LAKSAMANA.Net, April 18, 2004 11:58 PM
Review - Politics: Slim Hopes for Mega Center
Laksamana.Net - The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) announced
Tuesday (13/4/04) it would establish a campaign team called the Mega Center to
boost her chances of retaining the presidency for their leader Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Senior PDI-P member Kwik Kwan Gie, for one, was highly sceptical of its chances of
success. "I know nothing about the Mega Center, I'm not part of it. But how can you
convince Indonesian people to vote for one figure in such a short time?" Kwik said
Thursday. "Maybe they should have hired a shaman who can put a spell on voters to
ensure our victory."
However, another senior PDI-P figure, Manpower Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea, said he
was ready to serve in the Center.
"There are many people who did not vote for the PDI-P but are willing to vote for
Megawati. I am ready to help Megawati secure a victory," Wea said.
All Cabinet ministers from PDI-P are required to be involved with the center, according
to Wea. PDI-P deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung Wibowo said the center
would consist of Cabinet ministers as well as party members.
Though the vote count is still being compiled almost two weeks after the April 5
general elections over 89 million out of a possible 147 million votes have been counted
electronically, Golkar Party was in the lead with 20.99% per cent of the total vote,
with incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P) trailing behind with 19.67%.
The General Election Commission (KPU) web site was hacked on Saturday (17/4/04),
making an up-to-date total impossible to obtain.
Twenty-four political parties contested the polls, with five parties winning between 6 to
12% of the vote and the others less than 2%.
Despite their poor performances compared with the 1999 polls, when PDI-P racked up
33.7% of the vote to win the top spot, with Golkar coming second with 22.5%, both
parties are likely to be the key players in the next coalition administration.
Anti-Megawati Protestors Arrested
Police on Thursday (15/4/04) arrested some 50 protestors, mainly youths, for insulting
Megawati during a protest rally.
The demonstrators, calling themselves the Alliance for People's Demand, staged an
anti-Megawati rally outside Jakarta's Borobudur Hotel, headquarters for the national
tabulation center for the general election.
Police said the youths were arrested for insulting the president and were detained for
questioning. The protesters had displayed posters of Megawati and Golkar chief
Akbar Tanjung, with black crosses on their faces.
Separately, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) leader Hidayat Nurwahid said a team of
lawyers was standing by to deal with a defamation lawsuit that the PDI-P has
threatened to file.
PDI-P plans to sue Hidayat for a statement attributed to him in the April 12 edition of
Tempo magazine, which quoted him as saying that Megawati took sides with "wong
licik" (connivers) instead of the poor.
Hidayat underlined that criticism was democratic and should not be consider as
insulting.
"We have appointed lawyers to represent us should the matter be brought to court, we
will abide by the legal process," Hidayat said during a visit to Cirebon, West Java.
Countdown to the Hot Seat
The country will hold its first ever direct presidential election on July 5, with a probable
run-off for the two top candidates on September 20.
May 1 - 7: Registration of presidential/vice presidential candidates with KPU
May 2 - 9: Administrative verification, including medical record
May 5 - 10: KPU announces the results of administrative screening
May 6 - 17: Presidential/vice presidential candidates are given opportunity to complete
required documents
May 7 - 18: Second administrative screening
May 19: KPU announces eligible presidential/vice presidential candidates
June 1 - July 1: Campaign period
July 2 - July 4: Cooling-off period
July 5: Election Day
Military (TNI) Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto on Thursday (15/4/04) appealed to troops
to refrain from taking part in the presidential elections, notwithstanding that the
amended Constitution permits military members to cast their votes in elections.
"There are soldiers assigned to assist officials who are running for president, and I
insist on keeping them away from politics so they remain neutral," Sutarto said, after
attending a coordinating meeting to discuss security preparations ahead of July 5.
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, who also attended the meeting, said the
police had already prepared seven units comprising about 800 police to protect
presidential and vice presidential candidates. They would be on service once the
General Election Commission (KPU) disclosed the candidates' names, he said.
Ba'asyir to be Grilled
The team building a new case against Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is focusing
on possible links to the Bali bombings and his alleged leadership of an al
Qaeda-linked militant group, police chief General Da'i Bachtiar said Friday (16/4/04).
The 65-year-old cleric is in jail for immigration offences and is due to be freed on April
30.
An appeal court overturned his original conviction for involvement with the al
Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group. However foreign governments remain
convinced that Ba'asyir led JI and have expressed concern at his imminent release.
National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Soedjono confirmed
Friday the police would charge Ba'asyir under Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism and
would summon him for questioning immediately.
Suyitno Landung, head of the national criminal investigation department, told reporters
police were focusing on what he said was Ba'asyir's leadership of a secretive group
blamed for the Bali and Marriott attacks. He did not mention JI by name.
"That organization is closed, secretive, and its documents will be evidence to indicate
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is its leader. We will interrogate him soon," Landung said.
Ba'asyir was arrested just after the Bali bombings, although he has never been named
a suspect in that atrocity. He has repeatedly denied links to JI or to terrorism.
