said the term of the sultan would be extended for two years, which would be about the amount of preparation time required to put the law in place. "The bill is still in the deliberation stage at the House," he said. "Once again, extending the term is not a new policy."