Choice of cleric Hasyim defended by Megawati

Choice of cleric Hasyim defended by Megawati

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

In a campaign rally attended by tens of thousands of supporters
on Sunday in Jakarta, the choice of Hasyim Muzadi for the running
mate of Megawati Soekarnoputri was defended by the President
herself and others on the stage.

At the country's main stadium, the Bung Karno Sports Stadium
in Central Jakarta, Megawati said that she had asked Hasyim,
chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU), to "keep me away from those around me who might try
to get me involved in corruption."

NU and the country's second largest Muslim organization,
Muhammadiyah, jointly launched a "cultural campaign" against
corruption last year. The campaign also involves the Indonesian
Bishop Conference (KWI) and Indonesian Communion of Churches
(PGI).

Participants told reporters that they had also come to see
Hasyim, saying that he was "a great man."

During her speech, Megawati once again warned of possible
vote-buying attempts before the election, which her party, the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), fears may be one
factor causing it to lose votes. The PDI-P came second to the
Golkar Party in the legislative election in April with 18.53
percent of the vote.

One of Mega's rivals in the race for the presidency, current
Vice President Hamzah Haz of the United Development Party (PPP),
also received a warm welcome in his home province of West
Kalimantan, where he visited several regencies on Sunday.

Low-cost education and cracking down on gambling were his main
themes, Antara reported from Pontianak, where flags, banners and
leaflets bearing his picture and that of his running mate, Gen.
(ret) Agum Gumelar, were much in evidence.

Another candidate, Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party
(PAN), was on the campaign trail in Banten, and addressed a
gathering at an NU boarding school in the province. The former
chairman of Muhammadiyah, a "modernist" organization compared to
the "traditionalist" NU regarding the interpretation of Islam,
took the opportunity to dismiss suspicions that he was against
"traditionalist" practices such as the mass prayer meetings often
held by NU people. Accordingly, he said NU members "should not
hesitate" to vote for him and his running mate Siswono
Yudohusodo.

Their different approaches to Islam, with the NU historically
more tolerant of traditional indigenous elements, has been a main
constraint in relations between the two organizations. However,
issues such as terrorism and corruption have brought them closer
together on various occasions.

Also on Sunday, presidential candidate Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono was campaigning in Palembang, South Sumatra, in the
grounds of the house of a noted religious figure, where he sought
to brush off the effects of "negative campaigning". There have
been various rumors spread about him and his running mate Jusuf
Kalla, ranging from their being anti-Chinese to being anti-Muslim
or anti-Christian.

Solahuddin Wahid, the running mate of Gen. (ret) Wiranto of
the Golkar Party, visited his alma mater, the Bandung Institute
of Technology, on Sunday where he faced a critical student
audience. He also visited the Al Bidayath Islamic boarding school
in Batu Jajar in Bandung, Antara reported.