Bachtiar said police had notified the Attorney General's office that a formal
investigation into Ba'asyir had begun.
On Monday supporters of Ba'asyir warned that attempts to link him to the Bali
bombings could spark conflict.
If police charge Ba'asyir with the Bali attack there would be "anger within the Muslim
community which could lead to conflicts," said Fauzan Al Anshori, a spokesman for
Ba'asyir's Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI).
Anshori was speaking to reporters after he and a score of other supporters met the
cleric at Jakarta's Salemba prison.
Police have said they would use testimony and statements from witnesses and
suspects detained in the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore to prove whether
Ba'asyir was involved in the Bali bombings and other terrorist acts.
"If the government tries to put ustadz (teacher) Ba'asyir back in court -- especially if
it's about the Bali bombing -- then Megawati and this government are clearly a lackey
of the United States," said Anshori.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa admitted Friday (16/4/04) that the US
had intervened in the case. "It is only natural to consider and interpret the US' steps
as an intervention in our domestic developments," he said.
Marty emphasized that the US “had politicized legal procedures in Indonesia and
such steps were counterproductive,” The Jakarta Post reported. He said US
Ambassador Ralph Boyce would be summoned to explain the US action but it was
unlikely Boyce would admit any interference.
Tanjung Looking Strong
Golkar leader Akbar Tanjung has secured the full backing of the party's Central
Executive Board (DPP) ahead of the presidential convention that will decide on the
sole presidential candidate.
"We have agreed to vote for Akbar during the convention because he has been able to
increase our party's votes (in the legislative election)," party deputy leader Mahadi
Sinambela announced on Thursday (15/4/04).
Under convention rules, the DPP accounts for just 18 votes, while regency branches
(DPD II) and provincial chapters account for 440 and 96 votes respectively.
Sinambela conceded that the DPP support would not automatically guarantee a win
for their man, but stressed that fellow party leaders wanted him to defeat other
candidates -- former military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, media baron Surya Paloh,
former Army Strategic Reserves (Kostrad) commander Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo
Subianto, businessman Aburizal Bakrie and Coordinating Minister for People's
Welfare Jusuf Kalla. Kalla (see above) is apparently considering withdrawing from the
Golkar field.
Convention chairman Slamet Effendy Yusuf said Thursday that committee members
were still discussing whether to extend the convention to a second round of voting or
not.
Slamet emphasized that all six presidential candidates had committed to supporting
the Golkar Party.
He said that all candidates had agreed that they would not accept offers from other
political parties to become their presidential candidates should they lose on Tuesday.
Golkar Tests the Water
Clearly confident of winning the legislative elections, Golkar is now looking for suitable
parties with which to forge a coalition for the upcoming presidential election and
decide on a running mate for the Golkar presidential ticket.
Sinambela said on Thursday (15/4/04) that the party would only approach parties that
were unlikely to nominate a candidate in the July 5 direct presidential election.
Sinambela said that Golkar leaders were optimistic their presidential candidate would
win a ticket to the second round of the presidential election, which is scheduled for
September 20.
"We are optimistic of going through to the second round. We will make the necessary
political moves," he said.
The National Awakening Party (PKB) and Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
may be approached in the search for a suitable running mate for Golkar's presidential
candidate, who will be chosen by the party's April 20 convention.
However, the PKB, which was founded by the country's largest Muslim organization,
the NU, has publicly announced that it will nominate former president Abdurrahman
"Gus Dur" Wahid in the July 5 presidential election.
Vice President Hamzah Haz's United Development Party (PPP), currently fourth in the
provisional tally, could join the coalition although it would not be able to contribute
significant support.
Separately, Golkar deputy secretary general Bomer Pasaribu said any coalition
should be built with a view to creating a strong and effective government.
Dividing political parties into three groups -- the leftist-nationalist parties, the
moderate-pluralistic parties, and the religious parties -- Pasaribu said Golkar would
benefit from its status as a moderate and pluralistic party.
"Golkar will play a pivotal role in any political coalition. Any coalition must comprise
three or four parties," he said.
Pasaribu said a coalition between Golkar and the newly established Democratic Party
would create a strong and effective government given the fact that the duo of Tanjung
and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would represent the Java and non-Java aspects, as
well as the civilian and military aspects.
Sinambela, however, said that an Akbar-Susilo duo seemed impossible as the former
Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Affairs would also be running for the
presidency.
He suggested that four figures would run for the country's top post -- current President
Megawati Sukarnoputri of the PDI-P, Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party
(PAN), Yudhoyono of the Democratic Party, and Akbar.
Sort it Out, say Judges
At the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday (15/4/04) a lawsuit filed by Kito
Irkhamni, a former aide of Attorney General M.A. Rachman, against Akbar Tanjung for
reneging on an under-the-table payment was quickly adjourned after judges told the
two sides to settle out of court.
"We'll give them 30 days to settle the case out of court," Presiding Judge Ida Bagus
Putu Madeg said.
