Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JAKARTA3161
2006-03-10 00:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

NORTH SUMATRA GOVERNOR NAMED DESPITE ALLEGATIONS

Tags:  PGOV PREL KDEM ID 
pdf how-to read a cable
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100020Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0907
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 9175
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3140
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 9672
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0687
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAWJB/DOJ WASHDC
RHHJJAA/JICPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUCXNMC/NATMARINTCEN WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJB/DOJ WASHDC//ICITAP//
RUENAAA/CNO WASHDC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
RUWGTCH/JIATF WEST//J3/J5//
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 003161 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AIDAC

DEPARTMENT PASS USTR KATZ
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/IET, INR/EAP and INL
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID
USAID FOR ANE/EAA, J. Kunder and R. Cavitt
Treasury for IA -- Anna Jewell
NSC for Holly Morrow

Embassy Jakarta Medan Affairs Office # 10, 2005

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ID
SUBJECT: NORTH SUMATRA GOVERNOR NAMED DESPITE ALLEGATIONS
HE FORGED EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIALS


REFTELS: (A) 05 JAKARTA 013656
(B) 05 Jakarta 008751
(C) 04 Jakarta 012815
(D) 05 Jakarta 008760
(E) 05 Jakarta 005561
(F) 04 Jakarta 005895

Summary
-------
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 003161

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AIDAC

DEPARTMENT PASS USTR KATZ
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/IET, INR/EAP and INL
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID
USAID FOR ANE/EAA, J. Kunder and R. Cavitt
Treasury for IA -- Anna Jewell
NSC for Holly Morrow

Embassy Jakarta Medan Affairs Office # 10, 2005

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ID
SUBJECT: NORTH SUMATRA GOVERNOR NAMED DESPITE ALLEGATIONS
HE FORGED EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIALS


REFTELS: (A) 05 JAKARTA 013656
(B) 05 Jakarta 008751
(C) 04 Jakarta 012815
(D) 05 Jakarta 008760
(E) 05 Jakarta 005561
(F) 04 Jakarta 005895

Summary
--------------

1. (SBU) North Sumatra Deputy Governor Rudolf Pardede will
become Acting Governor of North Sumatra on March 10, months
after former Governor Rizul Nurdin's unfortunate death. The
announcement of his appointment came after several weeks of
increased activity in the investigation of Pardede's alleged
spurious educational qualifications. The Chief of Police
pledged to complete his investigation soon, though not
necessarily before Pardede becomes governor. Pardede
becomes Acting Governor in a weakened political position,
with his own party split and pressure on him from opposition
parties. Pardede seems well disposed to the U.S., and we
expect to work closely with him. End Summary.

New Governor Named, Finally
--------------


2. (U) According to a March 2 announcement by Indonesian
Home Minister Mohammad Ma'ruf, North Sumatra Deputy Governor
Rudolf Pardede (Indonesia Democratic Party -- Struggle (PDI-
P)) will become Acting Governor of North Sumatra on March
10, thus ending months of speculation and jockeying among
the North Sumatra political class. Ma'ruf's announcement
came two weeks after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
reportedly issued a Presidential Order naming Pardede to the
position. Although media accounts reported on a
Presidential Order issued in mid-February, no North Sumatra
Provincial Assembly (DPRD) members saw the Order required to
appoint an Acting Governor.


3. (U) After the Air Mandala crash on September 5, 2005 that
killed, among others, North Sumatra Governor Teungku Rizul
Nurdin (refs B and C),North Sumatra waited months for an
Acting Governor. Before the February Presidential Order,
speculation on possible candidates included former GOLKAR

gubernatorial candidates Chairuman Harahap and Amrun Daulay
and former GOLKAR Deputy Governor Abdul Wahab Dalimunthe
(ref A).


4. (SBU) Darwin Nasution, head of the small but well-
connected Pancasila Patriot Party, said several likely
candidates for Governor in 2008 such as Medan Mayor Abdillah
(ref B),North Sumatra Golkar Chairman Ali Umri (ref C) and
Regent of Langkat Syamsul Arifin (reftel) did not seem
sufficiently prepared for the Governorship this year.
Abdillah exhausted available financial support in his 2005
reelection campaign; Umri has gotten caught up in intraparty
disputes as well as a scandal from his period as Mayor of
the nearby city of Binjai; and Arifin remains some distance
from lining up a cadre of solid supporters. (Note: These
candidates are all nationalist Muslims like Nasution
himself, but one could have said the same about another
likely candidate, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) provincial

JAKARTA 00003161 002 OF 003


assembly member Sigit Pramono (ref D),a Muslim whose
politics bear a more religious stamp. Pramono, Vice Mayor
candidate on the ticket which opposed Abdillah's reelection
bid, is still getting over his party's weak showing in that
race. End note.)

