1. WIRANTO: 30 pt, 4 cols, 1 x 36<\/p>\n
Wiranto's team fights for solidity<\/p>\n
Members of the campaign team for Gen. (ret) Wiranto and cleric
\nSolahuddin Wahid are still struggling to match their thoughts and
\nbehavior as the one-month campaigning period kicks off on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
This is because the members come from three different groups:
\nWiranto's \"Imperium\" team, named after the hotel where they are
\nbased, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Golkar itself.<\/p>\n
\"We need to understand each other and to adapt to the habits
\nof the team members,\" campaign team deputy secretary Rully
\nChairul Azwar told The Jakarta Post last night.<\/p>\n
He attributed the relatively late process to the pairing of
\nWiranto and Solahuddin being made official as recently as May 11
\nand support from PKB coming only last week.<\/p>\n
Rully added that solidity within Golkar -- from the central
\nboard to the regional branches -- had contributed to preparations
\nfor the campaign.<\/p>\n
Training for campaigners concluded here on Monday after
\nearlier sessions in Jakarta and Solo, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Theo L. Sambuaga, deputy chairman of Wiranto's campaign team,
\nsaid that the Golkar and PKB teams were ready to retain their
\nrespective supporters and also win over swing voters.<\/p>\n
He said there were 1,000 campaigners at a national level,
\nabout 300 in the provinces and around 200 at the regental level.<\/p>\n
Theo said the campaign team's target was to win at least 36
\npercent of the vote in the first round if Wiranto and his running
\nmate could not win a single majority, adding, \"this will be a
\nstrong basis for the duo to win the second round\".<\/p>\n
Rully added that the campaign team was still raising funds
\nfrom businesspeople and supporters, as many team members in the
\nregions had refused to dig into their own pockets.<\/p>\n
Profile of some Golkar campaign team members
\n=============================================================
\no Slamet Effendy Yusuf (chairman)
\n- A deputy chairman of Golkar, he formerly led Ansor, a youth
\nwing of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim mass organization for two
\nterms, from 1985 through 1995. This facilitated his entry into
\nthe inner circle of PKB, whose members are mainly from the NU.<\/p>\n
o Lt. Gen. (ret) Fachrul Razi (deputy chairman)
\n- Born in Aceh in 1947, he last served in the military as chief
\nof general affairs in 1998.<\/p>\n
o Mahfud MD (deputy chairman)
\n- A deputy chairman of PKB, Mahfud was defense minister in the
\nCabinet of president Abdurrahman Wahid. Earlier he lectured in
\nlaw at the Indonesian Islamic University in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
o Fahmi Idris (coordinator for Sumatra)
\n- A deputy chairman of Golkar, he was a manpower minister in the
\nabove Cabinet. The director of PT Kodel is also active in the
\nIndonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).<\/p>\n
o Theo L. Sambuaga (media coordinator)
\n- Also a deputy chairman of Golkar, he was minister for people's
\nhousing and settlement, also under Abdurrahman. He was secretary
\ngeneral of the Indonesian Youth National Committee (KNPI) and
\nchairman of the Indonesian Reform Youth Front (AMPI).
