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Contents:
Megawati Considers Sultan and Hidayat for Running Mate [1 December]
The
Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, is considering either
Yogyakarta's governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, or People's
Consultative Assembly chairman Hidayat Nurwahid as Megawati
Sukarnoputri's running mate in next year's presidential election. [full story...]
Lack Of Polls Watchdog In Aceh Could Spark Tension Next Year [1 December]
The absence of an electoral supervisory agency in Aceh could trigger
violations in the upcoming elections process and threaten stability in
the area warn democracy activists. Accusations of violence and
intimidation have marred the campaigns of a number of candidates
recently. [full story...]
Presidential Election Law being challenged in court [2 December]
The
Partai Bulan Bintang, PBB has lodged an appeal to the Constitutional
Court against the Presidential Election Law, which stipulates that a
party must have 20% of the seats or 25% of the votes to nominate a
candidate for president. They regard the law as unconstitutional
because Article 6 of the Constitution stipulates that all parties
should be able to nominate candidates. Although this is an initiative
take by the PBB, they hope that other parties will join the action. [full story...]
Recession casualty: Indonesia's political patrons who bankroll parties [3 December]
The
rich politicians who bankrolled previous campaigns look set to abandon
their big-spending role in next year's general election, after seeing
their wealth dented by the stock market slump. Instead, the parties are
likely to return to traditional grassroots campaigning, dropping
high-profile TV advertisements and relying on their national networks
of supporters to drum up votes. But money is likely to remain a
feature of another aspect of Indonesian political campaigning - the
street parades and free music concerts where party shirts and
cash-stuffed envelopes are handed out. Indonesian election law
bans bribing voters, but parties always find ways to exploit grey
areas. [full story...]
PDI-P Confident of Election Win [9 December]
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, PDI-P, is still confident
of winning next year's presidential election despite the announcement
by a splinter party the Democratic Reform Party, PDP, that former
minister for state enterprises, Laksamana Sukardi, would be its
presidential candidate. The PDP was formed by disillusioned
former PDI-P members, who split in late 2005 after Megawati refused to
relinquish her position in the party. [full story...]
8 Editors File for Review of Election Law [11 December]
Eight newspaper chief editors on Wednesday filed for a judicial review
of the legislative election law, which requires the media to provide
equal opportunity to the advertising campaigns of contesting political
parties. They are concerned that they will be in breach of the
law if some parties choose not to run ads. [full story...]
New Axis Of Islam Sought In Polls [11 December]
Muhammadiyah
chairman Din Syamsuddin has called for the formation of a new strategic
coalition or central axis of Islam-based political parties to win next
year's presidential election. Both Islamic and Islam-based
parties should ideally be represented by a single presidential or vice
presidential candidate," he said. [full story...]
House Furious Over Officials Absence From Abduction Hearing [11 December]
A House of Representatives' special committee has slammed the Attorney
General for failing to attend a meeting on the establishment of an
investigative tribunal into the abduction of democracy advocates.
Other high-profile figures also failed to attend. Several
presidential hopefuls, including Wiranto, Prabowo Subianto,
Sutiyoso and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono have been summoned to
appear before the committee. [full story...]
[See also News Digest 2 & News Digest 4]
Elections Body Warned Over Fraud [11 December]
The General Elections Commission (KPU) has warned Bali's regional
counterpart (KPUD) against shortchanging the electoral process
following systematic and massive election fraud during East Java's
recent gubernatorial election. [full story...]
GOLKAR orders an end to discussion about presidential candidate [11 December]
The Central Board of GOLKAR has instructed its branches to end all
discussions regarding the party's candidate for the presidency until
after the legislative elections in April. The instruction is signed by
party chairman Jusuf Kalla. This has led to accusations of a lack
of democracy within the party. [full story...]
Members of NU are ordered not to abstain (golput) [11 December]
The general chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama said that although there is no
prohibition for its members to abstain from voting, they will be
advised to exercise their right to vote. The remarks were in response
to the call from former Presidnet Abdurrahman Wahid, for people to
boycott the election because his party, the PKB has not been granted
permission to participate in the legislative elections. [full story...]
President or Bust: Yogyakarta's Sultan Sets His Sights High [12 December]
The governor of Yogyakarta, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, has said that he
is only interested in running for the presidency in 2009, and was not
contemplating the vice presidential slot. His name has been aired
as one of the potential presidential candidates to run for the ruling
Golkar party, to which he belongs. [full story...]
See also: Support Grows for Sultain Bid [15 December] [full story...]
Survey: People Favor Younger President [12 December]Megawati Considers Sultan and Hidayat for Running Mate
The Jakarta Globe
Monday, December 1, 2008
by Muninggar Sri Saraswati
The
Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, is considering either
Yogyakarta's governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, or People's
Consultative Assembly chairman Hidayat Nurwahid as Megawati
Sukarnoputri's running mate in next year's presidential election, a
party official said on Sunday.
