Big spender Taufik gets out the wallet in poll spree
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta
Taufik Kiemas, the powerful husband of incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri, has continued distributing donations across the country, a move that has been criticized as a thinly veiled attempt to buy votes before the legal campaign period begins.
Just 10 days ahead of the second round of the presidential elections on Sept. 20, Taufik gave US$10,000 in assistance funds on Friday to renovate the Syuhada Mosque in Yogyakarta.
He also made an additional donation worth Rp 10 million (US$1,111) to help finance a planned mass-wedding event organized by the same mosque.
The donations were given during a discussion between Taufik and hundreds of Muslim worshipers after Friday prayers at the mosque.
Responding to the donations from Taufik -- one of the most influential leaders in Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) -- the Yogyakarta Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) said they were part of a disguised campaign for his wife's re-election bid ahead of the legal schedule.
"Holding such a public discussion and making donations are part of campaigning. Everybody knows this," local Panwaslu official Muhammad Wafiek told The Jakarta Post.
However, Wafiek said the Megawati camp could not be charged with violating election law because Taufik's actions fell short of the criteria for illegal campaigning.
A subtle campaign could only be ruled illegal if it met at least five requirements: It was carried out by presidential candidates or their campaign teams; it was outside of the campaign schedule, it involved a large number of people; the speakers asked the public to vote for political candidates.
"The problem is that Taufik Kiemas is (officially) not included in Megawati's campaign team. So, we cannot bring any legal case against him. However, we will continue to monitor this and let the people decide," Wafiek said.
Megawati, meanwhile, visited the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu on Tuesday and inaugurated development projects worth a total of Rp 265.663 billion.
The projects included clean water, road renovation and irrigation projects in the Morowali regency, and the construction of refugee camps in Morowali and Poso.
Megawati also handed over billions of rupiah in grants, soft loans and scholarships to students and families in the Central Sulawesi province. The donations included educational scholarships funded by state pawnshop company PT Pegadaian and state social insurance company PT Jamsostek.
After Friday's gathering in Yogyakarta, Taufik held another closed-door meeting with former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid at the city's Quality Hotel.
Taufik declined to go into details about the meeting. "We want to establish a friendship coalition," was all he said.
Gus Dur has repeatedly said he would abstain from the Sept. 20 election runoff, but has permitted his daughter, Zanubah "Yeni" Arifah Chafsah, to join the campaign team of Megawati's contender Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Gus Dur has met with Susilo and Megawati separately on several occasions.