Jakarta warns local leader who blocked runway

Jakarta warns local leader who blocked runway

Thursday, December 26, 2013 – 03:00

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja

The Straits Times

JAKARTA – A local leader in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province, angry that he could not get an airline ticket to fly home, ordered a blockade at his airport to prevent the plane from landing.The incident last Saturday sparked an uproar, highlighting a negative impact of the country’s decision to decentralise the government 15 years ago. Since then, there have been reports of locally elected leaders abusing their authority.

The Indonesian government yesterday ticked off Mr Marianus Sae, the chief of Ngada regency, for ordering the airport closure, which it said was unlawful and could endanger passengers.

Mr Marianus was trying to get a Merpati Nusantara Airlines flight home from Kupang, the provincial capital, to attend a last-minute but important local assembly meeting.

Unable to get on the flight, he telephoned his team and staff in Ngada and ordered them to drive to Ngada’s airport and park their cars on the runway so that the Merpati plane would not be able to land.

The action closed the airport for about two hours and forced the Merpati plane to turn back.

It was revealed that minutes before the plane took off, Merpati officials had told Mr Marianus they managed to get him a seat on the plane, but he declined the offer, saying he had already bought a ticket from another airline.

Defending his actions, Mr Marianus told suarapembaruan.com: “I begged for five hours… and the answer was ‘the flight is full’.”

He said he pleaded with the airline because the Ngada assembly meeting had been convened to approve the regency’s proposed development spending budget.

Some of the funds would go towards improving Ngada’s Turolelo So’a airport facilities, which Merpati makes use of.

He saw the airline’s refusal to help him as tantamount to not supporting his regency’s economic development.

Consequently, Merpati must be taught a lesson, Mr Marianus told the tvOne station yesterday.

“I missed the plenary session and, consequently, the fund disbursement to Ngada regency had to be delayed,” he added.

Mr Saleh Husin, a member of Indonesia’s parliamentary transport committee, said Mr Marianus breached Indonesia’s aviation law and his action could jeopardise lives and flight safety.

“The fact that such an incident happened has tarnished the image of the Indonesian aviation sector,” Mr Saleh told The Straits Times.

“Local police should have acted to end the blockade.”

Indonesia has 502 regencies and cities spread across its 34 provinces. Decentralisation, which involves the devolution of a range of powers to city and regency authorities following the fall of President Suharto in 1998, has delivered mixed results.

Several regions, such as Surabaya and Solo in Java and Manado in North Sulawesi, have produced good administrators, while others have seen corrupt and abusive officials at the helm.

One in three active mayors and regents are under investigation for suspected offences, mostly involving corruption. Local regents and mayors have been directly elected since 2005.

Charges of misuse of power

Recent incidents at Indonesian airports involving local leaders who allegedly abused their authority.

Oct 28

Ombudsman commission deputy chief Azlaini Agus allegedly assaulted a ground staff member at Sultan Syarif Kasim II airport in Pekanbaru, Riau, after a flight delay caused by Mount Sinabung’s eruption.

The flight was headed to Medan, North Sumatra.

She denied the allegation.

July 7

The head of Papua’s Wamena airport, Mr Junikar Pakonda, and an air traffic control staff member were allegedly beaten up after rejecting a request from several senior officials from the Jayawijaya regency.

The officials had asked the airport to push a flight schedule to a time beyond the airport’s daily operating hours.

June 12

Mr Zakaria Umar, head of Bangka Belitung’s Regional Investment Coordinating Board, did not like how a stewardess had told him to switch off his mobile phone as the plane was about to take off.

He allegedly slapped her after the plane landed.