Maruarar
Sirait, a PDI-P deputy chairman, said that both figures were shown to
be popular in several recent opinion polls. "The public has a positive
view of both of them," he said on Sunday.
However,
Maruarar said the party would make a final decision on a running mate
during a national party meeting next year.
"The
decision on who will run as Megawati's vice presidential candidate is
in the hands of the party's members," he said.
The
party has named Megawati, its chairperson and a former president, as
its presidential candidate for next year's election.
Maruarar said that to be Megawati's running mate, a politician had to share her ideology.
"However,
it is important to have a popular vice presidential candidate to
improve our chances of winning the election," Maruar said.
Megawati lost her re-election bid in 2004, with her former minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, winning the presidency.
Hamengkubuwono's
chief strategist, Sukardi Rinakit, has said that the sultan was seeking
nothing less than the presidency. Hamengkubuwono has yet to win the
nomination of the Golkar Party, of which he is a member.
Hidayat
has been named by the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS,
which he formerly chaired, as one of its eight potential presidential
nominees.
The election law provides that only a party or coalition of parties that wins 25 percent of the vote in the legislative elections, or 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives, can nominate a presidential candidate.
Top
Lack Of Polls Watchdog In Aceh Could Spark Tension Next Year
The Jakarta Post
Monday, December 1, 2008
by Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh
The absence of an electoral supervisory agency in
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam could trigger violations in the upcoming 2009
election process and threaten stability in the area.
Accusations of violence and intimidation have marred the
election campaign of a number of candidates recently, and is fueling
concerns over possible interferences in the election process next
year.
"If the state Election Supervisory
Agency (Bawaslu) fails to immediately approve the establishment of an
Aceh Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu), we are concerned that
the election will be illegitimate, and could even undermine the peace
reached in Aceh," leader of the Democracy Awareness Students' Alliance,
Helmi, said recently.
Helmi was speaking at
a rally held at the Independent Elections Commission (KIP) and Aceh
Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD).
According
to students' the election process has recently been threatened by a
number of violent incidents attempting to intimidate prospective
voters.
Helmi says the recent bombing and
arson attack of the office and residence of the Partai Aceh leader is
one such example.
"Not to mention covert campaigns carried out by particular parties, such as the Partai Aceh," he said.
In
areas dominated by particular parties, opposition flags have been
prohibited and publicly burned, causing friction and violence among the
election participants.
"There are individuals who do not want peace in Aceh," said Helmi.
Debate
between Bawaslu and the Aceh legislature over administrative laws have
so far held up the establishment of a Panwaslu in the region.
"As
an autonomous region with its own administrative laws, we refer to the
2006 law on Aceh Administration for the establishment of a Panwaslu in
Aceh," said Aceh DPRD Speaker Said Fuad Zakaria.
However,
while the legislature favors using the Aceh Administration Law, Bawaslu
has argued that monitoring bodies like Panwaslu should be established
nationally, as expressed under the 2007 law on the General Election
Implementation.
Fuad said the dispute between the Aceh legislation and Bawaslu had hindered the establishment of a Panwaslu in Aceh.
"We
have conducted competency tests on prospective Panwaslu members in
Aceh, but have not formed the body because the Bawaslu can not
determine an outcome for the issue," said Fuad.
The
legislature is currently lobbying the Bawaslu to immediately make a
decision and have asked for Vice President Jusuf Kalla's recommendation
on the issue.
"In principle, the vice
president has agreed using the provincial law to form the Panwaslu. He
has also communicated directly with the Bawaslu," said Fuad.
"We
are still sticking by our decision and will call on the Aceh
administrative law in order to set up the Aceh Panwaslu," said
Fuad.
The Panwaslu was due to be established in June when election proceedings began.
Aceh
KIP deputy head Ilham Syahputra said the disagreement between Bawaslu
and the Aceh legislature was over the composition of the Aceh
Panwaslu.
"According to Bawaslu, the
Panwaslu formed by the Aceh legislature during the last gubernatorial
election was no longer applicable," said Ilham.
He
said the Aceh election process could be crippled if the Bawaslu and the
Aceh legislature remained in a deadlock over the decision.
"Each party should be acting on the people's interest rather than their respective egos in order for the Aceh election to run smoothly and peacefully," said Ilham.
Presidential Election Law being challenged in court
SINDO
December 2, 2008
The central
board of the Partai Bulan Bintang, PBB has lodged an appeal to the
Constitutional Court against Article 9 of the Presidential Election Law
which stipulates that a party must have 20% of the seats or 25% of the
votes in order to be able to nominate someone for president. 'We
will go to the Court tomorrow to register our appeal,' said a
party leader.
