SBY announces candidacy for presidency [30 September]
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally announced his intention to stand again for president in next year’s elections. Campaigning has been underway for some time and speculation is now rife about the identity of his vice-presidential running-mate. [more...]
A host of candidates have already indicated their intention to join the race. [more...]
Parties 'mislead' public on 30 percent women candidates [9 October]
Claims by political parties that they have complied with the election law by granting 30 percent of their legislative candidate slots to women are misleading, said a poll watchdog. Most parties placed female candidates towards the bottom of their lists and many are contesting seats outside their parties’ strongholds. Four parties had failed to meet the 30 per cent quota. [more...]
Role of parliamentary bodies under discussion; DPD needs to be strengthened [9 October]
A bill is under discussion in the DPR concerning the status of the MPR, DPR, DPD and DPRD. The DPD (Regional Representative Council) is pressing for an enhanced role and the opportunity for greater collaboration with the DPR. [more...]
Disgruntled Golkar members rise against Kalla [10 October]
The Golkar Party is facing the threat of internal disintegration after party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla hinted that he would sign on again as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s running mate. The Golkar-affiliated Central Organization for Indonesian
Employees (Soksi) has nominated Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X as its presidential candidate. [more...]
Yudhoyono beats Megawati by 13 points in latest poll [10 October]
Popular support for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has risen from 32 to 39 per cent while support for his main rival Megawati Sukarnoputri has dropped from 28 to 26 per cent in two months according to the latest opinion poll. Former Kopassus commander, Prabowo Subianto, is currently third favourite with 15 percent support. Other candidates such as Sultan Hamengkubowono X, Wiranto, Abdurrahman Wahid, Jusuf Kalla, and Sutiyoso are each favoured by less than 5 per cent of voters. [more...]
House targets former generals over 1997-98 abductions [18 October]
A special committee of the House of Representatives (DPR) concerned with the abduction of activists in 1997-98 has been revived and plans to summon presidential hopefuls Wiranto, Prabowo Subianto, Sutiyoso and President Susilo Bambang Yudohoyono, allegedly involved in the case. The initiative is based on a recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission, Komnas HAM. Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Usman Hamid, said the matter should not be politicised and the priority was to establish an ad hoc human rights court for the case. [more...]
Prabowo named as presidential candidate [20 October]
Former commander of Indonesia’s special forces unit, Kopassus, Prabowo Subianto, responsible for operations in East Timor and suspected of involvement in gross violations of human rights, has been nominated as presidential candidate by the Great Indonesia Movement Party, Gerindra. [more...]
Rifts within Golkar will grow wider, analysts warn [21 October]
Golkar faces a bitter split following the failure of its national leadership meeting to address local branches’ demands to name its presidential candidate. Tensions have arisen because the party has no prominent figures, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla, popular enough at the national level to be nominated as viable presidential candidates. [more...]
The party that ruled with electoral impunity for 30 years is no longer the political tidal wave it once was. [more...]
Ballot design ineffective [28 October]
Tests on a new ‘marking’ method of casting votes have produced a large number of invalid ballot papers. The General Elections Commission (KPU) is being asked to revert to the old method of ‘punching’ ballots. [more...]
Yogyakarta Sultan ready to run [29 October]
The ruler of the historic Yogyakarta sultanate, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, has announced his intention to contest the presidential elections. Hamengkubuwono said he has yet to decide on a political vehicle for his candidacy, but will take into consideration political developments after the legislative elections in April. Golkar, of which he is a member, has declined to announce its candidate until then. [more...]
Bill against racial discrimination passed [29 October]
The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that terms ethnic and racial discrimination as serious crimes. The bill was passed as part of bill as part of the House’s effort to implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination. [The role of ethnic Chinese Indonesian, Murdaya Poo, in chairing the House Committee that deliberated the bill, is expected to attract wavering Chinese Indonesian voters to his party, the PDI-P]. [more...]
Insight: The involution of Islamic parties [29 October]
Over the past few years, support for Islamic parties has been consistently low. What is the reason for this phenomenon? [more...]
House agrees thresholds for presidential nominations [30 October]
A party or coalition of parties must win a minimum of 20 per cent of DPR seats or 25 per cent of the popular vote in the legislative elections to be eligible to nominate a candidate for president according to a controversial election bill passed by the House. The agreed threshold means that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would be unable to run for re-election with only the backing of his Democratic Party, forcing him to form a coalition with other parties. [more...]
Yudhoyono's Hand Forced By Campaign Frenzy
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Indonesia correspondent
Timing of President's announcement for 2nd term seen as bid to shore up popularity
JAKARTA: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has finally thrown his hat into the ring, all but ensuring that campaigning for next year's election is moving into full swing.
Reporters yesterday were already frantically following up on the President's likely running mate after he indicated that he may run on a ticket again with Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, who is from the Golkar party.
Mr Jusuf, however, remained non-committal.
Asked if he was personally willing to be the President's running mate again, Mr Jusuf replied: 'I'm ready, but it will all depend on the decision by the Golkar party.
'I'm ready with anyone, including with SBY. We have been together for four years developing the nation and making good progress for the people.'
