Candidates called on to eliminate corruption
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta
The two contenders of the Sept. 20 presidential election should focus on the fight against corruption and legal discrimination, religious leaders said on Tuesday.
In separate meetings with incumbent president Megawati Soekarnoputri, and her challenger, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on Tuesday, the religious figures underlined the necessity of appointing professionals to the new cabinet, particularly for key positions such as the attorney general, minister of justice, police chief and education minister.
"We and the President agreed that corruption and (legal) discrimination are the main issues that must be addressed by the coming government," Masdar Mas'udi, the acting chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) said after meeting with Megawati.
The Attorney General's Office has been investigating corruption cases in the past two years, which have caused an estimated Rp 22 trillion (US$2.39 billion) in state losses.
Indonesia has been ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world by international corruption watchdogs.
Masdar said the religious leaders urged both candidates to focus on the challenges the country would face in the next five years so as to improve the welfare of Indonesians.
"We are not lending them our political support, but as religious leaders we hope to give them a moral boost. We hope the government of (whomever is) elected president will build close ties with us and the people," Masdar said.
Later that day, the religious leaders held a meeting with Susilo at a hotel in South Jakarta to raise the same concerns.
Susilo and Megawati will contest the election run-off in September after finishing first and second respectively in the July 5 election.
Benny Susetyo of the Indonesian Conference of Bishops (KWI) said during her meeting with the religious leaders, Megawati admitted some flaws in her administration's past efforts to enforce the law.
"She said people are aware of weak law enforcement and promised if she was elected she will recruit professional people for key positions such as the attorney general and justice minister," Benny said.
Also attending the meeting were the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) chairman Nathan Setiabudi, Dwi Santoso from Indonesia Khong Hucu Community (Matakin) and Goodwill Zubir of Muhammadiyah.
Complaints of prolonged discriminatory policies were also raised by dozens of Chinese-Indonesian businessmen who met Megawati earlier on Tuesday.
The businessmen questioned the legal certainty regarding the Certificate on Indonesian Citizenship (SBKRI) and other regulations that they said discriminated against them.
"I have ordered the coordinating minister for political and security affairs to take action against any government officials who keep asking for SBKRI, because I have always asserted there is no need to produce that document anymore," Megawati said in response.
She urged all Chinese-Indonesians to fight officials who discriminated against them.
"Stop complaining and stand up against officials who ask for the SBKRI. If people resist their demands they will stop asking (for the document)," Megawati said.
She also called for a campaign against the use of the word "Chinese" when referring to ethnic Indonesian-Chinese, as some Indonesian-Chinese considered it an insult. The government has proposed "Tionghoa" as the politically correct replacement.