However, his term was cut short in 2006 due to allegations of election irregularities and subsequent legal battles, leading to his dismissal.
After his dismissal, Saleh Manaf ran unsuccessfully for vice governor of Aceh in 2006 and for regent of Bekasi in 2007.
Saleh's son, Almaida Rosa Putra, is currently a member of the West Java Regional Representative Council.
Upon completing high school in 1970, Saleh studied at the Agrarian Academy in Semarang until he received a diploma in 1975.
Throughout his career in the government, Saleh attended a course on management in 1990, recovery program in 1992, land administration in 1995, and higher leadership course in 2001.
The accusation was later disproved after investigation by the army intelligence service showed that most of Saleh's family member in Meulaboh worked as civil servants.
The Bekasi military district commander, Benny Susianto [id], summoned the organization that spread the rumors for further clarification.
At the start of his term, Saleh cancelled several gas deals,[10] which resulted in him being reported to the police by one of the affected companies.
[12] At the end of 2004, Saleh sent a letter to the Ministry of Environment, urging them to handle the illegal dumping of iron waste in Bekasi.
[14][15] A month after his inauguration, on 10 February 2004 Wikanda sued the Bekasi local council to the West Java administrative court for approving Saleh's election as regent.
[16] Saleh was officially dismissed as regent on 16 February 2006, with regional secretary Herry Koesaeri as his temporary replacement.
[20] Saleh then filed a judicial review at the Constitutional Court of Indonesia, with Adnan Buyung Nasution as his lawyer.
Nasution claimed that the minister's decree was legally flawed, as Saleh was not subordinate to the regent and therefore he has no need to seek permission.
[2] One of their children, Almaida Rosa Putra, is a member of the West Java Regional Representative Council and the husband of Neneng Hassanah Yasin, Bekasi's regent from 2012 to 2018.