Indonesian politics is clearly heating up, with many presidential hopefuls already campaigning furiously, spending millions on television and newspaper advertisements in a bid to lure voters.
The aggressive campaigning in recent months, in all likelihood, prompted President Yudhoyono to end months of silence on his intentions.
Analysts say the President, who finally made the announcement on Sunday, remains among the strongest candidates, even though he has had to battle the stain of raising fuel prices.
Some analysts saw the timing of his announcement as an attempt to shore up his dwindling popularity and campaign finances.
'The time has come for Yudhoyono to build confidence in his elite backers...otherwise they might turn to supporting somebody else,' analyst Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia told
The Straits Times.
Senior researcher Cecep Effendy at The Indonesian Institute, a Jakarta-based centre for public policy research, said: 'The biggest and most difficult challenge for each candidate is how much money they can garner to make campaigns successful.'
Dr Yudhoyono, as the incumbent, had greater access to money and donations, noted Mr Cecep.
He said: 'This is the biggest advantage Yudhoyono has over other candidates.'
Newcomers, on the other hand, face an uphill struggle.
'Chances are slim for these people to win. None of them could even get 10 per cent in any candidate polls we have seen,' said Mr Arbi.
Opinion polls have indicated that Dr Yudhoyono and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri are the only two candidates with a realistic chance of winning the election.
Said Mr Arbi: 'If other candidates would just clear their heads for a minute, they would see they had better get realistic and divide themselves between supporting either Yudhoyono or
Megawati.'
Recent polls show Ms Megawati leading because of the unpopular fuel price hikes, which the government imposed in 2005 and in May this year, on the back of a surging subsidy Bill resulting from record crude oil prices.
The Straits Times (SIngapore)
September 30, 2008
wahy-@sph.com.sg
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Who's set to run in Indonesia's presidential polls
INDONESIA'S next presidential election is attracting a host of candidates who have publicly declared their intention to run. Here's a look at the list of prospective candidates.
Declared candidates (with backing of political parties)
Incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Former president Megawati Sukarnoputri
Former military chief Wiranto
Former state secretary and presidential aide Yusril Ihza Mahendra
Former special forces commander Prabowo Subianto
Former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso
National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Sutrisno Bachir
Declared candidates (without backing of political parties)
Former Golkar chairman Akbar Tanjung
Political analyst Rizal Mallarangeng
Former army strategic reserve chief of staff Kivlan Zein?
Former navy chief Slamet Subianto
Chairman of Movement to Support Non-Partisan Presidential
Candidate (GNCI) Fazrul Rahman
Former coordinating minister for the economy Rizal Ramli
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid
The Straits Times (SIngapore) September 30, 2008
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Parties 'mislead' public on 30 percent women candidates
by Adianto P. Simamora
Claims by political parties that they have complied with the election law by granting 30 percent of their legislative candidate slots to women are misleading, a poll watchdog said
Wednesday.
The Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) said most parties formally met the 30 percent quota, but defied the spirit of encouraging women's role in politics, enshrined in the election law.
Cetro executive director Hadar N. Gumay said while women accounted for 30 percent of candidates, their chances of securing legislative seats were low, with most set to contest in
electoral districts outside their parties' strongholds.
"The parties meet the requirement, but it is meaningless because the legislative candidates are fighting each other in electoral districts," Hadar told The Jakarta Post.
There are 550 seats from 77 electoral districts up for grabs in the legislative election, scheduled for April 9, 2009.
On Tuesday, the General Elections Commission published its interim list of legislative candidates, following a delay.
"The parties that passed the election law told a public lie. The recruitment of female candidates is only lip service to please female voters, but the fact is they are not serious about promoting female candidates," Hadar said.
Cetro found most parties placed female hopefuls at the bottom the list in every electoral district, giving them less chance of winning seats.
The Golkar party, the country's largest, placed only 11 of its 196 female candidates at the top of the list, with 22 in the second spot. The remainder are at the bottom. Placement is
crucial because many legislators will be selected on a numerical basis.
"Worse, in 40 electoral districts, the women nominated by Golkar make up less then 30 percent of the total number of the party's nominees," Hadar said.
Cetro said the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the second largest party, also nominated less female candidates than the required 30 percent, in a dozen electoral districts.
The party only has four women at the top of the list in their respective electoral districts, with 20 women ranked second on the list.
The PDI-P registered 634 candidates, 224 (35 percent) of them women.
The KPU announced on Tuesday that 34 out of 38 political parties eligible for the polls had met the 30 percent quota.
The four parties that failed to do so are the Patriot Party, the United Development Party (PPP), the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) and the National People's Awareness Party. Female candidates in these parties make up from 19 to 27 percent of all candidates.
The Jakarta Post
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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Role of DPD needs to be strengthened
With a bill now under discussion in the DPR (Parliament) regarding the status of the several parliamentary bodies, the MPR, the DPR, the DPD and the DPRD, a member of the drafting committee has said that the role of the DPD, Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (Regional Representative Council) will go farther than at present and will not be confined to expressing
an opinion when consideration of the bill at the intial stage. As things stand, it is as if the DPD can only go up to the door but is not allowed to enter the room. This means that the DPD cannot know anything about the how the discussion of the bill proceeds. The body should be
involved in giving an opinion about the bill.'
