Line Dance

IT is difficult not to be suspicious when several regional chiefs resign at the same time as their families prepare to run in elections to replace them. For example, the tenures of Pekalongan Mayor Basyir Ahmad and Ogan Ilir Regent Marwadi Yahya are not scheduled to end until August this year, but both men have insisted on 'taking early retirement' to pave the way for their wives and children to step forward as their replacements.

In Sibolga, North Sumatra, Deputy Mayor Marudut Situmorang revealed there had been attempts to stop his wife from running as mayor. The local legislative council (DPRD) has yet to announce Marudut's resignation despite the looming deadline for his wife's nomination as mayoral candidate at the end of June. In East Kutai, Regent Irsan Noor resigned long before the ruckus of nominations for the new executive began. His wife, Nurbaiti Noor, currently a DPRD member, plans to run for the seat vacated by her husband. They have served for an average of two terms.

June 30, 2015