PPIB brings fresh prospects to elections<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As a newcomer on the political scene, the New Indonesia Alliance
\nParty (PPIB) has set out to garner the 3 percent electoral
\nthreshold necessary to proceed to the presidential election.<\/p>\n
While this may be a prudent first step to establishing its
\npresence, it does not mean that they have no further ambitions
\nnor the courage to drive them.<\/p>\n
The party believes it has what it takes to be a genuine
\ncontender in the presidential election against other parties --
\neven more established ones.<\/p>\n
As PPIB chairman Sjahrir, a prominent economist and staunch
\ncritic of the government, said: "It's important for a party to
\nget beyond that first hurdle, because what may happen in the next
\nstage will be hard to predict.<\/p>\n
"That's why our target in the April election is to secure the
\nelectoral threshold ... then we'll see in the next stage, where I
\nbelieve the real battle lies."<\/p>\n
Sjahrir spoke on Friday, when he led a small delegation of
\nparty representatives on a brief visit to The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The general elections will be held on April 5, and 145 million
\nvoters will determine the fate of 7,786 legislative hopefuls from
\n24 political parties.<\/p>\n
Parties that win at least 3 percent of total votes will be
\neligible to nominate candidates for the presidential election in
\nJuly.<\/p>\n
A second round will be held in September if there is no
\nmajority winner in the July polls.<\/p>\n
Sjahrir said the PPIB had been receiving increasing support
\nand recorded a rise in popularity throughout the country,
\nindicating that it could become a surprising, confident force.<\/p>\n
The attractiveness of the PPIB platform is not only its
\nmission to build a country that is free of corruption, injustice
\nand unemployment -- which have prevailed until and under the
\ncurrent government -- but also its leading figures, who are
\nmostly new faces. It is these new politicians who provide the
\nparty with something of an edge, especially for those who are fed
\nup with how things have been run.<\/p>\n
Another innovative element is its program to provide a
\nbalanced structure for regional budgets, which are currently
\nlopsided between administrative and public expenditures.<\/p>\n
"In some regions, the difference between the costs is so large
\nthat the ratio stands at 87:13, which is unhealthy. How can
\nexpenditures for government officials and institutes be so much
\nhigher than those for development, which will benefit a lot of
\npeople," said Erna Zetha Rusman, a top legislative candidate.<\/p>\n
"Because of this, budgets for education, health, sanitation
\nand others that are important in improving people's quality of
\nlife are minuscule."<\/p>\n
The PPIB was established with an aim to enter the decision-
\nmaking circle to make inroads to a new and better Indonesia. It
\nis led by Sjahrir and other respected professionals such as
\nacademics, economists and journalists.<\/p>\n
In the legislative election, the PPIB expects to secure
\nsignificant votes from North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Bali, Riau,
\nLampung, Central Sulawesi, Maluku, Banten and South Sulawesi.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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