NORTH SUMATRA GOVERNOR NAMED DESPITE ALLEGATIONS

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