\n===============================================================<\/p>\n
2. PLATFORM: 48 pt, 3 cols, 3 x 18<\/p>\n
Job creation tops
\nthe list of Mega's
\neconomic platform<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate, Hasyim
\nMuzadi, promise to create millions of new jobs in the next five
\nyears if she gets reelected for a second term in the upcoming
\nelection.<\/p>\n
But critics have said that this is an area where she has
\ngenerally failed so far.<\/p>\n
In a document describing the economic platform of the pair,
\nthe economy is envisaged to grow by an average of 6.8 percent per
\nyear, peaking at 7.9 percent in 2009, in order to create some
\n12.9 million jobs during the five-year period. This, in turn, is
\nexpected to significantly resolve pressing unemployment problems.<\/p>\n
Although the current Megawati administration has been
\napplauded by many for successfully stabilizing the country's
\nmacroeconomic indicators such as inflation and interest rates, it
\nhas failed to transform this into higher economic growth, mainly
\ndue to a lack of fresh investment amid lingering legal
\nuncertainty, corruption and security problems.<\/p>\n
The economy has been growing at a mediocre rate of around 4
\npercent during the past couple of years, mainly driven by
\ndomestic consumption. Economic growth needs to accelerate to 6
\npercent to 7 percent per year in order to create sufficient jobs
\nfor the millions of unemployed. Higher investment is crucial to
\nthe acceleration of economic growth.<\/p>\n
High unemployment has been the most pressing problem since the
\ncountry tumbled into an economic crisis in the late 1990s. The
\ncountry's open unemployment figure is around 10.5 million, while
\npeople living below the poverty line total around 40 million (of
\nthe country's 220 million population).<\/p>\n
But Megawati is confident that investment will return.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the investment would be financed from domestic
\nsources,\" stated the economic platform document, adding that to
\nachieve the above growth target, a huge investment of around 27.1
\npercent of gross domestic product (GDP) would be needed.<\/p>\n
According to the document, the unemployment rate is projected
\nto fall to 6.3 percent in 2009 from last year's 9.5 percent.<\/p>\n
As part of a job creation program, the Megawati-Hasyim duo
\nwill also empower small and medium-scale enterprises by providing
\neasier access to bank loans, with priority in the eastern part of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The pair also sees the agriculture sector as playing a
\ndominant role in absorbing unemployment and plans an average 2.8
\npercent growth in this sector, compared with the 2.1 percent
\nrealized from 2001 to 2003.<\/p>\n
The Megawati government plans incentives for farmers.<\/p>\n
Apart from job creation, other agenda items that top the list
\nin Megawati's economic platform are maintaining fiscal
\nsustainability and improving the international competitiveness of
\nthe local economy.<\/p>\n
The government's debt level will be reduced to 32.8 percent of
\nGDP in 2009 from this year's estimate of 64.4 percent.<\/p>\n
Reducing the debt will involve an attempt to trim the budget
\ndeficit by strengthening fiscal sustainability through higher tax
\nrevenue, new foreign debt management and efficiency in government
\nexpenses.<\/p>\n
Despite the controversy on Indonesian workers abroad, the pair
\nsupports the sending of more workers as a solution to help
\nimprove conditions for the domestic workforce.<\/p>\n
3. MEGA: 36 pt, 5 cols, 1 x 40<\/p>\n
Mega-Hasyim promise corruption-free cabinet<\/p>\n
In an apparent effort to continue the anticorruption crusade
\nthat he launched as leader of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Hasyim
\nMuzadi, the running mate of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, has
\ninsisted that fighting corruption will be one of the main
\npriorities of a Mega-Hasyim government.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Haysim promised that their Cabinet would \"consist
\nof people imbued with loyalty, competence and integrity.\"<\/p>\n
\"I am happy to say that Ibu Megawati agrees about this,\" said
\nHasyim, who declared he was nonactive as NU chairman when the
\nGeneral Elections Commission (KPU) declared him as a vice
\npresidential candidate on May 22.<\/p>\n
Addressing one of her rare press conferences, Megawati also
\nsaid that she had agreed with Hasyim not to appoint any person
\ntarnished by suspicions of graft to her Cabinet.<\/p>\n
\"It is part of the deal that we discussed six months ago
\nbefore we agreed to pair up as running mates,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
Hasyim said that combating corruption should start from the
\ntop within the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
In October Hasyim and Syafii Ma'arif, the chairman of
\nMuhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization, pledged to
\nwork together in a \"cultural\" movement to combat corruption.<\/p>\n
With their organizations claiming a combined membership of 70
\nmillion, they said they shared the responsibility for spreading
\nthe anticorruption message in their communities and among
\nreligious leaders. Indonesia is among the world's most corrupt
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Megawati meanwhile defended her much criticized stance on
\ncorruption, saying that much had been done to try to bring
\nsuspects to court. Nevertheless, the current attorney general, MA
\nRachman, who has been questioned by the police for concealing
\nassets, has been allowed to remain in the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Mega and Hasyim also briefly described their program in the
\neconomics field, which focuses on the creation of jobs, increases
\nin civil service salaries, improvements in education, and
\nreducing the number of those living under the poverty line by 45
\npercent.<\/p>\n
Both leaders also promised to continue with the fight against
\nterrorism \"within proper legal parameters.\"<\/p>\n
In defense of her track record, Megawati said the situation
\ntoday was much better than it was when she was appointed
\nPresident in 2001.<\/p>\n
\"Those who say that the economy is stagnant are simply denying
\nthe facts. There are many things that this current government has
\ndone,\" she remarked.<\/p>\n
The pair also pledged that they would not resort to smears and
\ninsults against their rivals during the month-long presidential
\ncampaign.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia should prove to the world that we can practice
\ndemocracy in a peaceful manner,\" the President remarked.<\/p>\n
4. GOLKAR: 30 pt, 2 cols, 2 x 18<\/p>\n
Golkar to boost
\nimage of Wiranto<\/p>\n
The Golkar Party has handed out reading material to its
\ncampaigners to serve as ammunition to counter political opponents
\nwho hope to tarnish the image of its presidential candidate, Gen.
