Mega's camp plays down defection<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta<\/p>\n
An aide to presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri played
\ndown on Wednesday the defection of some legislators from the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to the Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono camp, saying that the defectors were not from
\nthe party's mainstream.<\/p>\n
Sukowaluyo Mintoharjo, a member of the Megawati campaign team,
\nalso said that every party member was free to decide on what he
\nwanted to do ahead of the election.<\/p>\n
\"The PDI-P is not alone as none of the other parties are all
\nthat compact at the present time, either,\" he said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"If some PDI-P members decide to throw their lot in with the
\nother presidential candidate, they are free to do so. We
\nshouldn't be too worried ...,\" said Sukowaluyo, who is also a
\nformer chairman of the PDI-P's research unit.<\/p>\n
He was responding to news of a planned meeting at the home of
\nPDI-P legislator Arifin Panigoro in South Jakarta on Thursday
\nevening to discuss proposals to help Susilo win the runoff on
\nSept. 20.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Susilo strategist Suko Sudarso said that a group of
\nformer and active PDI-P members, including legislator Julius
\nUsman and Meilono Suwondo, had thrown their support behind the
\nSusilo-Kalla ticket.<\/p>\n
Another PDI-P member, Sophan Sophiaan, will also come out in
\nsupport of Susilo, according to Suko.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that the support for Pak Bambang will shape up after
\nthe meeting, and the day afterwards we will issue a joint
\nstatement expressing our political stance,\" said Suko, a former
\nPDI-P member, after a preliminary meeting with a number of
\nwavering Golkar politicians at the Regent Hotel on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
This new development comes on the heels of intensified
\ncontacts between Megawati and Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung. The
\ntwo have met three times since the July 5 presidential election,
\nwhich saw Megawati finish second behind Susilo. Golkar's
\ncandidate Wiranto came third, but now is challenging the election
\nresults in court.<\/p>\n
Julius said Megawati had failed to put the reform agenda back
\non track during her time in office.<\/p>\n
Some Golkar politicians have also pledged their support for
\nSusilo, a retired four-star Army general. They included Fahmi
\nIdris and Priyo Budi Santoso.<\/p>\n
Fahmi claimed the majority of executives of the party's
\nprovincial and regency chapters in Sulawesi, except North
\nSulawesi; Kalimantan, except West Kalimantan; and Java, except
\nEast Java, had voiced their support for Susilo and his running
\nmate Jusuf Kalla, who is a member of Golkar.<\/p>\n
Susilo and Kalla are running under the banner of the upstart
\nDemocratic Party. Recent polls predicted they would win over
\nMegawati and her running mate Hasyim Muzadi in the runoff.<\/p>\n
Another Golkar executive, Theo L. Sambuaga, said this
\ndevelopment did not signal an internal rift within the party.<\/p>\n
\"Even though our party has yet to officially decide which
\npresidential ticket we will support, I would suggest that it
\nwould be better for us to back the Megawati-Hasyim pairing,\" Theo
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
By contrast, Golkar deputy chairman Marzuki Darusman said on
\nWednesday that Golkar was facing a possible internal rift, and
\nurged Akbar not to precipitously pledge the party's support to
\nany candidate until after the results of the runoff were known.<\/p>\n
\"Golkar will play a prominent role in the legislature as we
\ntook the biggest share of the vote in the legislative elections.
\nSo, no matter who wins the runoff, a coalition with us will be
\nimportant,\" Marzuki said on Wednesday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megas-camp-plays-down-defection-1447893297",
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