Amien-Siswono: Uphill struggle

Amien-Siswono: Uphill struggle

A. Junaidi, Jakarta

Presidential and vice presidential candidates Amien Rais and
Siswono Yudohusodo, who were nominated by the National Mandate
Party (PAN) to contest the coming presidential election, are
considered an underdog pairing.

This assessment perhaps conforms with the results of the April
5 legislative election, in which PAN secured seven million votes
and ended in sixth position of the 24 election contestants.

On Friday, six minor political parties -- the Marhaenisme
Indonesian National Party (PNI Marhaenisme), Social Democratic
Labor Party (PBSD), Freedom Bull National Party (PNBK),
Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party (PPDI), Indonesian Unity
Party (PSI) and the Reform Star Party (PBR) -- announced their
support for the Amien-Siswono pairing.

The six parties gained a combined total of only 6.8 million
votes in the legislative election.

These rather bleak statistics defy the pair's strengths in
politics, business and bureaucracy.

Born on Apr. 26, 1944, in the Central Java town, Surakarta,
Amien was known as a strong critic of former president Soeharto.
Days before Soeharto's forced resignation in May 1998, Amien,
along with student demonstrators, demanded, in the building that
houses the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), that president
Soeharto step down.

Since then, Amien, who got his PhD in political science from
Chicago University, was often referred to as the "locomotive of
the reform era".

After the 1999 general election, Amien, who was a professor in
international relations at Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada
University, set up the "Central Axis", a loose group of Islamic
politicians, which managed to install Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid
as president through unusual political maneuvers. Gus Dur
defeated Megawati Soekarnoputri, the leader of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which had garnered the
largest number of votes in the general election.

Two years later, Amien, who was former chairman of the
country's second-largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, was
instrumental in the "impeachment" of Gus Dur.

Leaders of Muhammadiyah, which claims to have 30 million
members, said earlier they would support Amien, but many doubt
that the organization's followers will follow suit.

Amien's running mate, Siswono, was known as a noted property
businessman before he was appointed minister of public housing by
president Soeharto in 1988 and transmigration minister in 1993.

The graduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) is
considered by many observers and friends as a clean businessman
and politician.

Siswono, born on July 4, 1943, in Long Iram, East Kalimantan,
is chairman of the Indonesian Farmers and Fishermens Association
(HKTI).

Many place their hopes in Amien's vision of reform and
Siswono's nationalist view and experience in business and
bureaucracy, despite their small political machine.