Can Hamzah-Agum beat the titans?<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Ridwan M. Sijabat, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As a local saying goes, when elephants clash the deer caught in
\nthe middle dies. But the campaign team of Hamzah Haz and Agum
\nGumelar is convinced that the delicate but skillful deer will
\nprevail.<\/p>\n
\"Let the elephants kill one another, the deer representing the
\nUnited Development Party (PPP) will win the competition,\"
\nHamzah's chief strategist Hasrul Azhar told The Jakarta Post at
\nparty headquarters here on Friday.<\/p>\n
The \"elephants\" here are major parties Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the Golkar Party -- which
\nhave nominated President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Gen. (ret)
\nWiranto as their presidential candidate respectively -- who are
\nin tight competition for votes, including those of the vast
\nmembership of the country's largest Muslim organization,
\nNadhlatul Ulama.<\/p>\n
Hamzah's team say they have been lobbying influential clerics,
\nand thus are upbeat that their presidential and vice presidential
\nhopefuls will win over a large part of NU's 40 million voters.<\/p>\n
\"Hamzah is a nadliyin (NU member) and he still has many
\ninfluential colleagues in the largest Muslim organization,\"
\nHasrul said.<\/p>\n
Shrewd politicians working for their chosen candidates have
\nbeen intensively courting NU's elite and members. The latest
\nresult seems to be Thursday's fatwa issued by dozens of NU
\nclerics saying that people should not abstain from the July
\npolls; and that they fully supported the decision of the National
\nAwakening Party (PKB), which main basis is NU, to endorse Wiranto
\nand urged (not instructed, as earlier reported) followers to vote
\nfor the Wiranto-Solahuddin Wahid ticket.<\/p>\n
Such an edict could create division among the NU elite, which
\ncould work to the benefit of the underdog candidate, Hamzah's
\nteam says.<\/p>\n
Hasrul said he and his deputy from the PPP, Suryadharma Ali,
\nwere approaching Muslim groups and organizations while his other
\ndeputy, Wahab Mokodongan from Agum's camp, would focus on
\nnationalist groups and families of retired servicemen.<\/p>\n
Hasrul said the team's target was to contend the likely runoff
\nof the presidential election in September.<\/p>\n
\"PPP's gain of 8.15 percent, or 9.24 million, of 113.4 votes
\nin the recent legislative election is just 'basic capital',\"
\nHasrul said of the small gain of the PPP in April's polls.<\/p>\n
Wahab Mokodongan, a former spokesman for the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI), said his team had been approaching organizations
\nand networks related to Agum. These include the Indonesian Sports
\nCommittee (KONI) which Agum chairs, communities in Sulawesi,
\nwhere Agum once served as military commander, and Lampung in
\nsouthern Sumatra where Agum led the local military district. Agum
\nwas also governor of the National Resilience Institute
\n(Lemhanas). The nonactive minister of transportation, Agum is
\nstill a key figure in the Indonesian Transportation Society.<\/p>\n
\"Agum is a nationalist and has strong links with many mass
\norganizations and peripheral groups,\" Hasrul said.<\/p>\n
Yet working the \"roots\" won't hurt any \"nationalist\" -- wooing
\nvoters from the home provinces of Hamzah and Agum, namely West
\nKalimantan and West Java, team members say, is also crucial.<\/p>\n
Selected members of the Hamzah Haz-Agum Gumelar campaign team:<\/p>\n
o Hasrul Azhar: a member of the United Development Party (PPP)
\nfrom North Sumatra, he has good connections with the PPP
\nleadership.<\/p>\n
o Andi M. Ghalib: a former attorney general who once faced
\ncorruption charges, he leads the campaign team's division to
\nmobilize supporters with musician Jelly Tobing as his deputy.<\/p>\n
o Eggie Sudjana: a founder of the Indonesian Muslim Workers'
\nUnion who led rallies on workers' and Muslim-related issues.<\/p>\n
o Tosari Wijaya: a former chairman of the United Development
\nfaction in the People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
o Dorce Gamalama: a famous entertainer, the hajjah (a woman who
\nhas gone on the haj) is a former bus conductor and nightclub
\nsinger who underwent a sex change almost 20 years ago.<\/p>",
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