Big spender Taufik gets out the wallet in poll spree
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.