"I am ready to resign from Golkar party after the law is enacted. I have already received the copy," he said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X expressed his readiness to resign from Golkar party following the passage of the bill on the administration of Yogyakarta special region here on Thursday.

"I am ready to resign from Golkar party after the law is enacted. I have already received the copy," he said in a television interview by a private station.

He said the Golkar party had agreed that as a governor he may not become a political party member.

Sri Sultan who is the governor of Yogyakarta hailed the passage of the bill.

He said "although as a governor Sultan may not become a political party member the new law would not reduce his political right as an Indonesian citizen."

He said the post of a governor is a political position so that all the decisions made are political decisions.

The Deputy Chairperson of the Yogyakarta Regional Representative Council, Ratu Hemas, who is also the wife of Sultan Hamengkubuwono, had also said that the passage of the bill met the wish of the Yogyakarta people.

"It met the target. The government has expected that it would be passed at the end of August," she said.

She said all the clauses in the bill had met the wish of the people of Yogyakarta namely that Sultan belongs to the people and therefore must be named governor automatically.

Regarding the clause that bans Sultan from being a political party member she said that it is in the interest of all political parties.

"It is better for Sultan to stay our of political parties as he does not belong to one party only," she said.

A Golkar Party figure said Sultan`s resignation would not be a problem because people have considered Sultan as a party elder.

"I think it would not be a problem as people especially those in Yogyakarta have considered Sultan as a Golkar Party elder," Bambang Soesatyo, the party`s deputy treasurer, said to ANTARA.

He said the party has no specific strategy to maintain the loyalty of party supporters in the region following Sultan`s resignation.

"Sultan resigns because he is not allowed to be partisan by law. But it is not a problem because Sultan family are all Golkar. Their blood is Golkar," he said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012