Usman Ja'far

Usman Ja'far (10 September 1951 – 15 May 2015) was an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the Governor of West Kalimantan between 2003 and 2008, and as a member of the People's Representative Council from 2009 until his death in 2015.

Usman Ja'far
Usman Ja'far as governor
Governor of West Kalimantan
In office
13 January 2003 – 14 January 2008
Preceded byAspar Aswin
Succeeded byCornelis
Member of the People's Representative Council
In office
1 October 2009 – 15 May 2015
Succeeded byFirmansyah Mardanus[1]
Personal details
Born(1951-09-10)10 September 1951
Sekadau, Kalimantan, Indonesia
Died15 May 2015(2015-05-15) (aged 63)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Political partyUnited Development Party

Early life and education

Usman Ja'far was born in Sekadau, today part of West Kalimantan, on 10 September 1951. His father died when he was five, and he completed elementary and middle school in Sekadau. When he enrolled at high school in Pontianak, he lived with his uncle Abdussjukur, an Indonesian National Party politician who at that time served as speaker of the provincial legislature. His uncle was relocated to Jakarta after six months when he was elected to the People's Representative Council (DPR), the lower house of Indonesia's parliament, and Usman Ja'far followed him and continued his education there. He then enrolled at a management academy, graduating in 1974.[2][3]

Retail career

By 1974, he was working as an accounting staff in Jakarta, being promoted to his company's accounting and purchasing department by 1977. He was then hired as general manager of PT Pasaraya Tosersajaya, a department store company, where he worked from 1981 to 1991. In 1992, he was appointed as a director of the company.[4] It was one of the largest retail chains in Indonesia at the time.[5] He was eventually appointed to lead a number of companies owned by businessman Abdul Latief,[6] and also as the president director of Lativi.[7] He was particularly well-known in the retail industry, and was considered a pioneer in the market.[2][3]

Political career

Governor of West Kalimantan

He entered politics and ran for governor of West Kalimantan in 2002, with the endorsement of the United Development Party. In the voting by the West Kalimantan Regional People's Representative Council, Usman Ja'far and his running mate Laurentius Herman Kadir managed to secure 32 of 54 votes to win the election.[7] He was the first locally born governor to be elected in West Kalimantan in nearly forty years.[8] They were sworn in on 13 January 2003.[9] The pair represented the ethnic composition of the province: Usman Ja'far was an ethnically Malay Muslim, while Kadir was a Dayak Christian.[10] In his reelection bid, however, he lost to Cornelis in the 2007 direct election, winning 659,279 votes to Cornelis' 930,679.[11]

People's Representative Council

After the end of his tenure as governor, Usman Ja'far successfully ran for election to the DPR in the 2009 election, being elected as a representative of West Kalimantan with 81,963 votes.[4] He was elected for his second term in 2014.[12] During his tenure in DPR, he had served as a member of the council's honour board.[13]

Death

Usman Ja'far died on 15 May 2015 at Jakarta's Medistra Hospital from heart disease after several days of treatment. He was buried the same day at San Diego Hills cemetery.[14] Shortly prior to his death, Usman Ja'far had been investigated as a suspect for graft. Under suspicion of misusing Rp 22 billion in social aid funds, Usman Ja'far was questioned for 12 hours by police, before falling comatose after a bypass surgery several days after in March 2015.[15][16]

References
  1. "Sidang Paripurna DPR Lantik Tiga Anggota PAW" (in Indonesian). 12 October 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  2. "Profil - Usman Ja'far". Merdeka (in Indonesian). Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  3. "Pulang Membangun Kampung". tokoh.id (in Indonesian). 11 January 2003. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. Wajah DPR dan DPD, 2009-2014: latar belakang pendidikan dan karier (in Indonesian). Penerbit Buku Kompas. 2010. ISBN 978-979-709-471-3.
  5. Indonesian Mining and Mineral Prospective Industry. Fery Agung Corporation. 2003. p. 203. ISBN 978-979-96927-3-3.
  6. "Anggota Komisi VI DPR Usman Jafar Meninggal Dunia". dpr.go.id (in Indonesian). 15 May 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  7. "Usman Djafar Gubernur Kalbar". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). 16 December 2002. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  8. Setijadi, Charlotte (September 24, 2018). "West Kalimantan Gubernatorial Election 2018: Identity Politics Proves Decisive" (PDF). ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  9. Suara Muhammadiyah (in Indonesian). Vol. 88. Suara Muhammadiyah. 2003. H. USMAN JA'FAR Dewan Penyantun Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak Dilantik sebagai Gubernur Kepala Daerah Kalimantan Barat Periode 2003-2008 oleh Menteri Dalam Negeri atas nama Presiden RI Pada Hari Senin , 13 Januari 2003
  10. Ode, M. D. La (2 May 2012). Etnis Cina Indonesia dalam Politik: Politik Etnis Cina dan Singkawang di era Reformasi 1998-2008 (in Indonesian). Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia. p. 21. ISBN 978-979-461-817-2.
  11. "Cornelis akan Ditetapkan Sebagai Pemenang Pilkada Kalbar". detiknews (in Indonesian). 27 November 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  12. "Cek di Sini Daftar 560 Anggota DPR 2014-2019". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). 15 May 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  13. "Ketua Komisi Diminta Usir Anggota yang Merokok Saat Rapat". Okezone (in Indonesian). 15 March 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  14. Kusumadewi, Anggi (15 May 2015). "Anggota DPR Usman Ja'far Wafat". CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  15. Wibowo, Kukuh S. (15 May 2015). "Usman Jaffar Meninggal, Status Tersangka Korupsi Gugur". Tempo (in Indonesian). Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  16. "Mantan Gubernur Kalbar Koma". Tribun Pontianak (in Indonesian). 26 March 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
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