As the draft bill currently stands, the role of the DPD will still be limited, in accordance with the Constitution. Efforts are being made to ensure that agreement on the bill can be speeded up, so it is not being discussed article by article.
The current chairman of the DPD Ginandjar Kartasasmita expressed the view that discussions should ensure that they were dealing not just with short-term needs but with long-term requirements. As the law now stands, the two bodies, the DPR and the DPD are treated as separate entities, whereas in fact they are two parliamentary bodies which must work closely together. At present, there is nothing to determine what happens if a bill is approved of by the government and the DPR but rejected by the DPD. Nor is there any provision for a joint select committee to be set up of the DPR and DPD so as to ensure that the collaboration between the two bodies is handled in the best possible way.
He said that according to the Constitution, the DPD does not undertake judicial reviews because that is the role of the Constitutional Court.
SINDO, 9 October 2008
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Disgruntled Golkar Members Rise Against Kalla
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Golkar Party is facing the threat of internal disintegration, with influential members and affiliated groups seemingly at odds with party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
The threat could diminish Golkar's chances of repeating its achievement in the 2004 elections, when it won 22 percent of votes to secure 128 seats at the House of Representatives.
Ten days after Kalla hinted he would sign on again as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's running mate in next year's election, the Golkar-affiliated Central Organization for Indonesian Employees (Soksi) nominated Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X as its presidential candidate.
"The sultan is a figure who can bring change to the nation, because this series of crises should not go on. There should be immediate fundamental change," Soksi chief patron Suhardiman said after the announcement on Wednesday.
Hamengkubuwono subsequently accepted the nomination.
The announcement also signals that Soksi and party affiliates MKGR and Kosgoro are opposed to the Golkar central board's decision to delay the nomination of a presidential candidate from within the party until after the legislative election on April 9, 2009.
"It's an indirect coup against Kalla," Reform Institute executive director Yudhi Latif said.
Recent surveys reveal that Hamengkubuwono can win far more votes than Kalla, either as a presidential or vice presidential hopeful.
Kalla's hint that he would run with Yudhoyono has effectively shut the door on other Golkar stalwarts from standing as the party's presidential candidate, and according to Yudhi, has sparked a rebellion against him and weakened the party's mechanism to woo voters.
"It's dangerous; party members will not work hard enough to get votes for Golkar in the election because they won't see any reason to do so," Yudhi said.
In the run-up to the 2004 elections, Golkar held a convention to choose its presidential candidate -- a move that boosted the party's standing by unifying party members in a single goal.
The threat of mutiny within Golkar is not a new issue. In 2004, the party's presidential candidate Wiranto and his running mate Solahudin Wahid were at loggerheads with Kalla, who ran with Yudhoyono, nominated by the Democratic Party.
House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono may follow in Kalla's steps by running as the deputy of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman.
Other factions within Golkar, including that led by former chairman Akbar Tandjung, MKGR's old guards and young guns like Yuddhi Chrisnandi, all look set to challenge Kalla.
However, Golkar deputy secretary-general Rully Chairul Azwar dismissed suggestions the party was breaking up, saying it would convene after the legislative election to decide who would
represent the party, with all elements working to choose a presidential candidate.
Golkar legislator Harry Azhar Azis said the difference of opinion between the party's elements indicated a functioning democracy within the party.
The Jakarta Post
Friday, October 10, 2008
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Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Popular support for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono continues to rise in the lead-up to next year's elections, outstripping the acceptance rate of his toughest contender, Megawati Soekarnoputri, a survey says.
A joint poll conducted by London-based research firm Taylor Nelson and Sofress (TNS) and the National Leadership Center (NLC) in September found 39 percent of respondents said they
would vote for Yudhoyono in the 2009 elections, compared with 32 percent in the previous survey in July.
Support for Megawati fell in the two-month period from 28 percent in July to 26 percent in September.
"The result shows the different attitudes of the public toward the two candidates," Taufik Bahaudin, NLC chairman, told reporters Thursday.
The survey polled 2,000 respondents from 30 provinces between Sept. 15 and Sept. 26.
A previous survey conducted in July ranked Megawati, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), first, above other presidential hopefuls.
The latest survey also showed former commander of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Prabowo Subianto, stood a good chance of qualifying for the runoff as he remained third on the list.
Prabowo, who founded the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), was chosen by 15 percent of respondents, a 4 percent increase from the previous survey.
"We didn't ask respondents for the reasoning behind their choices," TNS Research Director Yanti Zen said.
The respondents were asked to choose from presidential candidates Yudhoyono, Megawati, Prabowo, Sultan Hamengkubowono X, Wiranto, Abdurrahman Wahid, Jusuf Kalla, Sutiyoso, Soetrisno Bachir, Akbar Tandjung, Surya Paloh and Amien Rais.
Yanti said Hamengkubowono, Wiranto, Abdurrahman Wahid and Kalla each won less than 5 percent of support from respondents.
