Gus Dur goes on amid poor personal, government image: Poll<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A recent poll conducted in five major cities by
\nthe Center for the Study of Development and Democracy (CESDA)
\nindicates that most urban dwellers are wary of President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid's indecisive attitude, but still believe he
\nwill survive his presidential tenure till 2004.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the negative opinions the public hold concern his
\ninconsistencies, aimless talk and stubbornness,\" CESDA's
\nexecutive director Naning Mardiani said.<\/p>\n
The poll was conducted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 15 in Jakarta,
\nSurabaya, Medan, Banjarmasin and Makassar.<\/p>\n
It was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,247
\npeople.<\/p>\n
Some 73 percent of respondents regarded Abdurrahman's habit of
\nchanging his policies as an unfavorable one for a president. They
\nwere also divided over whether Abdurrahman's tendency to joke and
\nquip was a suitable for a president.<\/p>\n
When queried about Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, most
\nrespondents generally gave more positive responses.<\/p>\n
More than 60 percent rejected the suggestion that she was not
\nintelligent. She received overwhelming support when people were
\nasked if she had charisma and patience as a leader.<\/p>\n
More than 80 percent of respondents doubted the government's
\nability to conclude the alleged corruption case against former
\npresident Soeharto in the coming six months.<\/p>\n
Despite the generally negative responses, the poll still
\nshowed a general trust in the government, with 54.9 percent of
\nrespondents believing the government will see out its full term.<\/p>\n
Besides evaluating the government, the poll also questioned
\nrespondents about the prospect of national disintegration and
\ncivil-military and state-citizen relations.<\/p>\n
A majority of those responding stated they did not agree with
\nany part of the country breaking away from Indonesia, including
\nAceh and Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
An overwhelming 74.4 percent said they did not agree with the
\nproposal of turning Indonesia into a federal state.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the respondents want nationalism to be the basis of
\nstate principles instead of religion,\" Naning said, adding that
\nthis was reflective of the results in last year's general
\nelection.<\/p>\n
The elections resulted in the major national political parties
\nof the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan),
\nthe Golkar Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) finishing
\nas the top three parties, in contrast to religiously-based ones.
\n(jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-goes-on-amid-poor-personal-government-image-poll-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}