Ever since the law was drafted, Yusril Ihza Mahendra has
made it clear that they would call for a judicial review of this
provision. 'With such a condition, it is very difficult for younger
people to become candidates. They regard this provision as being
unconstitutional because Article 6 of the Constitution stipulates that
all parties should be able to nominate candidates.Although this in an
initiative take by the PBB, they hope that other parties will join the
action.
In Yogyakarta, the chairman of
Hanura, the party of retired general Wiranto says it is ready to join
the action. 'As far as we know, eighteen parties are preparing to take
a similar action. They all believe that the provision is a breach of
the constitutional right to nominate alternative candidates and
stands in the way of parties nominating alternative candidates.
Meanwhile,
Roy Janis of the Partai Demokrasi Pembaruan (PDP) believes that
this stipulation will mean that only people who are 'dripping
with money' will be able to nominate a candidate. According to Janis,
the stipulation has been included for technical reasons but in so
doing, a basic principle of democracy has been violated. By rights,
anyone who has won a seat in parliament should be able to nominate a
candidate.
The Partai Persatuan
Pembangunan, PPP is very unlikely to be able to nominate one of their
own members for president because the party is not expected to
obtain more than 15% (of the seats). 'This means that we will have to
join in a coalition with other parties if we can agree on a candidate
that conforms with our own vision.
The
chairman of the party, Suryadarma Ali, said that they do not
intend to undertake a massive advertising campaign in the media, but
will do advertising on a more limited scale. He said that the
competition in 2009 will be very fierce, with many candidates from the
newer parties taking part. He said the PPP will need to undergo a lot
of changes to be able to compete with the other parties, otherwise they
could be left behind. The party obtained fewer voters in 2004 than in
1999 and various polling surveys have put the party quite low down for
2009.
[PPP is one of the three parties that were permitted to exist during Suharto's New Order.]
Bye, Big Spenders
Recession casualty: Indonesia's political patrons who bankroll parties
The Straits Times (Singapore)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
by Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Indonesia Correspondent
JAKARTA: The rich politicians who bankrolled previous campaigns look
set to abandon their big-spending role in next year's general election,
after seeing their wealth dented by the stock market slump.
Instead, the parties are likely to return to traditional
grassroots campaigning, dropping high-profile TV advertisements and
relying on their national networks of supporters to drum up votes.
A
prominent casualty of the financial crisis is Mr Aburizal Bakrie - a
key patron of Indonesia's largest political party, Golkar - whose
family business is under pressure to repay debts after the price of the
shares it was using as collateral took a dive.
Another
big donor is Mr Sutrisno Bachir, who has cancelled a series of
nationwide television ads aimed at boosting both his personal
popularity and the image of the National Mandate Party which he
leads.
Before the crisis, Mr Sutrisno's main
income had been capital gains from his stock market investments, but
the PAN chairman seems unfazed by his losses.
'As
an investor who focuses on the stock market, of course I suffered
losses. Yes, a big amount, but how much, the media shouldn't need to
know. I'm used to exposing myself to risks. I make gains as well as
suffer losses.'
Other entrepreneurs believed to
be exposed to the stock market are Mr Hary Tanoesudibyo, donor to
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Demokrat party, Mr Airlangga
Hartarto of Golkar and Mr Fuad Bawazier of the newly established Hanura
party. They either have their businesses listed on the Indonesian Stock
Exchange or have invested in the shares of listed companies.
Already,
the stock market rout and impending recessions worldwide have started
to lead to dramatic cuts in campaign spending ahead of the general
election.
According to Nielsen Media Research,
political parties have spent 214.47 billion rupiah (S$26.5 million) on
media advertisements over the past six months.
But
that figure masks some dramatic monthly reductions - PAN, for example,
cut its spending from 37.6 billion rupiah in May to 24.6 billion rupiah
in June, and then slashed it to between 2 billion rupiah and 2.5
billion rupiah in October.
Other parties are likely to follow suit, forcing them to return to more traditional campaigning methods.
'If
they don't replace the ads with other means, that is, face-to-face
campaigns by the party network across the nation, then they will have
problems,' political analyst Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia
in Jakarta told The Straits Times.
And he
added: 'Bigger parties will benefit because they have a wider network
and more officials in many regions throughout the country.'
But
money is likely to remain a feature of another aspect of Indonesian
political campaigning - the street parades and free music concerts
where party shirts and cash-stuffed envelopes are handed out.
'Such
events have both legal and illegal aspects and involve a huge amount of
funds,' University of Indonesia politics lecturer Panji Anugrah told
The Straits Times. 'Money politics is inevitable in countries like
Indonesia where many people have economic problems.'
Indonesian
election law bans bribing voters, but parties always find ways to
exploit grey areas. Some give out money claiming it is compensation for
the time supporters sacrificed while attending an event, or the funds
to cover their transport costs.