Kalla, who is chairman of the Golkar party, was only favored by 1 percent of the respondents.
The survey also showed more people opted to leave Megawati's PDI-P and Kalla's Golkar Party in the legislative election. Between July and September, support for PDI-P declined from 28 percent to 25 percent while Golkar fell from 14 percent to 13 percent in the same time period.
Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and Gerindra performed better with 24 percent and 13 percent support, respectively.
The Jakarta Post
Friday, October 10, 2008
House targets target former generals over 1997-1998 abductions
Jakarta -- In the lead up to the 2009 general elections, the House of Representatives (DPR) Special Committee on the 1997/1998 Abduction of Activists has been revived again.
Moreover, within a short time, the special committee plans to summon Wiranto, Prabowo Subianto, Sutiyoso and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who are alleged to be involved in the case.
At the time of the abductions, retired General Wiranto was the chief of the Indonesian military (TNI), retired Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto was the commander of the army's special forces (Kopassus), retired Lieutenant General Sutiyoso was the Jakarta military commander and General Yudhoyono was the assistant to the TNI's chief of staff for social and political affairs.
"We're not just trying to dig up dirt on these people, but because it is based on a recommendation by Komnas HAM (the National Human Rights Commission)", said the DPR Special Committee for Missing Persons chairperson Effendi MS Simbolon from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle faction when speaking to the press on Friday October 17.
According to Simbolon, the Komnas HAM recommendation also mentioned the name of late President Suharto, who at the time was still leading the country.
The committee plans to begin summoning victims and the family members of abduction victims on Wednesday and Thursday next week. The summoning of various figures is expected to be done during the next sitting of the house. "If the victims stated that they are involved, yes, we'll summon them," he said.
When contacted separately, committee deputy chairperson Hilang Yorrys Raweyai from the Golkar Party faction confirmed that the committee has been revived by the certain factions in the DPR. The stand of the Golkar faction however, is to oppose the plan. "I have already asked the central leadership board. We don't want to look to the past," he said.
Komnas HAM concluded that there was prima facie evidence of gross human rights violations in the forced abductions of activists in 1997-1998. This conclusion was based on aninvestigation and the testimonies of 58 victims and community members, 18 active and retired members of the national police and a retired TNI officer.
There were 23 victims of the forced abductions in 1997-1998. The fate of as many as 13 of these people remain unknown to this day. They are Yani Afrie, Sony, Herman Hendrawan, Dedi Hamdun, Noval Alkatiri, Ismail, Suyat, Petrus Bima Anugrah, Wiji Thukul, Ucok Munandar Siahaan, Hendra Hambali, Yadin Muhidin and Abdun Naser.
Ten others meanwhile, who were also arrested and detained, were later released. The are Mugiyanto, Aan Rusdianto, Nezar Patria, Faisol Riza, Raharja Waluyo Jati, Haryanto Taslam, Andi Arief, Pius Lustrilanang, Desmond J. Mahesa and "St".
On December 22, 2006, Komnas HAM asked the DPR to urge the president to deploy and mobilise all law enforcement officials to investigate the case. On February 7, 2007, DPR speaker Agung Laksono also asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to order Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh to carry out an investigation based on Komnas HAM's
findings and resolve the case of the 13 abducted activists. (sut)
Kompas October 18, 2008
[Translated by James Balowski.]
Summoning of generals over abductions politically motivated - Kontras
Novia Chandra Dewi, Jakarta -- The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) believes that plan to summon former generals by the House of Representatives' (DPR) Special Committing for Missing Persons is ridden with political motivations. The DPR should wait and decide whether or not to establish an ad hoc human rights court first.
"It's difficult to avoid [the feeling] that reviving the Missing Persons Special Committee is ridden with political motivations, especially with the approach of the general elections," said
Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid following a discussion at the Daun Eatery on Jl. Pakubuwono in the Kebayoran Lama area of South Jakarta on Saturday October 18.
Hamid said that they are not too optimistic that these summons will result in the establishment of an ad hoc human rights court in the near future. "Don't let these efforts be only a political
endeavour, there is concern that it will only conducted like the previous special committee, which ended in stead in the subordination of the Semanggi I and II cases into a political fight, that is the president and the parliament at that time", he explained.
According to Hamid, the Special Committee for Missing Persons does not need to reduplicate the work of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) by summoning these figures, or conducting another investigation. This is precisely what is of concern, that the investigation will be politically motivated and end up being used a forum of clarification.
Usman said that the DPR should go ahead and summon former Indonesian military (TNI) commander in chief retired General Wiranto, former army special forces (Kopassus) commander retired General Prabowo Subianto, former National Intelligence Agency
(BIN) deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono, Defense Ministry Secretary General Lieutenant General, former Jakarta military commander retired General Sutiyoso and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), however it depends upon what the real purpose is.
"On the question of summoning President SBY, why not directly access [information] from TNI headquarters? At the time SBY was the chief of the Officers Honour Council right, why is SBY only now [being summoned]? This is clearly very political", said Hamid critically.
