Jakarta – North Sumatra Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho has come under fire over an allegation of polygamy, with pictures circulating of the politician from a conservative Islamic party in intimate poses with a woman who is not his wife.
"We suspect that Gatot has more than one wife, for which he must resign," Azhari Sinik, the executive director of the Independent Monitoring Institute for North Sumatra Development, or LIPPSU, said on Wednesday as quoted by Waspada.co.id.
The issue has sparked popular outrage, with university students protesting outside the governor's office in Medan on Monday, brandishing the pictures of Gatot with the unnamed woman.
It has also given fresh impetus to the provincial legislature's long-running campaign to hold the governor to account over corruption allegations. The legislature, which has toyed for the past year with plans to summon Gatot to testify in the matter, finally voted on Tuesday to call him in next week.
Syamsul Hilal, a councilor, said that if it was true that Gatot had more than one wife, then it amounted to a violation of the code of conduct for public officials, for which he could potentially be impeached.
Gatot has not responded to the allegations, but his party, the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, most of whose top officials including chairman Anis Matta are either known or widely suspected of being polygamists, says the rumors are true.
"I was informed about three months ago from a colleague in the PKS that Gatot had married again," Hidayatullah, the PKS chairman in the provincial legislature, said on Tuesday as quoted by Tribunnews.com. "I personally believe it to be true," he added.
He added that the practice of polygamy was common among PKS politicians, but that most of them kept it under wraps because of the impact it could have on the Islamic party's image.
Polygamy is permitted in Indonesia under the 1974 Marriage Law, but only under very specific circumstances, with public officials discouraged, though not prohibited, from taking more than one wife.
Supporters of the governor contend that the issue was only raised as a politically expedient means to fast-track the summons from the legislature.
Gandi Parapat, the coordinator of the Medan-based Indonesian Political and Legal Monitoring Center, or PMPHI, said on Wednesday that Gatot was a "clean leader" and that any personal issues must be kept separate from his professional track record.
"If Gatot was indeed involved in a graft scandal, the case would have been investigated a long ago by the Attorney General's Office or the police," Gandi told the Jakarta Globe. "The allegations against him are politicized; maybe there are those who want to see him fall," he added.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/north-sumatra-governor-pks-stalwart-polygamy-row/