Betawi Forum demands native governor

JAKARTA: The newly established Betawi (native Jakartan) organization threatened on Sunday to send hordes of its supporters onto the streets if the next governor was not a Betawi.

"Whoever the governor is, they should be a Betawi. If not, we will deploy 100,000 people onto the streets," said chairman of the Betawi Community Brotherhood Forum Iwan Setiawan, as quoted by Detikcom news online.

Jakarta's gubernatorial election will be on Sept. 17 with several Betawi candidates, including the current City Secretary, Fauzi Bowo, and Deputy Governor for Social Welfare Affairs Djailani.

However, City Governor Sutiyoso, who is not a Betawi, is currently considered the strongest candidate because he has received support from the largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), and other parties in the City Council.

Since the country's independence, the governor of Jakarta has always been a member of the military, there has never been a Betawi.

Sutiyoso was former Jakarta Military Commander during the last years of former authoritarian president Soeharto. --JP