Kito has filed the suit against Tanjung, who is also speaker of the House of
Representatives (DPR), for allegedly breaching an agreement to pay Rp1 billion
($114,000) for inside information about his corruption case.
Kito has stated that Tanjung asked him to convince judges that he (Tanjung) "made
no mistake in the case", which concerned misappropriation of funds worth Rp40 billion
from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
He also demanded that Tanjung pay Rp5 billion extra for failing to keep his promise.
Tanjung's lawyer, Amir Syamsuddin, said mediation attempts were common in civil
cases and that his client would obey the court order.
The two sides agreed to appoint Judge Asnahwati to assist in the mediation process.
He also demanded that Akbar pay Rp 5 billion extra for failing to keep his promise.
PKB may sue KPU
The National Awakening Party (PKB), which has so far won over 12% of the vote in
the provisional tally of the April 5 legislative election, has said that it will nominate
former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid for the presidential election on July 5.
PKB leader Alwi Shihab said on Wednesday (14/4/04) that requiring candidates to
have at least 50% of their sight, as has been proposed, would violate Law No. 23/2003
on presidential elections.
The General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Indonesian Doctors Association
(IDI) signed on Thursday (15/4/04).a memorandum of understanding that will allow the
IDI to examine presidential and vice presidential candidates.
IDI chairman Farid Anfasa Moeloek said the candidates had to pass both mental and
physical examinations to qualify for the election, scheduled for July 5.
The party may take legal action against the KPU. Wahid, who was impeached in July
2001, is nearly blind, which would prevent him from meeting the KPU's health
requirements for presidential and vice presidential candidates.
The PKB leader said PKB would still nominate Gus Dur as its candidate in the
upcoming presidential election.
Shihab said that should Gus Dur be prevented from contesting the presidential
election because of his health, the party would give him the authority to select his
replacement candidate.
Poor Participation in Election
Sixteen percent of registered voters were not able to exercise their rights to vote in the
April 5 legislative election because most could not obtain voter cards, non-government
organization the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) said Tuesday (13/4/04).
Cetro advisor Todung Mulya Lubis said the General Elections Commission (KPU) was
responsible for the low participation of voters in the election.
Results were culled from Cetro monitoring at 2,614 polling stations in Jakarta, Central
Java, North Sumatra, and South Kalimantan.
"We will push the Constitutional Court to make a breakthrough by ... issuing an edict
to urge the KPU to fulfil voters' rights," Todung said.
Cetro deputy executive director Hadar N. Gumay claimed the working committee for
polling stations (KPPS) had intentionally allowed about 5% of voters to use other
people's voter cards to punch ballot papers.
The committee had also allowed people without any voting cards to vote. The number
of voters without cards was estimated to be 20% of the total voters, Hadar said,
without giving further details.
"With such a poor management of the election, the KPU deserves to be (graded) a 'C',
while voters with their enthusiasm to vote should be given an 'A'," Hadar said.
Among other violations were the lack of KPPS members, a lack of reserved ballot
papers, the use of fake ballots and officials intimidating voters.
The People's Network for Indonesian Election Monitoring (JAMPPI) also alleged the
KPU had not managed the election professionally. JAMPPI deployed 12,897
volunteers to monitor the legislative elections.
Silalahi Ditched
Interim coordinating minister for political and security affairs Lt. Gen. (ret) Hari
Sabarno discharged the ministry's secretary, Lt. Gen. Sudi Silalahi Sudi, on Thursday
(15/4/04).
Sabarno dismissed speculation that the decision was made due to Silalahi's close
relationship with former minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who resigned from his
post last month after claiming he had been sidelined by Megawati.
There have been claims that Maj. Gen. M. Yassin, a deputy on political affairs, and
Silalahi were setting up a political network for Yudhoyono but Sabarno said the
mandatory retirement age was the only reason for the dismissal.
"It is the right time to begin the process of replacing him," Sabarno said.
Sabarno said the ministry was mulling over three choices to replace Silalahi and did
not rule out the possibility the successor would be a civilian.
State/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo said Megawati would issue a decree next
week, appointing a new official to replace Silalahi.
SBKRI not Needed by Chinese
President Megawati on Wednesday (14/4/04) called on all immigration offices across
the country to abide by the law and desist from asking Chinese-Indonesians to
produce an Indonesian Citizenship Certificate (SBKRI) when applying for official
documents.
During a meeting with Indonesian badminton stars, most of them
Chinese-Indonesians, Megawati was quoted as saying "there is no obligation for
Chinese-Indonesians to obtain an SBKRI if they already have a proper identity card
showing that they are Indonesian citizens."
Former President Suharto revoked the SBKRI policy in 1996 through presidential
decree No. 6/1996 but Chinese-Indonesians have often complained that they are still
being forced to produce SBKRIs when applying for passports or identification cards
(KTP).
"There is no such thing as indigenous and non-indigenous Indonesians. They
(Chinese-Indonesians) are born here and made many contributions to this country.
They are all Indonesian citizens," the President said.
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