What about the discourse about issuing a subpoena if the former generals choose not to fulfill the summons? "This is also a political consideration, not judicial in the context of making them appear," asserted Hamid. (zal/iy)
Detik.com October 18, 2008
[Translated by James Balowski]
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New Indonesian party names Prabowo as presidential candidate
Text of report by website of independent Indonesian news magazine Tempo on 17 October
[Unattributed report: "Prabowo Subianto Announced as A Presidential Candidate"]
Tempo Interactive, Jakarta: Former Special Forces Unit Commander of The National Armed Forces Lieutenant General (Ret) Prabowo Subianto is nominated as a presidential candidate by the Great Indonesia Movement Party to run for office in the 2009 general election.
The party, founded this year and immediately run a massive campaigning on television announced the nomination in the party's National Leaders Convention in Jakarta on Thursday on Prabowo 57th birthday. Prabowo was also given a full right to choose his running mate.
The party Secretary General Ahmad Muzani said the retired military officer had been involved in the formation of the party. They had the former of Minister of State Secretary in Soeharto era, Moerdiono as the party Chairman of Advisory Board.
Prabowo Subianto is the son of Indonesian economist Prof. Soemitro Djojohadikusumo who went to military academy in 1970. He was the commander of the army special forces unit (Koppasus) from 1995-1998 and responsible for the special forces' operations nationwide including in East Timor prior to a United Nations sponsored referendum in the region in 1999.
BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific
October 20, 2008
Source: Tempo website, Jakarta, in Indonesian 17 Oct 08
Rifts within Golkar will grow wider, analysts warn
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The internal bickering within the Golkar Party could develop into a bitter split, following its failure to address local branches' demands for the party to name its own presidential candidate, political experts warned Monday.
Golkar, the country's largest party, ended a three-day national leadership meeting here Sunday, but refused to include such a demand into its official decision.
Some provincial branches of the party had demanded the party choose its own presidential candidate, regardless of its prospects for the 2009 legislative elections; while others called for the party to wait until after the election results were announced before nominating a candidate.
Political analysts say the growing internal tensions are rooted in the fact Golkar has no prominent figures, including party chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, popular enough at the national level to be nominated as viable presidential candidates.
"They feel they have the same chance of being elected. If the party nominates a certain figure, others will be disappointed, creating tensions and rebellion within the party," said Mohammad Qodari, executive director of the Indo Barometer polling body.
He added although Kalla stood a good chance of being nominated, he could realistically only run as vice president, citing his 1-2 percent popularity rating in many surveys.
University of Indonesia political expert Arbi Sanit called all top Golkar figures "second graders" deserving of only ministerial posts, or the vice presidency at best.
"How can you nominate a figure with a less than 5 percent rating? Even Sri Sultan (Hamengkubowono X) can't compete with Megawati (Soekarnoputri) or President (Susilo Bambang) Yudhoyono," he said.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti said that unlike Megawati's position in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) or Yudhoyono's role in the Democratic Party, Kalla's influence over Golkar was much weaker, allowing provincial branches and senior figures to express their own aspirations freely.
"Golkar doesn't have a central figure in control of the party's branches and affiliated organizations. So we can expect more challenges to Kalla's leadership in the future," he said.
Kalla has hinted he would run again with incumbent President Yudhoyono, who also indicated he would team up with Kalla for the 2009 presidential election.
Ikrar said the move by Golkar's provincial branches and organizations to release a list of presidential candidates other than Kalla during the national meeting showed some party faithfuls doubted Kalla's chances of winning the presidency.
This challenge also means resistance to Kalla's plan to team up again with Yudhoyono, Ikrar added.
He said should Golkar win more votes in the next election than in the 2004 polls, the pressure on the party to name its own presidential candidate would be unavoidable.
But if the party performs poorly in the election, he went on, many would question Kalla's legitimacy, thus opening the way for his being ousted as Golkar chairman.
"If the party does well and surveys show other figures are more popular than Kalla, then he must allow the party to nominate a presidential candidate other than him," Ikrar said.
But if Kalla insists on forging a coalition with Yudhoyono, Ikrar said, the rift would widen, with many senior figures likely to leave the party and run with other presidential hopefuls.
This would mirror the 2004 campaign when Kalla ran with Yudhoyono against the official Golkar nominee Wiranto and his running mate Solahudin Wahid, he added.
The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
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The Jakarta Post Editorial: Yellow Fever
For 30 years they ruled mightily with electoral impunity, ending the game before it had even begun.
But as the Golkar Party celebrated its 44th anniversary on Monday, hot on the heels of a three-day national party meeting, the once dominant force of the New Order was putting on a brave face ahead of the 2009 general elections.
No longer is the sea of yellow -- the party's color – the political tidal wave it once was.
Golkar's heydey of the late 1980s through to the mid-1990s, when they commanded more than 70 percent of the vote, is but a memory.
Nevertheless, the Golkar Party, along with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), retains its position at the forefront of Indonesian politics.
In the last two elections, Golkar retained about one-fifth of the popular vote.
In many ways, the party is still the big brother of Indonesian politics.
