Megawati receives more support<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Justice and Unity Party chairman Edi Sudrajat
\nthrew the weight of his party behind the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) presidential candidate
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"We need a new leader and new government which is totally cut
\nfrom the New Order and I think Megawati is the person,\" said Edi,
\na former defense and security minister, after a two-hour closed-
\ndoor meeting with Megawati.<\/p>\n
Megawati deserves the presidential chair as her party was the
\nsingle largest winner of votes (more than 30 percent) in the June
\n7 election, he said.<\/p>\n
\"PDI Perjuangan's win of plurality in the polls shows that the
\nmajority of people chose her to be their new leader,\" added Edi,
\none of Habibie's strongest critics.<\/p>\n
Edi's party is one of four political parties which make up the
\nIndonesian Nationhood faction at the MPR with 16 seats. The other
\nthree party members are the Indonesian Democratic Party, the IPKI
\nParty and the Justice and Unity party.<\/p>\n
However, the faction's chairman Sutradara Ginting said that
\nEdi's meeting with Megawati was \"merely friendly talks to discuss
\nvarious issues related to the MPR General Session.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't particularly discuss the presidential race but ...
\nwe might arrange official support for a certain candidate,\" added
\nGinting, who also attended the meeting.<\/p>\n
Megawati denied the notion that the meeting was designed to
\nclinch a back-door deal between her party and the faction.<\/p>\n
\"We only discussed the recent political developments in the
\ncountry,\" Megawati said.<\/p>\n
Megawati is expected to compete with incumbent President B.J.
\nHabibie, who was nominated by the Golkar party, and leader of the
\n35-million-strong Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama Abdurrahman
\nWahid, who was nominated by the Reform faction, an alliance of
\nthe National Mandate Party and the Justice Party.<\/p>\n
Edi welcomed the nomination of Gus Dur, as Wahid is known,
\nsaying it was better to have more than one candidate.<\/p>\n
He added that he would strive to prevent Habibie from leading
\nthe nation for a second time.<\/p>\n
Separately, political analyst Cornelis Lay of the Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity in Yogyakarta, said on Saturday that Megawati might be
\nin a big trouble if Gus Dur did enter the presidential battle.<\/p>\n
\"However, if Gus Dur resigns from the race, no other candidate
\nwould be able to defeat Megawati,\" Lay said.<\/p>\n
He cautioned, however, that the situation is too fluid to
\nallow for a reliable prediction of who would really fight in the
\npresidential battle.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur told reporters on Friday night that he had yet to get
\na green light from his senior Muslim scholars in East Java, and
\nthey would make their decision only on the eve of the
\npresidential race.<\/p>\n
Fear of clashes<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairman of the University of Indonesia Alumni
\nAssociation Azrul Azwar, urged the three presidential candidates
\nto make public speeches to calm their respective supporters.<\/p>\n
\"We made this appeal after detecting the mobilization of
\nmasses around the MPR building,\" Azwar said after a meeting with
\nMPR chairman Amien Rais on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Azwar warned that if the political leaders could not cool down
\nthe emotions of their respective supporters, violent clashes
\ncould erupt after the presidential race.<\/p>\n
Amien shared the association's concern and promised to have
\nthe presidential candidates and the MPR leaders issue joint
\nstatements to calm their respective supporters.<\/p>\n
The MPR chairman also agreed that the decisions which would be
\ntaken at the coming MPR General Session, which starts on
\nThursday, should be effective in preventing national
\ndisintegration.<\/p>\n
\"Our nation is now on the brink of national disintegration and
\nthis potential disaster can be prevented only if the political
\nelite is willing to sit down with a cool head to resolve all
\nproblems that threaten national unity,\" added Amien, who is also
\nchairman of the National Mandate Party.<\/p>\n
In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, communication expert at
\nHasanuddin University, Prof. A Muis, said on Saturday that of the
\nthree presidential candidates, Gus Dur was the most skillful in
\nusing the media.<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur outdid Megawati and Habibie in building up positive
\npublic opinion through the mass media to enhance his political
\nposture,\" Muis told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
According to Muis, if Habibie and Megawati did not change
\ntheir political communications strategy, Gus Dur could emerge as
\nthe most favorite candidate in the eyes of international and
\nlocal communities.<\/p>\n
Megawati's silence is a big problem, he said. \"If she does not
\nclearly convey her ideas to the public, people may doubt her
\nability.\"<\/p>\n
Habibie, according to Muis, is democratic enough, but his
\nskill to manage issues is far below Gus Dur.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur has always been the focus of media attention because
\nof his prowess to throw up controversial issues, said Muis. \"The
\nmedia like it very much. And, from the public opinion point of
\nview, his maneuvering benefits him. (emf\/44\/27)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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