Megawati's decision not to vote causes controversy<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Megawati Soekarnoputri's decision not to vote in
\nthe general election sparked mixed reactions from an
\nintellectual, religious leader and army general Saturday.<\/p>\n
Sociologist Arief Budiman and Islamic preacher Yusuf Hasyim
\nsaid Megawati's decision was nothing to worry about while East
\nJava military chief Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo asked her supporters to
\nvote.<\/p>\n
Megawati, the ousted chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty, announced her non-voting stand last week, saying the May
\n29 election would be "unconstitutional" because the party was
\nrepresented by Soerjadi who deposed her in an illegal rebel
\ncongress.<\/p>\n
Megawati, daughter of Indonesia's founding father Sukarno,
\ncalled on her loyalists to listen to their conscience when they
\nexercise their political rights on election day.<\/p>\n
Many of her loyalists in Surabaya have announced they would
\nfollow suit.<\/p>\n
Arief, a Salatiga-based sociology professor, and Yusuf of
\nthe influential Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization, said
\nMegawati was only exercising her political right.<\/p>\n
They said under the Indonesian legal system, voting in the
\ngeneral election is not obligatory.<\/p>\n
"I don't think she (Megawati) is confronting the government
\nwith her stand," Arief told reporters in the Central Java town of
\nSalatiga.<\/p>\n
Arief, known as a government critic, said the debate over
\nMegawati's stand showed that a political force outside the three
\npolitical parties was worth considering by the government.<\/p>\n
He said the government should take Megawati into account
\nbecause she retains the majority of support, although she has
\nlost the government's favor as party leader.<\/p>\n
If her supporters followed suit, Arief said, it was possible
\nGolput -- the non-voters group -- would increase the number of
\nvoters this year by up to 20 percent.<\/p>\n
Senior politician and leader of the Tebuireng Islamic boarding
\nschool in Jombang, East Java, Kyai Yusuf, said as quoted by
\nAntara there was nothing to fear about Megawati's decision.<\/p>\n
"As an ordinary citizen, she has the right to exercise or not
\nto exercise her political right. Voting in the election is not
\nobligatory," he said.<\/p>\n
Law professor Muladi of the Semarang-based Diponegoro
\nUniversity said to avoid complication, Megawati should have told
\nher loyalists it was up to them whether to vote or not to vote
\nwithout announcing her personal stand.<\/p>\n
Muladi, who is also a member of the National Commission on
\nHuman Rights, said she should not only consider her personal
\ninterests but the nation's as a whole.<\/p>\n
"She should have set aside all hard feelings when making the
\nannouncement," Muladi told reporters in Semarang Saturday.<\/p>\n
East Java's Brawijaya military chief Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo
\ncalled on Megawati supporters not to follow their leader's
\nstance.<\/p>\n
"I can't coerce anyone to vote, but as a citizen please go to
\nthe polling booth," Iman said.<\/p>\n
"By voting, we would have our representatives in the House,
\nand so the nation's development will continue. By abstaining from
\nthe election, we will not have representatives, and we will end
\nup having no say later in the course of our development," he was
\nquoted by Antara as saying in Surabaya Friday. (aan\/har)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawatis-decision-not-to-vote-causes-controversy-1447893297",
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