Candidates begin campaign with little fanfare

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.