Amien in one-horse debate race<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Amien Rais was the only presidential candidate on Wednesday to
\nanswer the challenge to attend a debate organized by students at
\nthe University of Indonesia in Depok.<\/p>\n
Arriving at the university at about 2 p.m., Amien only had a
\nfew minutes to rest as more than 1,000 students and lecturers
\nwere impatient to see the debate begin.<\/p>\n
Most of the students, some from other universities across the
\ncountry, had been waiting for almost three hours. To their
\ndisappointment, however, the other four presidential candidates
\nfailed to show up.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Nur Hidayat, who heads the University of Indonesia's
\nStudent Executive Body, had told the floor that the organizing
\ncommittee was only expecting Amien, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and
\nHamzah Haz to participate in the debate.<\/p>\n
The campaign team of incumbent President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri simply rejected the students' invitation, while
\nWiranto's team told the organizing committee they preferred to
\ncampaign across the country rather than attend the debate.<\/p>\n
\"We do not know why Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Hamzah Haz
\ndid not show up. They promised last night to come. They missed
\nthe opportunity to present their programs to the students, who
\nare eager to criticize their visions and missions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Susilo was the keynote speaker at a seminar on Wednesday
\nattended by high-profile businesspeople, while Wiranto held a
\nmeeting with a delegate from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
\nHamzah, who is the current Vice President, was in the Central
\nJava town of Surakarta to meet with a cleric, while Megawati was
\nin Surabaya, where she visited a market for about 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
A student at the University of Indonesia's School of Law,
\nFedra Rossi, questioned the courage of the absent candidates.<\/p>\n
\"What are they afraid of? We only want to hear about their
\nprograms because they do not provide sufficient information
\nduring the campaign. Do they think we want to buy a cat in a
\nsack?\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Dozens of Susilo supporters from the SBY Fan Club joined the
\ncrowd at the campus, but left after they learned that Susilo
\nwould not be attending the debate.<\/p>\n
Prior to the debate, several young men handed out mementos
\nbearing the pictures of Wiranto and his running mate Solahuddin
\nWahid.<\/p>\n
Unlike televised presidential debates, the event on Wednesday
\nallowed audience members to question the candidate on any topic
\nof their choosing.<\/p>\n
Political analyst Andi Mallarangeng, who hosted the event, let
\nstudents and lecturers, including University of Indonesia Rector
\nUsman Chatib Warsa, bombard Amien with questions on various
\ntopics, including corruption eradication, education, law
\nenforcement and Indonesia's ties with the International Monetary
\nFund.<\/p>\n
In the middle of the question and answer session, a student,
\nFajar, criticized Amien for talking about law enforcement while a
\ncouncillor representing his National Mandate Party (PAN) in
\nPadang, West Sumatra, was in jail for graft.<\/p>\n
\"How can you say that you will be able to uphold the law if
\nyou did nothing about your own people?\" said Fajar to the cheers
\nof the crowd.<\/p>\n
Amien appeared a bit flustered but was able to respond.
\n\"Indeed, the case in Padang is exceptional. It does not happen in
\nother parts of the country. Let us eradicate corruption
\ntogether.\"<\/p>\n
About 15 minutes later, with the event coming to an end, Amien
\nreturned to the student's criticism.<\/p>\n
\"Mas, for your information, we have dismissed all PAN
\ncouncillors implicated in the case. We will not tolerate it,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Box story<\/p>\n
;JP;DETIK;MUN;
\nANPAa..r..
\nAmien-train-pickpocket<\/p>\n
JP\/1\/BOX<\/p>\n
As a presidential candidate, Amien Rais is entitled to special
\nprotection from the state, and the candidate and his entourage
\nmust have been fairly confident that they did not have to worry
\nabout petty criminals.<\/p>\n
However, their confidence was shattered on Wednesday and Amien
\nmay want to rethink his security precautions.<\/p>\n
A police subprecinct chief, nine journalists and Amien's
\ncampaign deputy manager, Dien Syamsuddin, all had their cellular
\nphones stolen while accompanying the candidate on a packed
\ncommuter train from Manggarai station in South Jakarta to the
\nUniversity of Indonesia campus in Depok for a debate, detik.com
\nnews portal reported.<\/p>\n
Dien kept close to Amien's side during the trip, as the
\ncandidate made his way from car to car to talk with passengers.
\nAlso accompanying Amien were several police officers.<\/p>\n
Most commuter trains are notoriously overcrowded and
\npickpockets and sexual harassment are commonplace.<\/p>\n
A cameramen who lost his cellular phone while taking pictures
\nof Amien complained to the chief of the Tebet Police subprecinct,
\nAdj. Comr. Budiono, who was accompanying Amien's entourage.<\/p>\n
To the journalist's surprise, Budiono replied, \"Well, it did
\nnot happen only to you. I just lost my cellular phone as well.\"
\n-- The Jakarta Post<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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