Akbar trails behind Prabowo: Poll<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari and Ainur Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Surabaya<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court's controversial verdict clearing Golkar
\nchairman Akbar Tandjung of graft appears to have done little to
\nrestore his popularity among the party faithful ahead of the
\nGolkar national convention, a recent survey has revealed.<\/p>\n
The survey of party members, conducted jointly by the London-
\nbased Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) and its Jakarta partner, the
\nNational Leadership Center (NLC), ranked Akbar third among the
\nparty's possible presidential candidates behind Prabowo Subianto,
\na former chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command
\n(Kostrad).<\/p>\n
Prabowo, who is married to a daughter of former president
\nSoeharto and is widely believed to have been involved in past
\nintrigue and rights abuses, won the support of 34 percent of the
\nrespondents, with Akbar in a distant second with 13 percent.
\nFormer Indonesian Military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto was third
\nwith 11 percent, followed by Jusuf Kalla (3 percent), Surya Paloh
\n(1 percent), and Aburizal Bakrie (less than 1 percent). The
\nremaining respondents (26 percent) preferred other candidates.<\/p>\n
Golkar is scheduled to shortly hold a national convention to
\nelect its sole presidential candidate. Muslim scholar Nurcholish
\nMadjid and Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono X have withdrawn from
\nthe contest on ethical grounds.<\/p>\n
\"The results of this survey are surprising. Why is Prabowo
\ngarnering the most support? Possibly, it's because of his
\nleadership skills,\" NLC co-founder Taufik Bahaudin told a press
\nbriefing here on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The survey involved 182 respondents who said they were Golkar
\nsupporters. The error of margin was estimated at 7.3 percent.<\/p>\n
The survey was part of a wider survey on Indonesian voters'
\npresidential preferences, which put former senior security
\nminister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on top.<\/p>\n
Separately, Kalla, who is the coordinating minister for
\npeople's welfare, was confident he could win the votes of more
\nthan 220 Golkar regency\/municipality branches.<\/p>\n
\"I will not quit the convention. I believe I will get support
\nfrom regency\/municipality branches in eastern Indonesia, Sumatra,
\nand East Java,\" he said on the sidelines of his ministerial visit
\nto Surabaya on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Kalla suggested that the convention's organizing committee
\nremain calm in response to moves by Wiranto and Surya Paloh to
\ngather together the leaders of party regency\/municipality
\nbranches for private meetings.<\/p>\n
Golkar officials suspect that such meetings could lead to
\nbribery and other unsavory practices, thereby tarnishing the
\nimage of the convention.<\/p>\n
During the event, to be held at the Hilton Hotel in Central
\nJakarta, all six candidates will be required to briefly explain
\ntheir programs before the electors, who will comprise leaders of
\nthe party's central board and regional branches, as well as
\nrepresentatives of its affiliated organizations.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the rector of Semarang-based Diponegoro University,
\nEko Budihardjo, said Akbar would visit the university on April 26
\nfor a debate with the presidential candidates of a number of
\nother parties. During the debate, they would be required to
\nexplain their policies to the university's academic community.<\/p>\n
Eko called on students to refrain from organizing rallies on
\ncampus while the debate was taking place.<\/p>\n
\"It would be OK if the rallies were held off campus,\" Eko
\nsaid, adding nevertheless that students should concentrate on
\nquestioning the presidential candidates about their policies
\nduring the debate rather than demonstrating.<\/p>",
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