Others will
contact a village head and pledge to help build a bridge or other
public facilities for the community if their party wins the vote in the
area.
'It's difficult to think of any party in
Indonesia that was developed and financed by the grassroots,' Mr Panji
said. 'In fact, it works the other way round. Parties or party elites
receive money from entrepreneurs, then the grassroots receive money
from the parties.'
Where the money went
TV: 133.8 billion rupiah (S$16 million)
Newspapers: 80.3 billion rupiah
Magazines: 220 million rupiah
Radio: 150 million rupiah
The big spenders
PAN: 37.6 billion rupiah
Gerindra: 36.1 billion rupiah
Demokrat: 35 billion rupiah
Where some of it came from
Mr
Sutrisno Bachir is the boss of Ika Muda Group, which has interests in
seafood and shrimp exports, real estate as well as investment. The
group was involved in founding the Islam-oriented Republika daily
newspaper. His decision to form an investment firm brought him closer
to the equity portfolio investment world and later made him rich.
Mr Aburizal Bakrie was Indonesia's richest man.The Bakrie Group, founded by his father, has businesses in infrastructure, mining, property and telecommunications. But the main contribution to
the family fortunes was last year's 600 per cent increase in the value of shares in their coal mining company Bumi Resources
PDI-P Confident of Election Win
The Jakarta Globe
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
by Febriamy Hutapea
A
day after a splinter party announced its presidential candidate, the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, said on Monday it
was still confident of winning next year's presidential election.
The
Democratic Reform Party, or PDP, declared on Sunday that Laksamana
Sukardi, its collective leadership coordinator, would be its
presidential candidate and party leader Roy BB Janis its vice
presidential candidate.
Laksamana was
the state minister for state enterprises when PDI-P leader Megawati
Sukarnoputri was the nation's president from 2001-4, while Roy was a
chairman of the PDI-P faction in the House of Representatives.
The
PDP was formed by disillusioned former PDI-P members, who split in late
2005 after Megawati refused to relinquish her position in the
party.
Laksamana has been identified as
a suspect in a corruption case involving the sale of two PT Pertamina
oil tankers, but the Attorney General's Office said last month it would
probably halt the four-year investigation due to a lack of
evidence.
"The declaration of the PDP's
presidential candidate has nothing to do with us, and we don't see it
as competition," said Pramono Anung, PDI-P's secretary general.
Pramono
said that PDI-P's position remained safe amid the electoral scrimmage
caused by the presence of 34 political parties, including PDP, in the
2009 elections.
"We are very safe.
Almost every survey result reveals that PDI-P will be the winning party
in next year's elections" he said.
However,
PDP has claimed that a large number of PDI-P voters would support PDP
as the party has tried to commit itself to what it regards as better
methods for pursuing democracy, including refusing to support
feudalism, which it claims is a weakness of PDI-P.
Pramono
said that PDP's announcement of its presidential candidate would not
influence PDI-P voters. "We believe that our loyal cadres and members
will continue to back us," he said.
He reaffirmed that PDI-P would consider forming a coalition with another party on condition that Megawati became the presidential candidate.
TopPolitical 'vibrancy' in Aceh ahead of Indonesian elections
Radio Australia
December 9, 2008
It's
four years this month, since the tsunami hit the Indonesian province of
Aceh. While the tsunami brought much destruction to the region, it was
the catalyst for great political change for Aceh. The government and
rebels from the Free Aceh Movement stepped up the pace for peace talks,
leading to the Memorandum of Understanding in August 2005. Since then,
Aceh has been politically vibrant, but on edge, especially in the lead
up to Indonesia's parliamentary elections in April, next year.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Afridal Darmi, human rights lawyer from Legal Aid Foundation Indonesia
SEN
LAM: Afridal, would that be an accurate observation that Aceh is a
little on edge in the lead-up to the 2009 parliamentary elections?
AFRIDAL DARMI: Yes, I think it's a fair observation on the condition right now.
SEN LAM: So what are some of the major issues there?
AFRIDAL
DARMI: The speciality about the general election in Aceh is that this
is the first time for the Free Aceh Movement to change, to transform
themselves from a combatant group into a political party. So it will be
the first time to test this new approach whether they can transform
themselves successfully or not. And these also will mean a big thing to
Indonesian democracy actually because if this approach with local
parties, that presumably will give a better constituency, closer
constituency to the people, succeeds in Aceh, it could also be copied
and also will be applied to the rest of Indonesia and it will be
a new development.
SEN LAM: How worried
is the entrenched establishment, the pro-government people within Aceh,
that GAM might get a very strong political voice in upcoming
elections?
