Amien, a man who remembers his roots<\/p>\n
Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta<\/p>\n
This is the third in a series of articles on the five
\npresidential candidates in the eyes of their neighbors<\/p>\n
Although he spent much of his time lecturing at state-run Gadjah
\nMada University in Yogyakarta, presidential candidate Amien Rais
\nis still seen as a \"hometown boy\" by villagers in Kepatihan
\nKulon, Surakarta, Central Java.<\/p>\n
\"Many people here voted for Pak Amien Rais' party because they
\nrecognize him as one of their own,\" Sudarso, 62, said proudly.<\/p>\n
Amien's National Mandate Party (PAN) won up to 90 percent of
\n400 votes at one of seven polling stations in Kepatihan Kulon
\nduring the April 5 legislative election. Overall, however, the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) of President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri won the village's votes.<\/p>\n
In Surakarta, however, PAN garnered 43,000 votes compared to
\nthe 40,000 it won in the 1999 election, thus raising its
\nrepresentation in the local legislature from six to seven seats.<\/p>\n
According to his neighbors, Amien is a clean figure who had
\nthe courage to stand up against former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
They recalled vividly how Amien called for the presidential
\nterm to be limited in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n
They also considered Amien down-to-earth, as he continued to
\nspare his time to visit and talk with them even after he was
\nelected in 1999 as Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly,
\nthe country's highest legislative body.<\/p>\n
\"Because of his tight schedule, Pak Amien cannot stay longer
\nwith his neighbors, but for ordinary people like us, his thoughts
\nare already enough,\" Sudarso said.<\/p>\n
Hadawiyah, 43, however, has a slightly expanded view on Amien,
\nwho has picked Siswono Yudohusodo as his running mate for the
\nupcoming election.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Amien is a very serious and disciplined person, yet he is
\nalso very hospitable to his neighbors,\" said Hadawiyah, who lives
\nnext door to Amien's village home.<\/p>\n
Villagers said his strong discipline was deeply implanted in
\nthe family by his late mother, Sudalmiyah Suhud Rais.<\/p>\n
\"Elderly people often say that none of Eyang Suhud's children
\nwere allowed to play outside the fence of their house,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Sudarso agreed with Hadawiyah, and said Amien's younger years
\nwere spent on studying and reciting the Koran after school at the
\nlocal mosque, the Langgar Setabelan.<\/p>\n
\"Due to his keen interest in Korean recital, Pak Amien became
\nvery respected among his friends. He is clever, too, because he
\nis the first person from here who studied overseas,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Surakarta PAN executive chairman Umar Hasyim said the increase
\nin the party's ballots was due to Amien's popularity.<\/p>\n
\"We wouldn't have won so many votes if it wasn't for Pak
\nAmien, although many votes were reaped from Muhammadiyah
\nmembers,\" he said, referring to the second-largest Muslim
\norganization.<\/p>",
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