Established in 1964 as a Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups, Golkar was the amalgamation of several dozen political organizations. In the late 1960s, under the supervision of Ali Murtopo, it emerged as President Soeharto's primary political vehicle.
Like the Communist Party in China, Golkar then emerged as the supreme political authority in Indonesia by monopolizing power through control of all state apparatus and the legislative process.
To the chagrin of anti-New Order parties, and surprise of many pundits, it has survived, even thrived, in the post-Soeharto era by avoiding an electoral backlash that could have spelled the end of Golkar preponderance.
Some have said that Golkar possesses an unfair advantage over newer parties.
That may be true, but even the Golkar leadership has succeeded in transforming itself to better suit a different era, creating a new generation of leadership more akin to the present demands of a new Indonesian state.
It also blazed a trail in opening up the once exclusive dominance of Jakarta politics by engaging in a party convention ahead of the 2004 presidential election, which exposed the party to various alternative options it would not have once considered.
In many ways Golkar represents all that is good and bad in Indonesia.
Its pluralist-nationalist platform underlines the essence of an Indonesian nationhood.
While it may have sponsored parochial and sinister issues, such as the implementation of sharia law, in certain local elections, on the national scene Golkar remains committed to the nonreligious pluralist agenda.
Yet the predominance of big business and menacing power politics is a facet distressing to many who would otherwise feel akin to Golkar's ideological confines.
Instead of opening up the party further to public influence and regional-provincial persuasion, the Golkar elite has instead chosen to revert to the control tactics of the central board.
It is a disappointing development that is not becoming for Indonesia's largest political party. We had hoped that Golkar, as big brother, would introduce innovation and accommodate the grassroots by institutionalizing a bottom-up process.
Regional chapters and Golkar members should be avenues to promote political aspirations and political education. Instead, they are no more than pawns in the great game played by the Jakarta-based power brokers.
This year has been an amazingly educational year for all as we witness the intense struggle in American politics.
But Golkar has failed to learn the lessons of this process: No matter how important and considerable the Republican or Democratic Party has become, each is still beholden to engagement with, in the words of John McCain and Barack Obama, "Joe the plumber" (the average voter).
These parties may structure the processes, but the impetus, the engine of enthusiasm, is still with the electorate.
If Golkar retains its arrogant ways and refuses to connect with the Indonesian version of Joe, then its perceived electoral slide will be a reality.
We urge Golkar to take the initiative to educate the electorate about the processes of politics by opening up the party to the influence of things other than money and power.
Don't let this initiative be grasped by smaller parties.
As it is, Indonesia's oldest and biggest party is acting like a desperate minor newcomer on the political stage.
The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
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KPU Ballot Design 'Ineffective'
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The General Elections Commission (KPU) should revert to the old method of "punching" ballots in next year's elections because a series of tryouts testing a "marking" method produced a large number of invalid votes, a poll watchdog says.
The People's Voters Education Network (JPPR) said about 20 percent of 323 respondents had incorrectly marked their ballots during a KPU-conducted tryout in Aceh this month.
"It is a serious warning for the KPU. There is no need to insist on using the marking method in the elections," JPPR chairman Jerry Sumampaw said in Jakarta on Monday.
The KPU conducted tests on the ballot marking system in Aceh, Papua and Sidoarjo (East Java) to develop the "simplest" method for voters.
"Voters in Papua and Sidoarjo also faced similar problems when marking their ballots," Jerry said.
The KPU decided last week to implement the marking system during next year's legislative elections, to be held on Apr. 9.
The KPU said the ballots that had been punched rather than marked in the tryout were still valid.
"Such a policy will confuse voters because during the tryouts, the KPU only provided pens and markers inside polling stations," Jerry said.
Since the 1955 elections, Indonesian voters have indicated choice by punching ballots with a nail.
The 2008 Elections Law says a ballot is considered valid if the voter marks a candidate name, number or a political party logo.
The law stipulates that if a voter marks a party logo, the vote will go to the chosen party and will be pooled to determine the number of legislative seats it secures. But a vote given to a candidate will improve their chances of winning one of their party's legislative seats.
Some 170 million Indonesians are expected to cast their votes next year. They will choose from 11,868 candidates from 38 political parties.
"The trial also showed that many voters preferred to choose parties rather than candidates," Jerry said.
During the tryout in Aceh, 185 voters selected parties, while 91 selected individual candidates.
The JPPR also urged the KPU to improve its ballot design to facilitate voting.
The KPU said it had chosen a "vertical" design that would not include photographs of candidates. The ballots will instead display party symbols and numbers and candidate names.
The JPPR also said the KPK should build enough poll booths to ensure none received more than 250 voters in order to speed up counting.
"If the number of voters reaches 500 in one polling station, the ballot counting will last until midnight," he said.
The Jakarta Post
October 28, 2008
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Yogya sultan ready to run in upcoming presidential election
Slamet Susanto and Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
After much speculation, Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X announced Tuesday his bid for the presidency in 2009, at a meeting that drew together the country's nobility.
"By requesting guidance from the One God and based on sincere motivation to serve the Motherland, I hereby declare my readiness to become president in 2009," he said.