AFRIDAL DARMI: Well, of
course, the national parties that are already established in Aceh will
feel like politically threatened by - that they can lose a lot of votes
from this new development but aside from that they generally accept it
as a part of promoting the peace process in Aceh.
SEN
LAM: What about the peace process itself - is that working well? I
understand that one of the key problems was finding something to do for
the GAM rebels who laid down their arms in the two years since the MOU
or three years since the signing. How well integrated are these former
fighters in Acehnese society?
AFRIDAL
DARMI: I think everybody tries their best but then again words alone
are not enough. We still need things to make them feel really accepted
by the community and vice versa, that the community also accepts them
fully. But if we don't find something more sustainable for them to do
then we better accept that things can be downhill from now.
SEN
LAM: But is reconciliation taking place on the ground, though, because
both sides, both the military and also GAM rebels have been accused of
abuse during the long-running conflict. Are there steps, albeit
tentative steps, towards reconciliation in Aceh?
AFRIDAL
DARMI: Yes, the government, the provincial government, set a new plan
for forming the TLC, Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This
commission is actually mandated by the MOU itself and also the law on
the governing of Aceh, the law that gives autonomous rights for Aceh.
But so far we are still in a preparing step for that TLC.
SEN LAM: The preparation stage?
AFRIDAL
DARMI: The preparation stage. The government appointed me, actually, to
be leader for this team for this preparation. Hopefully that next year
this commission will be established and we can start work on the
reconciliation issue from then.
SEN
LAM: Well, the MOU also guaranteed human rights abuses would be tried,
so has that been the case, have any steps been taken?
AFRIDAL
DARMI: I'm afraid that's not the case, although the MOU said the human
right court would be established for Aceh but there's no progress from
2005 till now.
SEN LAM: On Radio
Australia you're listening to Connect Asia and our studio guest this
morning is human rights lawyer Afridal Darmi from Indonesia's Legal Aid
Foundation, the LBH. Afridal, part of the MOU covered, obviously,
political participation. Is that happening within Aceh? Are the local
Acehnese feeling a sense of possession, if you like, of local politics
or is the entrenched Golkar is still pretty much running the show and
very influential?
AFRIDAL DARMI: I
think yes. I mean the local people, not only GAM, also founded their
own parties so we have six local parties now and not all of them are
lead by GAM, only one or two, I think it was. There is another party
called SIRA - it is formed by a former student movement there with the
same name, SIRA, The Centre Information for Referendum Aceh. Another
one is human activists - former student who gather themselves and
formed another party called PLA.
SEN LAM: So there's participation from most sections of Acehnese society?
AFRIDAL DARMI: Yes.
SEN
LAM: The Governor, Irwandi Yusuf, is - I understand he's quite ill. Is
that a cause for worry for the Aceh peace process given that he's
widely seen as a GAM leader with the ability to moderate the Aceh
issue?
AFRIDAL DARMI: Quite ill but now
I think he's recovered. He was in treatment for two months but he
returned. He's healthy enough to travel to California and give a speech
in the meeting of governor for green projects for development.
SEN
LAM: And just briefly, Afridal, to what extent do you think progress is
Aceh is being held back by the fear in Jakarta of the 'balkanisation'
of the Indonesian archipelago, the break-up and break away of all these
provinces?
AFRIDAL DARMI: No, I don't think that has any fundament because the very fundament of the MOU is the acceptance of Indonesia as a whole nation, the integrities guaranteed in the MOU, so 'balkanisation' is not an issue for Indonesia, actually.
8 Editors File for Review of Election Law
The Jakarta Globe
Thursday, December 11, 2008
By Muniggar Sri Saraswati
Eight newspaper chief editors on Wednesday filed for a judicial review of the legislative election law, which requires the media to provide equal opportunity to the advertisement campaigns of
contesting political parties.
Lawyer Torozatulo Mendrofa, who represented the plaintiffs at the Constitutional Court, said there were 20 articles in the law that violated the constitutional rights of his clients as they carry penalties, including the revocation of broadcasting licenses for broadcast media and publishing licenses for print
media.
"These
articles are vague. Political parties have different strengths when it
comes to financial funds," he said. "What will happen if some of them
do not want to place ads while some others aggressively run ads in
media?"
One article of the law deemed
detrimental to the editors' constitutional rights was Article 93. Its
paragraph 3 requires print and broadcasting media to provide equal
opportunity to political parties in running their campaign ads.
Another
article, number 97, requires print and broadcast media to provide "fair
and balanced" space and time for the publication of news, interviews
and campaign advertisements of the parties. Failure to comply could
results in the possible revocation of their broadcasting or publishing
license.
Torozatulo asserted that advertisements, including campaign ads, were one of the main sources of income for the media.
"These
articles may harm both print and broadcast media as they cannot force
parties to run ads in all media. Therefore, we demand the annulment of
the articles," he said.
