Aspirants woo Muslim leaders, farmers

Aspirants woo Muslim leaders, farmers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Presidential aspirants continue to woo Muslim leaders and farmers
to support their bid in the July 5 election.

Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met with three leaders of
Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Madura, East Java on
Sunday, while Amien Rais was scheduled to meet prominent Muslim
leader Djazouli in Martapura, Banjar regency in South Kalimantan.

On Saturday, Susilo also visited a number of pesantren in East
Java, while Gen. (ret) Wiranto visited the Darul Ulum Muslim
boarding school in Malang, East Java.

Susilo made the visits although he was not scheduled to
campaign in the province until June 18.

Incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri met fishermen and
farmers in Tondano, North Sulawesi on Saturday, while Hamzah Haz
visited a fishermen's village in Cirebon, West Java.

More than half of the country's 220 population are either
farmers or fishermen, while more than 80 percent are Muslims.

During her visit to Tondano, Megawati, who was accompanied by
Agriculture Minister Bungaran Saragih and Minister for Fisheries
and Maritime Affairs Rokhmin Dahuri, opened a gathering of some
12,000 farmers and fishermen from around the country. Several
governors, mayors, and regents were also present at the event.

She expressed concern over the fact that most farmers across
the country were not working their own land, but offered no
solutions.

"According to a 2003 census, the number of farmers owning less
than 0.3 hectares of land is increasing. This means more and more
farmers are working as peasants," she said.

During her campaign in Medan, North Sumatra on Sunday,
however, Megawati made no mention of efforts to improve the
welfare of farmers and fishermen, despite the fact that the
majority of people in the province earn a living from farming and
fishing.

Instead, she boasted about her government's performance since
taking over the national leadership in 2001.

In the past three years, she said, her government had managed
to stabilize the rupiah's exchange rate against foreign
currencies, keep inflation down, raise foreign exchange reserves
to around US$36 billion, and reduce the number of people living
in poverty.

In South Kalimantan, dozens of people attended a campaign
rally at Kayu Tagi soccer field, just outside the provincial
capital Banjarmasin.

Vice presidential candidate Siswono Yudohusodo stressed the
need for a regime change to resolve the complex problems
confronting the country.

"We need firm and legitimate leaders to fight against poverty,
cut unemployment, and eliminate injustice," he told thousands of
supporters in Palu, Central Sulawesi on Sunday.

Hamzah Haz's running mate Agum Gumelar, meanwhile, chose to
umpire a soccer game when he was scheduled to campaign in
Semarang, Central Java on Sunday.

Agum, promising to revive the department of sports if elected
vice president in the July 5 general election, umpired a friendly
game between the Semarang Indonesian Football Association (PSIS)
and campaigners of Hamzah and Agum. Some 600 supporters watched
the game.

Meanwhile, Wiranto's running mate Solahuddin Wahid said on
Sunday that former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid would be
appointed presidential advisor if the pair won the country's
first ever direct presidential election.

"Gus Dur will be appointed presidential advisor as many of his
programs had not been realized when he was president several
years ago," Solahuddin was quoted by Antara as saying in
Tulungagung, East Java on Sunday.

The agreement to appoint Gus Dur as presidential advisor,
according to Solahuddin, had been reached between Golkar and
the National Awakening Party (PKB) before he was nominated
Wiranto's running mate.