Trimarjono

In February 1967, Trimarjono was appointed as the acting provincial secretary of East Java.[8] Trimarjono, who at that time held the rank of major,[9] replaced career bureaucrat Juwono Asparin. Juwono's dismissal was protested by members of the Nahdlatul Ulama in the East Java parliament, who had supported his appointment in 1964.[10]

Trimarjono was immediately promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel upon his appointment.[8] His appointment as provincial secretary was made definitive around several years later[11] and he received a rank promotion during this time.[12] As the second highest position—prior to the formation of the vice governor—in the provincial government, Trimarjono became the acting governor of East Java for several times.[1]

Trimarjono was known for standing in front of the governor's office lobby every morning. In order to keep up with his habit, he always arrived at work before four in the morning. Due to his habit, Trimarjono was nicknamed the dedemit (haunter), the macan (tiger), and the Joko Dolog (a popular Buddhist statue in East Java) of the governor's office.[13] He also received the nickname Napoleon due to his physical appearance.[14]

Around 1984, the governor nominated Trimarjono as the second vice governor of East Java alongside Soeparmanto.[14] His nomination was approved by the local parliament and became the second vice governor on 25 May 1985.[12][3] Despite being already installed, Trimarjono did not receive his task as second vice governor until June 1985, when the governor decided to assign him on matters related to social welfare.[15] Accordingly, he was promoted to the rank of commodore on the same year. He officially retired from the military on 12 August 1988.[16]

As vice governor, Trimarjono led efforts to combat the widespread pollution of East Java rivers by factories. In order to ensure that the factories comply with government environment standards, he would often call factory owners to a meeting and make sudden visits to the factories. Aside from these, Trimarjono traverse through East Javanese rivers to see the backsides of the factory, where he could see whether the factories have already installed the required treatment facilities. Factories who failed to comply were announced by the local press and continuous failure would result in force closure by the government.[17]

The companies being pressured by Trimarjono would retaliate by bribing or threatening journalists and government officials in order not to expose their names. Factory owners who were supported by powerful politicians in the central government would seek help from them in order to prevent the local government from pressuring them. Pressures could also came from inside the bureaucracy, where lower level officials refused to implement the superior's instruction.[17]

On one occasion, Trimarjono had to face the owner of a paper factory who was backed by president Soeharto. Trimarjono threatened him back by stating that if the factory did not comply, the authorities under him would not provide assistance. Eventually, after being taken to the court, the paper company installed the required waste management facility. According to Trimarjono, the factory "regarded him as a ‘saviour’ for forcing them to install proper pollution control equipment" and sponsored his biography after his retirement.[17][13]

Trimarjono was replaced from his post as vice governor by Harwin Wasisto on 27 December 1990.[18] He was elected to the East Java Regional People's Representative Council (the regional parliament) from Golkar in the 1992 Indonesian legislative election and became its speaker. During his tenure, Trimarjono promoted the existence of the speakers and deputy speaker of the parliament as a "servant" rather than a boss for the parliament members. He vehemently opposed the existence of an interparliamentary cooperation body, fearing it might isolate him from the inner workings of the parliament. He proposed a "problem-based approach" by utilizing commissions inside the parliament. However, his proposal was opposed by a majority of Golkar parliament members.[4]