Torozantulo represented Tarman Azzam of the daily Harian Terbit; Kristanto Hartadi of the Sinar Harapan; Sasongko Tedjo of the Semarang-based Suara Merdeka; Ratna Susilowati of the Rakyat
Merdeka daily;
Marthen Selamet Susanto of Koran Jakarta; Badiri Siahaan of the Media
Bangsa; Dedy Pristiwanto of Warta Kota daily and Ilham Bintang of Cek
& Ricek Tabloid.
The hearing, presided over by Justice Maria Farida Indrati, is set to resume next week.
Indonesia's legislative election is scheduled for April 2009 while the presidential election are in July.
Top
New Axis Of Islam Sought In Polls
The Jakarta Post
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Muhammadiyah
chairman Din Syamsuddin has called for the formation of a new strategic
coalition of Islam-based political parties to win next year's
presidential election.
The central axis is
intended to "maintain the political representation of Islam" in
Indonesia, said Din, who has been touted as a presidential or vice
presidential hopeful.
"Such a strategic
coalition is urgently required in the presidential election, as both
Islamic and Islam-based parties should ideally be represented by a
single presidential or vice presidential candidate," he said via text
message Wednesday.
He said the Islamic
coalition would play a role as a "new central axis" toward the two
forces -- one controlled by the incumbents and another by the
opposition group.
Not only will the new
axis push for the "solidarity of Muslim voters", but it will also
target swinging voters during the 2009 elections, Din said.
The
political forces of Islam, scattered across many parties, should not
become a "factor of weakness" for Muslims in Indonesia but instead
bring strength for them through politics, Din said.
In the 1999 election after the fall of Soeharto, a central axis of Islamic parties advocated by former Muhammadiyah leader Amien Rais successfully campaigned to appoint Abdurrahman Wahid as the new president. -- JP
House Furious Over Officials Absence From Abduction Hearing
The Jakarta Post
Thursday, December 11, 2008
by Adianto P. Simamora
A
House of Representatives' special committee has slammed the Attorney
General for failing to attend a meeting on the establishment of an
investigative tribunal into the abduction of democracy advocates.
Hendarman
Supandji was in Bali as part of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's
entourage for the Bali Democracy Forum. Instead of attending
Wednesday's meeting with lawmakers, he sent assistant attorney general
for special crimes Marwan Effendy.
"This is
not a technical meeting to discuss issues like the state budget. It is
a working meeting which is political in nature," Committee chairman
Effendi Simbolon said to Marwan in relation to Hendarman's
absence.
The Committee also invited
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo
A.S., National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, State
Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar and Indonesian Military
(TNI) chief Gen. Djoko Santoso.
None of these high-profile figures attended the meeting.
Widodo
was also in Bali while Djoko and Bambang sent letters explaining their
absence. Bambang had another hearing session with the House's
Commission III overseeing legal affairs.
"I
want to ask Hendarman if he received the final report from the team
about the abduction of democracy activists in 1997-1998. If he has, why
is the case back to square one?" Effendi said to Kompas.com.
Effendi,
a politician with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P),
said earlier that the Committee would call upon several retired
generals, including former Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) chief of
social-political affairs Yudhoyono, former ABRI commander Wiranto,
former Army Special Forces (Kopassus) chief Prabowo Subianto and former
Jakarta military chiefs Sutiyoso and Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.
The
Committee was established last year but has so far been inactive until
Effendi's recent announcement to summon the retired generals.
Observers
have questioned the motives behind the Committee's sudden move, saying
that those being summoned were presidential hopefuls in next year's
election, and the investigations would take place months before the
election.
Yudhoyono is the adviser to the
Democratic Party, which surveys have revealed possesses the most
popular candidates in the upcoming presidential election.
Wiranto, a former presidential candidate in 2004, is now chairman of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), while Prabowo, an adviser to the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra), will also run for presidency.
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Elections Body Warned Over Fraud
The Jakarta Post
Thursday, December 11, 2008
by Andra Wisnu, Denpasar
In
light of the electoral rigging during East Java's recent gubernatorial
election, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has warned Bali's
regional counterpart (KPUD) against shortchanging the electoral
process.
At a meeting in the governor's
office in Denpasar last week, KPU member I Gusti Putu Artha urged
Bali's KPUD members to support free and fair democracy and maintain
neutrality in the months of campaigning ahead.
"You
members must maintain your loyalty to this institution and nowhere
else. I don't want any friction or conflicts in the internal workings
of the KPU," he said.
"We don't want the election in Bali to be East Java-ed, where they ended up having to re-do the election," he said.
The Constitutional Court recently annulled the result of the East Java gubernatorial election, which elected Soekarwo -- nominated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic
Party and the National Mandate Party -- citing systematic and massive election fraud.
The
court found that, on June 15, Soekarwo had signed a deal with Moch.