The crowd of 20,000 cheered the announcement, which comes after months of suspense over whether Hamengkubuwono would run.
"From now on, we have to unite as a nation," Hamengkubuwono said before leaving the stage. The statement was made during a pisowanan agung (great meeting) held in the city's Alun-alun Utara Square.
In a press conference after the announcement, Hamengkubuwono said he was driven to serve and change the nation to create a compassionate society and boost Indonesia's global standing.
"I can't stand seeing the people suffer," he said. "Poverty and unemployment are increasing. Ten years of reform have not brought fundamental change."
He also said he wanted to change the Yogyakartan mind-set that held the sultan up as an unerring figure, into a more democratic one.
"As a sultan, I am no more noble than those 100 years ago. As a sultanate, Yogyakarta is part of the Unitary State of Republic of Indonesia and must support democratization," he said.
"A sultan must also accept criticism and follow democratic values. It is no problem if I lose the election.
"It does not necessarily mean I have humiliated myself. On the other hand, I cannot be arrogant if I do win."
Hamengkubuwono admitted he had yet to decide on a political vehicle for his presidency, but was taking into consideration political developments after the legislative elections.
He also deferred the choice of a running mate until after the polls in April.
It is unclear whether Hamengkubuwono must resign as Yogyakarta governor, pending the endorsement of the presidential election bill.
Hamengkubuwono is also chairman of the Yogyakarta branch of the Golkar Party, which has refrained from naming a presidential candidate before the legislative election, following its three-day meeting that ended Oct. 20.
During that meeting, however, several regional branches called on the party to name a presidential candidate to gauge the public's response.
In addition to Hamengkubuwono, other names being flouted included party chairman Jusuf Kalla, deputy chairman Agung Laksono, chief patron and media mogul Surya Paloh, former chairman Akbar Tandjung, and Gorontalo Governor Fadel Muhammad.
The legislative election is set for April 9, next year while the presidential election will be held in the first week of July.
The Yogyakarta governor's father, the late Hamengkubuwono IX, served as vice president from 1973 to 1978 under former president Soeharto.
Those in attendance at Tuesday's meeting included film director Garin Nugroho and political observer Sukardi Rinakit.
Singers Franky Sahilatua and Trie Utami, along with dozens of traditional dance troupes, provided the entertainment.
The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Top
Bill against racial discrimination passed
The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that terms ethnic and racial discrimination as serious crimes.
Deputy Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar, who presided over the House's plenary session to approve the draft law, said Indonesia no longer had any room for any form of racial or ethnic discrimination.
Chairman of the House's special committee deliberating the bill, Murdaya Poo, said the endorsement of the bill should put an end to the long-standing dichotomy between indigenous and non-indigenous people in the country.
"A man cannot choose to be born as part of a certain race or ethnic group, and therefore discrimination must cease to exist," said Murdaya, who is Indonesian-Chinese.
He said the House proposed the bill as part of its effort to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, which has been enacted since 1999.
Under the new law, leaders of public institutions found guilty of adopting discriminatory policies would face jail terms one-third more severe than those stipulated in the Criminal Code.
Citing an example, Murdaya said the governor or government of Aceh could not ban a gathering held by Javanese ethnics in the province.
He said the deliberation process had been delayed by a disagreement on whether imprisonment should be made the minimum punishment.
Jail as a minimum sentence is typically sought for serious crimes, such as corruption, terrorism, money laundering or drug abuse.
"We decided to set prison as the minimum sentence to deter people from committing racial or ethnic discrimination," said Murdaya, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
The bill was passed on the same day Indonesia celebrated the 100th anniversary of Youth Pledge, which Murdaya said should encourage Indonesians to uphold the diverse nature of the nation. -- JP
The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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Insight: Elections: The involution of Islamic parties?
Bahtiar Effendy, Jakarta
Over the past few years, surveys on support for Islamic parties have been consistently disheartening. Support for such parties has ranged between 0.1 and 7 percent, with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) at the top and PPNUI at the bottom.
What do we make of this? Does this represent a political involution of Islamic parties as many have perceived?
This is not an easy question to answer. Traditionally, Islam has been widely perceived as something of great importance in Indonesian politics. This viewpoint has been shaped and influenced by the fact that the large majority of Indonesians are Muslim. According to the country's national census, Muslims
account for between 87 and 90 percent of the total population.
By virtue of its numbers of followers, Islam has naturally been regarded as a major source of support for any movements that require mass mobilization.
Historically, the rise of Indonesian nationalism and the struggle for independence both benefited immensely from Islam. In independent Indonesia, the nation has also recognized the indispensable role of Islam, and has often sought support from Muslim groups which have allowed it to undertake items on the national agenda.
This has encouraged many Muslims to form Islamic parties. All of these have been committed to the realization of Islamic ideals, ranging from making Islam the basis of the state (from the 1940s
to 60s), to the insertion of Islamic values, ethos or spirit into state policy and regulations (from the 1970s to the present).
In the old days, when ideological sentiment between the so-called "religious" and "secular" nationalists was felt strongly, Islam was used in party symbols to attract Muslim voters. In the country's first democratically held elections (in 1955), Islamic parties -- comprising Masyumi, Nahdlatul Ulama, PSII, Perti, PPTI and AKUI -- (combined) gained 43.93 percent of the total vote.
