17 governors are graft suspects

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/17/2011

Seventeen of 33 governors in the country have been named graft suspects, Minister of Home Affairs Gamawan Fauzi revealed Monday.

The last case involved the Bengkulu governor, who was allegedly involved in corruption of land and building taxes worth Rp 23 billion (US$2.4 million).

“I signed the letter [to lay him off] two days ago. Hopefully in two or three days the President will issue a letter to lay him off,” he said in a meeting with regional representatives in Jakarta.

He said that two governors, Ismeth Abdullah of Riau province and Syamsul Arifin of North Sumatra, were still facing legal processes due to corruption charges, kompas.com reported. 

“Today, 155 regional heads became suspects. But I think there will be more. Every week there is a new suspect. Three months in the office and they become suspects…,” he said.

Gamawan, a former West Sumatra governor, said to become a governor, one should spend a lot of money, between Rp 60 and 100 billion. However, the highest monthly salary of a governor, like the Jakarta governor, was only Rp 90 million, he added.