Moezamil, secretary-general of the East Java village leaders
association, to pay between Rp 50 million (US$4,600) and 150 million to
each village in exchange for their support at the ballot box.
Under the same deal, Soekarwo also promised provincial funds to boost the "welfare" of village leaders and officials.
The case shed light on how vulnerable public officials, including KPUD members, could be to manipulation.
Money Politics Threat to the Elections
SINDO 11 December 2008
According to the former chairman of the Supreme Consultative Asssembly,
MPR, Amien Rais, a presidential candidate needs four ‘M’s - masses,
money, military and media as well as one ‘S’ - students.
As
things stand, if you don’t have money, he said, you needn't bother to
try. For this reason, supervision of the election is more necessary
than ever, to ensure that the elections are much better than in
2004.
A member of the Supervisory Board,
Panwaslu, said they have already detected the problem of money
politics, and are preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding
with Indonesia Corruption Watch. These investigations should be able to
detect unlawful sources of money.
[Our information indicates that one of the presidential candidates with the largest supply of money is Prabowo Subianto, former commander of Kopassus who was responsible for the militia that were employed with such devastating effect in East Timor. His monetary backing is believed to equal that of the incumbent president, SBY, namely more than one trillion rupiah. He plans to sell off his oil wells, while his brother in London is also providing funds for his campaign. It is believed that Prabowo's party will shortly take over the rights of the newspaper, Indonesia Raya and re-launch it as the party's organ. Prabowo appears almost daily on TV and current polls regularly include him among the top three or four candidates. TAPOL]
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GOLKAR orders an end to discussion about presidential candidate
SINDO, 11 December 2008
The
Central Board of GOLKAR has instructed the regional and local branches
of the party to end all discussions regarding the party's candidate for
the presidency. The instruction is signed by party chairman Jusuf
Kalla. The intention is for branches to concentrate on the legislative
elections, so whoever is putting themselves forward for the presidency
should do nothing to hamper activities for the elections in April.
In
the end, GOLKAR's candidate will be determined by the people in
general. The decision about a presidential candidate will not be taken
until after the legislative elections in April.
Meanwhile,
Fadel Muhammaad, the party's leader in Gorontalo, said he was surprised
by this news but he has decided to halt activities as requested.. He
also said that he has accepted in invitation to attend a book launch to
be held by the chairwoman of PDI-P, Megawati Sukarnoputri. He denied
that this was related to the question of his becoming her running
mate. He was afraid that this might lead to a misunderstanding with the
party's chairman Jusuf Kalla. He also said that he personally was very
keen to serve the nation at the national level.
News
of the GOLKAR instruction has led to accusations within the party of a
lack of democracy, among them Yuddy Chrisnandi of the younger
generation who has declared himself as a presidential candidate.. 'It
is ridiculous to prohibit discussion about the presidential candidate,'
he said. It is true that the matter will be decided after the
legislative elections but the selection process should already be
underway. Campaigning for the presidency cannot start until May, after
the elections in April. This leaves a very short period until the
presidential election in July which leaves very little time for the
selection process to occur.
He said that GOLKAR should put forward its candidate soon , so as to win support from the voters.
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Members of NU are ordered not to abstain (golput)
SINDO, 11 December
The general chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama said that although there is no prohibition for its members to abstain from voting, they will be advised to exercise their right to vote. It would be wrong for NU members to decide to abstain. 'We have decided that every citizen has an obligation to vote, but we dont have the powers to prohibit members from abstaining,' he said.
These remarks were in response to the call from Abdurrahman Wahid, for people to boycott the election, a stand adopted by Gus Dur because his party, the PKB has not been granted permission to participate in the legislative elections.
Muhaimin Iskandar of the PKB split-off party is meanwhile stressing that it is obligatory to take part in the voting.
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President or Bust: Yogyakarta's Sultan Sets His Sights High
The Jakarta Globe
Friday, December 12, 2008
by Bhimanto Suwastoyo
The governor of Yogyakarta, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, said on Thursday that he was only interested in running for the presidency in 2009, and was not contemplating the vice presidential slot.
"At the present, I only want to become president," the sultan told the Jakarta Globe.
He said that, as the law requires, he was ready to resign from his governorship to take part in the presidential race.
The name of the 62-year-old sultan-cum-governor has been aired as one of the potential presidential candidates to run for the ruling Golkar party, to which he belongs.
But the sultan, who heads the Yogyakarta sultanate, one of the two main royal houses in Central Java, said that he had yet to decide which party he would run for.
"Everything has go to through a process," he said when asked whether he had approached or had been approached by any political party interested in having him run as a presidential candidate in the 2009 elections.
He said that he had been and continued to be busy approaching various figures and organizations.
He cited an immediate plan to meet with former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who heads the country's second largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, and had scheduled meetings with several political parties.