Why So Long?
--------------


5. (U) The announcement of the Presidential Order came after
several weeks of increased activity in the investigation of
Pardede's alleged spurious educational qualifications (Ref
A). Opponents early on accused the Pardede of falsifying
his academic record to qualify as a candidate for Deputy
Governor. Dubbed "ijazah-gate" (from the Indonesian word
for diploma, "ijazah"),the allegations remained unresolved
during Rizal Nurdin's tenure. Immediately after Rizal
Nurdin's death, Muslim politicians in North Sumatra looked
for a way to block Pardede's (a Christian) appointment as
Acting Governor. What normally should have proven a routine
appointment became a prolonged political process. Political
groups in North Sumatra's Provincial Assembly (DPRD) raised
anew questions of Pardede's fitness, and the pressure seemed
to delay announcement from Jakarta on Rizal Nurdin's
successor.


6. (U) Without an Acting Governor, Pardede assumed most of
the responsibilities of the Governor position without the
title. He instituted the new minimum wage in December,
submitted a budget, and interacted with DPRD as the chief
executive. The investigation into his educational
credentials quietly faded, and opposition to Pardede's
appointment fizzled over time as no other candidate emerged
around whom anti-Rudolf forces could coalesce.

Investigation Intensifies Prior to Announcement
-------------- --


7. (U) News reports on the revitalization of the
investigation broke over the February 4 - 5 weekend, and the
North Sumatra press ran headlines announcing Rudolf's
predicament. In the days following, Rudolf went from an
object of investigation to a suspect. As former North
Sumatra DPRD and PDI-P (Pardede's party) member Ronald
Naibaho told us, "In Indonesia it is easy to move from
witness to suspect to arrestee." Each day brought new lurid
headlines and stories detailing the police investigation of
Pardede.


8. (SBU) Chief Editor of the prominent North Sumatran daily
Analisa, Soffyan told us Pardede's attempt to replace a
Muslim Provincial Secretary with a Christian led to
increased activity in the investigation, prompted by Islamic
political parties in DPRD. Vice Chair of the North Sumatra
Investment and Promotion Board Nurlisa Ginting attributed
the delay in investigating Pardede to the lack of a
presidential order. She explained that police could not act
before such an order and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
issued an order to investigate only recently. Sofyian also
noted the need for a presidential decree in order to take a
Deputy Governor before a court.


JAKARTA 00003161 003 OF 003



9. (SBU) Gatot Pujo Nugroho, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS),
told us that in fact PKS had approached the North Sumatra
Chief of Police (KAPOLDA) after allowing him enough time to
settle in as new KAPOLDA. (NOTE: In December 2005,
provincial chiefs of police underwent reassignment
throughout Indonesia. End Note.) Nugroho insisted an
investigation could be conducted 60 days after an initial
request even in the absence of a presidential decree. The
KAPOLDA pledged to complete his investigation soon, though
not necessarily before Pardede becomes governor.

Neither a Lame Duck nor a Screaming Eagle
--------------


10. (SBU) Pardede becomes Acting Governor in a weakened
political position. Pardede's own PDI-P has split into pro-
and anti-Pardede factions. PKS intends to keep up the
pressure on Pardede, believing it dangerous for North
Sumatra to have an uneducated Governor. Pramono reported
that PKS approached Home Minister Ma'ruf to complain about
Pardede's appointment as Acting Governor and got rebuffed.


11. (SBU) The Pancasila Patriot Party's Nasution,
nonetheless, told us he and most of his fellow Muslim
political leaders would accept and work with Pardede as
Acting Governor. He said they originally did not want
Pardede to become Acting Governor because he and family
members are outspoken Christians who participate in
missionary activities (ref A). Nasution said he and his
fellow Muslim politicians expected Rudolf's unresolved
Ijazah-gate scandal would keep him from rocking the boat and
alienating the province's political establishment, or
promoting the interests of his fellow Christian politicians
as many believe he has done during his years as leader of
North Sumatra's PDI-P (ref F). He said the scandal could
serve as a club to keep him from getting out of line.

Comment
--------------


12. (SBU) Now that Pardede will become Acting Governor, the
investigation of his academic credentials will likely remain
a thorn in his side, but one he can live with. Even if the
KAPOLDA referred the case to the prosecutor, the wheels of
justice could spin slowly enough to allow Pardede to finish
his term. The opposition parties in the DPRD can accept
Pardede as Acting Governor because of his perceived
weakness. The possible candidates for Governor will use
Ijazah-gate to remind voters that Pardede is a "pampered
boy," who never had a rightful claim to his position.
Pardede, for his part, has grown in the position. Initial
worries -- even by some in his own party -- that he had
neither the qualifications nor the inclination to be
Governor have quieted as Pardede has shown he can handle the
job. Pardede seems well disposed to the U.S., and we expect
to work closely with him. End Comment.

Pascoe