Bad omen for Golkar

JAKARTA (JP): Political activists saw a bad omen for Golkar during the flag-hoisting ceremony here on Tuesday night, just hours before the 48 parties were about to kick off campaigning.

All but Golkar's flag could be hoisted without a problem. The activists in charge of hoisting Golkar's flag found the pole "reluctant" to stand upright and it almost slid and fell several times.

Governor Sutiyoso stopped short of coming close to the activists struggling with the Golkar flag pole for fear of being hit.

The amused onlookers kept yelling that it was a bad omen for Golkar, which has been widely sneered at as Soeharto's election machine that helped him stay in power with an iron hand for 32 years. (ind)