"Approaches are certainly taking place, because it is yet unsure if political parties can choose from among their own political cadres," Hamengkubuwono said.
However, he said that any coalition, sharing of plans and cooperation, would only "crystallize" once the results of the legislative elections in April 2009 were out.
"I am certain that no party can go forward on their own," the governor said.
Several polls conducted by private survey organizations have shown that the popularity of the sultan, a lawyer by education, had remained high or even increased in recent months.
The latest survey, conducted by the Center for Strategic Policy and Development Studies, ranked him in fourth place with 6.66 percent of the vote. Incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was first with 37.57 percent, Megawati was second with 35.61 percent and Prabowo Subianto, the former commander of the Army's Special Forces, came in third with 10.59 percent.
The survey, involving 1,3555 respondents from 33 provinces, was conducted from Nov. 24 to Dec. 4.
Hamengkubuwono X said that his popularity, contrary to what many believed, was greater elsewhere than in Java itself and invitations to visit were flowing in from all corners of the archipelago.
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Support Grows For Sultan Bid
The Jakarta Post
Monday, December 15, 2008
Support for Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X's candidacy in next year's presidential election is increasing, with several major political parties seeing him as an attractive alternative to other candidates, a political observer said.
"It seems the sultan's public appeal as a contender for the presidential post is getting stronger," political analyst Sukardi Rinakit said here Saturday, as quoted by Antara news agency.
He responded to a statement made by United Development Party (PPP) secretary-general Irgan Chairul Mahfiz that the people, including PPP cadres, wanted to see alternative presidential hopefuls -- the sultan offers just such an alternative.
"The public know they can trust the sultan," said Sukardi, who is serving as the sultan's campaign manager.
He said the people want a stronger economy and peace.
"The sultan can give people optimism and peace of mind," Sukardi said.
Irgan had said earlier that the sultan had great potential to win wide public support as an alternative candidate for next year's election.
Despite his rising popularity, M. Qodari, executive director of Indo Barometer, said it would not be easy for the sultan to win the presidency. Lack of support from political parties, he said, would be the main barrier to the victory.
"The Sultan's biggest problem is his political vehicle. His background is with The Golkar Party. However, Golkar is controlled by incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla," he said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
"To move to another party would be very risky for the sultan. He is only supported by The Republikan Party, which is still relatively unknown among the public," he added.
However, Qodari said, this would change if the Sultan agreed to run as a vice presidential candidate, since he has been named the most popular candidate for the post in recent surveys.
"If the sultan is willing to take the number two position, many political parties are willing to offer it to him. But the sultan seems to want to try to run for the president's post," he added.
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Survey: People Favor Younger President
The Jakarta Globe
Friday, December 12, 2008
by Muninggar Sri Saraswati
A survey by the Indonesian Research and Development Institute released on Thursday has revealed that a majority of the people questioned wanted to see younger figures running either as presidential or vice presidential candidates in the 2009 election.
The national survey was held from Oct. 6 to Oct. 13, involved 2,000 respondents and defined "younger" as people under 60.
Institute chairwoman Notrida GB Mandica-Nur said on Thursday that 54.8 percent of the respondents answered "yes" when asked whether they want younger figures to run in the 2009 election.
Another 20.05 percent did not want younger candidates while 25.15 percent either said they did not understand the question or did not answer.
About 48.5 percent of respondents "wanted Indonesia to have an older president paired with a young vice president," Notrida said.
By contrast, 31.2 percent wanted both to be from the older generation while 17.8 percent wanted both to be younger. The rest were undecided.
Among the figures named as younger candidates were Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly Hidayat Nurwadid, who is 48; the president's spokesman, Andi Mallarangeng, 45; National Mandate Party Chairman Sutrisno Bachir, 51; Youth and Sports Minister Adhyaksa Dault, 45; Democrat Party Deputy Chairman Anas Urbaningrum, 39; State Secretary Hatta Radjasa, 55; and Tifatul Sembiring, 47, chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party.
The survey used the multi-stage random sampling method, with a 2.2 percentage-point margin of error.
Notrida said the results were surprising because 44.8 percent of the respondents reported that their salaries or wages were merely adequate while only 20 percent considered that their lives had improved over the past four years under the government of 59-year-old President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and 66-year-old Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
"We don't know why the respondents wanted younger figures to run in the upcoming election as we didn't ask them," she said.
Adhyaksa and Anas said Indonesians wanted alternative figures to stand for president in the 2009 election, after many surveys had predicted it would be a competition between Yudhoyono and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, 61.
"People want to see something new next year," Adhyaksa said.
Anas said the people may want younger figures to run to "freshen up the election."
"I don't think age matters as long as the candidates have progressive views and are committed to the betterment of Indonesia," he said.