Candidates begin campaign with little fanfare
The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Presidential candidates Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono began their respective campaigns with little fanfare on Tuesday, spending much of the time preparing for the "dialog" on Tuesday evening that have been sponsored by the General Elections Commission (KPU).
President Megawati opened her day by attending the launch of a book titled Pesan untuk Presiden 2004-2009 (Messages for the 2004-2009 President) at the vice presidential offices on Tuesday morning. Vice President Hamzah Haz also attended the book launch
Susilo, meanwhile, began the day with the recording of a speech at the MetroTV studios starting at 11 a.m. After the recording session, Susilo returned home to prepare for the 9 p.m. television dialog.
On Tuesday evening, all the presidential and vice presidential candidates participated in the dialog, when they gave cursory explanations of their views on political life, human rights and security issues.
The book Pesan untuk Presiden is a compilation of articles and interviews in which 18 noted scholars, academics and businessmen state their views on what the next president needs to do for the country.
Edited by vice presidential advisor for political affairs Wahyudi Ruwiyanto, the hardcover book is published by state-owned printer Balai Pustaka.
"I was asking myself, for whom is this book intended. But since I am here attending its launch, hopefully this is for me," Megawati said in a rare off-the-cuff speech.
Megawati is seeking a full five-year term in the Sept. 20 election. According to some opinion polls, however, she is trailing behind Susilo, her former coordinating minister for political and security affairs.
Among the noted personages who contributed to the book are Indonesian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Juwono Sudarsono, Muslim cleric Azyumardi Azra, legal expert Achmad Ali and businessman Aburizal Bakrie.
After attending the book launch, the President went to the Palace where she held a 30-minute meeting with State Minister for Women's Empowerment Sri Redjeki Soemaryoto and a group of women's activists.
Megawati also met around 250 Chinese Indonesians from the Indonesian Haka Union, when she promised once again that she would ensure there would be no more discrimination against Chinese Indonesians.
"I would also urge Chinese Indonesians to not exclude themselves from the community, and to provide various services like becoming civil servants or joining the police force," she said.
Megawati, who came to power in 2001, is often seen as a defender of minority groups due to her strong nationalist background, while her running mate Muslim cleric Hasyim Muzadi is seen as a pluralistic figure.
The association's chairman, Sugeng Prananto, said that most of the union's six million members were in favor of Megawati. "We support her administration," he said.
Meanwhile, campaigners for the Megawati-Hasyim ticket were busy distributing posters, leaflets and other campaign paraphernalia across the country on Tuesday, the first day of a three-day official campaign period ahead of the Sept. 20 election.
Meanwhile, Susilo's campaign team invited the public at large in Makassar, South Sulawesi, to voice whatever criticisms they might have of the ticket during the three-day campaign period, arguing that such criticism would help the pair to be more responsive.
The head of the Susilo-Kalla campaign committee in Makassar, Hasyim Manggabarani, said that all suggestions would be welcome.
"We will ask for the public's opinions on the pair's weaknesses," said Hasyim.
He said that his committee would also keep the public informed about positive steps taken by the pairing should they win the election.