\n(ret) Wiranto.<\/p>\n
The former armed forces commander has been linked to a spate
\nof human rights abuses, including the May riots in 1998, the
\nbloody incidents of Trisakti and Semanggi in 1998 and 1999, and
\nthe carnage in East Timor in 1999.<\/p>\n
The material would also be used by Golkar campaigners to
\npromote Wiranto and his running mate Solahuddin Wahid, a senior
\nleader of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), during a month-long campaign
\nstarting Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The materials were handed out to 350 campaigners during a
\ntraining session at the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center earlier
\non Monday.<\/p>\n
Members of Golkar and the National Awakening Party (PKB),
\nwhich is affiliated with the NU, will campaign in the provinces
\nof Jakarta, West Java and Banten.<\/p>\n
Similar training sessions have been held for campaigners due
\nto be deployed to cities in Central Java, East Java and to other
\nislands.<\/p>\n
Golkar has also prepared arguments to counter opinion that the
\ncandidacy of Wiranto means the revival of militarism and that
\nWiranto is working to an agenda of the Cendana family -- that of
\nformer president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
During the training, the campaigners were told that Wiranto
\nwas the victim of an international conspiracy.<\/p>\n
The campaigners were also told to underline the failure of the
\ncurrent government to protect migrant workers and to save state
\nassets, as campaign issues.<\/p>\n
Wiranto said after a meeting with editors of print and
\nelectronic media that, although his meeting with East Timor
\nPresident Xanana Gusmao could not stop the prosecution process,
\ncurrently in the hands of the country's judiciary on his alleged
\ninvolvement in gross human rights violations, it could at least
\nshow that both sides had started to reconcile.<\/p>\n
\"The meeting shows that top leaders who were directly involved
\nin the East Timor breakaway have decided to leave the past behind
\nthem and start to build new relations without vengeance or
\nretaliation,\" he said after the talks with editors.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile deputy chairperson of the National Awakening Party
\n(PKB) Khofifah Indar Parawansa officially tendered her
\nresignation from the campaigning team of Wiranto because she
\npreferred to remain as the chairperson of Muslimat, a women's
\norganization affiliated to the NU.<\/p>\n
Muslimat made a decision recently to remain neutral in the
\nelection and be nonactive if its members were in any team set up
\nto campaign for the success of NU members in the presidential
\nelection.<\/p>\n
In Cirebon, West Java, at least 65 NU leaders from 60 Muslim
\nboarding schools declared their support for the Wiranto-
\nSolahuddin candidacy.<\/p>\n
Spokesman Abdul Muhaimin Asad said the support was taken to
\nconsolidate an earlier decision of the PKB that the party
\nsupported the Wiranto-Solahuddin pairing.<\/p>\n
Asad added that the Muslim clerics supported Wiranto and
\nSolahuddin because the General Elections Commission (KPU) had
\ndisqualified PKB candidate Abdurrahman Wahid from running for the
\npresidency for health reasons.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/1-wiranto-30-pt-4-cols-1-x-36-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}