This was no small figure. To this day, after nine such general elections, it remains the biggest electoral success political Islam has ever enjoyed in Indonesia.
In the second election, held in 1971, Islamic parties (consisting of Nahdlatul Ulama, Parmusi, PSII, and Perti) secured only 27.11 percent of the vote.
Then in the 1977 elections, the number rose to 29.29 percent, but since then support has declined -- reaching its lowest point (15.97 percent) in the 1987 elections. The New Order's authoritarian political practices were very much to blame.
During this period, four Islamic parties were forced to merge to become the United Development Party (PPP) and were prohibited from using Islam as their political basis or symbol. More than anything else, these elections were designed to ensure Golkar would win.
This perception was based partly on the result of the 1999 elections, when Islamic parties (this time comprising 10 Islamic parties) gained 37.59 percent of the vote. This figure included the gains of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) -- two important Muslim-based parties that were "reluctant" to be identified as Islamic.
If the PKB (12.66 percent) and PAN (7.12 percent) were to be excluded from this statistical figure, Islamic-based parties only accounted for 17.86 percent of the vote.
In the 2004 elections, Islamic parties did slightly better. Combined, they gained 38.35 percent of the vote. This was an increase of 0.76 percent. The improved position was made possible by a dramatic improvement in the popularity of the PKS (from 1.36 percent to 7.34 percent). Again, excluding the PKB
and PAN from the equation, the electoral strength of political Islam was 21.34 percent. So without the PKB and PAN, Islamic parties enjoyed a 3.48 percent increase in the number of votes.
The results of the 1999 and 2004 elections were still way behind the 1955 elections. Collectively, however, Islam-based parties performed relatively well compared with when Indonesia's authoritarian regime was at its peak.
Nevertheless, the collective achievement has been undermined by Islamic parties' individual performances.
It is not easy for political Islam to recover, or to function as a coherent political entity. Democratic euphoria has encouraged fragmentation. In 1998, for example, there were 42 Islamic parties. This proliferation has prevented one or two big Islamic parties (such as Masyumi and Nahdlatul Ulama) from emerging. In fact, it has contributed to ongoing tensions among Islamic parties.
The inability of its thinkers and activists to put Islam into a context of a not-so-ideological political partisanship, and more in line with public interests, has only served to spice up the negative perceptions of political Islam.
If the results of polls conducted between 2005 and 2008 do not change, there is a good chance many Islamic parties will not survive.
The unwillingness or inability of leaders to make necessary and fundamental adjustments will make this perceived political involution a reality.
The writer is a professor of political science at State Islamic University (UIN), Jakarta. He can be reached at bahtiar_-@yahoo.com
The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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House Okays Presidential Election Bill
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
WHERE DID EVERYONE GO?: The assembly hall at the House of Representatives remains eerily deserted Wednesday during a plenary session on the final approval of the much-debated presidential election bill. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
The House of Representatives unanimously passed the presidential election bill Wednesday, bringing an end to a heated debate over the minimum support a party must win to nominate a presidential
candidate.
The newly enacted law requires a party or coalition of parties to win a minimum 20 percent of House seats or 25 percent of popular votes to be eligible to nominate a candidate.
Most of the 10 House factions had agreed with the proposed thresholds during a preceding plenary session, although the National Mandate Party (PAN) insisted until the dying minutes that the House seat threshold be set at 15 percent.
“All factions have wisely decided to avoid voting to prioritise the nation’s interests,” Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, chairman of the House’s committee deliberating the bill, told the plenary session.
Home Minister Mardiyanto, State Secretary Hatta Radjasa and Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalata attended the meeting to represent the government.
The factions also agreed to scrap an article in the bill forbidding the elected president and vice president from retaining executive political party posts.
The PAN, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) had voiced their support for the bill until the last.
Political observers said the agreed threshold meant President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would be unable to run for reelection with only the backing of his Democratic Party, which occupies 57
of the total 550 seats at the House, forcing him to form a coalition with other parties.
Analysts said the new law meant the political advantage now lay with the Golkar Party and its chairman Jusuf Kalla, as well as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and its presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Yudhi Latief, executive director of the Reform Institute, said the incumbent President would desperately need the support of Golkar to secure his candidacy as the rising PKS had distanced itself from Yudhoyono and the PKB was unlikely to win many seats in next year’s legislative elections.
“That’s why Yudhoyono hinted earlier he would run with Kalla again. But it has created tension among many Golkar cadres who want to have their own presidential candidate,” Yudhi added.
Indo Barometer executive director Muhammad Qodari said it would become complicated for Yudhoyono if Golkar decided to nominate its own presidential candidate, forcing him to seek support from many smaller parties and thus compromise on his political stance.
“I think there will be only three candidates with the (new) threshold: Yudhoyono, Megawati and an alternative hopeful that could either be Sri Sultan (Hamengkubuwono X), Wiranto or Prabowo,” he said.
The Jakarta Post
Thursday, October 30, 2008