JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – Former Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo has on Wednesday (Sep 18) undergone a fit and proper test conducted by the House Commission I (overseeing international affairs) for his nomination as Ambassador to
Germany. Protests, meanwhile, continue flowing against Fauzi’s nomination.
Talking to journalists, Fauzi tried to play down the recent protests launched against his nomination. “In democracy, that’s normal,” said Fauzi pointed to the protests against his nomination.
As scheduled 12 candidates for Indonesian Ambassadors would undergo a fit and proper test today. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has earlier proposed 22 names as Ambassadors to the House.
In the counterparts, the Indonesian Overseas Students Association in Germany (PPI) has sent its letter of rejection over Fauzi’s nomination to President SBY, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Head of the House
Commission I.
The rejection also came from a group, so-called Alliance Care for Indonesian Embassy in Germany (Berlin). This alliance has initiated a petition to reject Fauzi’s nomination as Ambassador to Germany. The online petition filed to President SBY was posted at Change.org since Friday, September 6th. As of today, the petition already gets 550 supporters.
The Alliance rejects Fauzi, among others, because of black campaign with religious, ethnic, and race (SARA) sentiments allegedly committed by Fauzi’s team in last year’s gubernatorial election in Jakarta. “It is improper to choose a figure who does not support multicultural and pluralism in Indonesia,” the petition argued. (haryantos@yosefardi.biz)