Election campaign kicks off<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia began yesterday the 1997 election
\ncampaign with senior political leaders throughout the country
\nmeeting supporters in peaceful and orderly gatherings.<\/p>\n
The capital city Jakarta and other cities in the archipelago
\nwere bathed in green, yellow and red -- the colors of the United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP), Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty (PDI).<\/p>\n
Traffic in Jakarta and many other cities was mostly normal as
\nthis year's campaign rules restricted activities to designated
\nareas only, and banned street rallies and motorcades. There were
\nseveral incidents of groups violating election guidelines such as
\nGolkar supporters riding around in vehicles owned by state
\nagencies.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the General Elections Institute Moch. Yogie S.M.,
\nand chairman of the Elections Supervision Committee Singgih,
\na member of the institute's advisory board Gen. Feisal Tanjung and
\nNational Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo, toured campaign
\nsites in Yogyakarta, Central and East Java.<\/p>\n
"We're not making this tour to campaign, but to observe
\nwhether the contestants are adhering to the laws," Yogie said.<\/p>\n
Some 15,000 people in yellow T-shirts, bandanas and other
\nattributes attended the Golkar gathering in Lebak regency, some
\n150 kilometers southwest of here.<\/p>\n
Chairman Harmoko was the sole speaker and wooed the locals
\nwith the local dialect. "'Rek pilih naon euy? (Which party will
\nyou vote for on polling day?)" he asked, to which the audience
\nresponded eagerly "Golkar euy!"<\/p>\n
Harmoko spoke about poverty eradication and how the dominant
\ngroup will work to improve the local people's welfare. Some 190
\nof the 300 villages in the Lebak regency are currently recipients
\nof the government's poverty alleviation funds.<\/p>\n
Harmoko also promised that the government-backed group would
\nappeal to major businessmen to invest more in the regency, which
\nwas one of Golkar's strongholds in the 1992 general election.<\/p>\n
In Central Java, Golkar deputy chairwoman Siti Hardiyanti
\nRukmana addressed thousands of supporters in Semarang. Noted
\ndangdut singer Rhoma Irama, whose switch in political allegiance
\nfrom PPP to Golkar caused an uproar recently, campaigned in Blora
\nregency.<\/p>\n
Hardiyanti, the eldest daughter of President Soeharto, told
\nthe crowd not to abstain from voting.<\/p>\n
"As responsible citizens of Indonesia, you must not become
\nGolput (polls abstainers). Of course, it'd be wonderful if you
\nchoose Golkar," said Hardiyanti, better known as Tutut.<\/p>\n
But not everyone in attendance were faithful Golkar
\nsupporters. One participant said: "I joined the gathering because
\nI have been given a Golkar yellow T-Shirt and a cap. I'll join
\nthe PPP and PDI campaigns if they gave me T-shirts, too."<\/p>\n
In Medan, some 15,000 supporters of the United Development
\nParty (PPP) crowded the Merdeka soccer field yesterday.<\/p>\n
Clad in the party's dominant green color, some painted their
\nface green, while others shaved their hair to form a star, the
\nparty's symbol.<\/p>\n
Addressing the campaign was party chairman Ismail Hasan
\nMetareum, who spoke on the issues of corruption, monopoly and the
\nlack of freedom of expression.<\/p>\n
Amid loud cheers from supporters, Ismail, dressed in a
\ntraditional Malayan outfit, pledged that the party would help
\n"the helpless" and the youth "get their political rights back".<\/p>\n
"People should have the freedom to air their opinion which is
\ndifferent from the government's without fear of being branded as
\nthe state's enemies," he said.<\/p>\n
Ismail, better known as Buya, also proposed that the
\ngovernment increase the education budget from 12 percent to 20
\npercent of the overall state budget.<\/p>\n
PPP is focusing its campaign on justice, democratization and
\nhuman rights. The theme was written on banners, headbands and
\nbandannas which the PPP supporters carried and wore.<\/p>\n
One banner read: "Vote for Bintang (or the star)." Another
\nread: "Hey, young ones. Grab the nation's future from those
\nhypocrites."<\/p>\n
In the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak, about 2,000
\npeople, mostly youths clad in the party colors of red and black,
\njoined a rally at the Khatulistiwa soccer field, featuring
\nchairman Soerjadi.<\/p>\n
A score of police and military officers guarded the soccer
\nfield in anticipation of disturbances by supporters of the
\noverthrown PDI leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
But no tight measures were applied on the first day of the 27-
\nday election campaign in this equatorial town that was regaining
\nits composure following ethnic riots, which shook the province a
\nfew months ago.<\/p>\n
A local party cadre, Johanes Polansuka, dismissed the
\npotential for such scuffles, saying the party's internal conflict
\nlargely affects Java.<\/p>\n
"We never feel involved with the continuing dispute. It seems
\nlike a conflict within the party's leadership that has no impact
\non the masses," Polansuka, secretary of the PDI's West Kalimantan
\nchapter, said.<\/p>\n
"The split may affect the party's cadres here, but it is too
\ninsignificant to change our mind," he added.<\/p>\n
Opening his campaign speech, Soerjadi focussed on eradicating
\ncorruption within the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
"We will urge the People's Consultative Assembly to adopt a
\nlegislation on the national anticorruption drive, which will pave
\nthe way for anticorruption law," Soerjadi said.<\/p>\n
"Corruption has reached an alarming level in the country
\nbecause it has become common among the people," he said.<\/p>\n
He blamed the lack of nationalism among Indonesians for
\ncausing the overwhelming problem. The absence of nationalism, he
\nsaid, had led people to nurture their greed.<\/p>\n
Soerjadi renewed the party's call for an abolition of the
\ncontroversial 1965 laws on politics, which include election laws
\nand laws on political organizations. (team)<\/p>\n
More stories on Page 2<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>\n
Shares -- Page 11<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/election-campaign-kicks-off-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }