Civilians join military in gubernatorial election race
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city's 85 councillors are scheduled to elect the new Jakarta governor and vice governor on Sept. 17. So far, 50 nomination forms have been issued by the council. There are, perhaps, only six candidates who have any realistic chance of getting elected. The Jakarta Post is profiling these six in a two-article series. This is the second of the articles.
Harun Alrasyid. The incumbent West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) governor has secured the approval of the province's legislative council to run in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.
The former Jakarta deputy governor for economics and financial affairs still needs President Megawati Soekarnoputri's approval.
Born in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, on Dec. 27, 1942, Harun became well-known as an administration official in Jakarta as he held several important posts, including Tanjung Priok district chief in 1973, South Jakarta mayor in 1989 and city secretary in 1993.
Harun, a graduate of the University of Indonesia, is one of two strong civilian candidates. He has expressed his readiness to contest the election despite earlier condemnation by NTB legislators.
With strong financial muscle, Harun is considered to be a real challenger to Governor Sutiyoso, who will also run in the election.
Harun has reportedly received the support of councillors from the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the former ruling Golkar Party.
Maj. Gen. (ret) Djailani. The incumbent deputy governor for social welfare affairs was among the first to collect a nomination form on the first day of registration last week.
Born in Jakarta on June 17, 1942, Djailani, who graduated from the medical faculty of the University of Indonesia in 1966, joined the army as a volunteer in 1964.
The father of four spent most of his military career in the army's Medical Corps, including a stint as director of the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in 1991.
He was appointed as an assistant to the State Minister for Population Affairs, Haryono Suyono, in 1996 before being installed as the deputy governor on Sept. 17, 1997.
Djailani is strongly supported by the Betawi (indigenous Jakartans) Representative Body (Bamus Betawi), and several councillors from PAN and the Indonesian Military/Police faction.
Fauzi Bowo. The incumbent City Secretary has also been tipped as another strong candidate with a civilian background. However, he has always been reluctant to express his wishes openly.
Fauzi was born in Jakarta on April 10, 1948. He attended junior and senior high school at Kolese Kanisius in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
Born into a rich Betawi (native Jakartan) family, Fauzi entered the University of Indonesia in 1966, and after graduating he continued his studies in architecture at the Technical University in Brunsweig, Germany.
Fauzi, who is recorded by the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) as the richest official in the administration with assets worth Rp 17 billion (US$1.9 million), secured his doctoral degree in architecture from Kaiserslautern University, also in Germany.
Fauzi, who is married to Sri Hartati and has three children, began his career in the administration as the head of the Gubernatorial Protocol Office in 1977 and the Jakarta Tourism Agency in 1993 before being installed as the City Secretary in 1998.
He is reportedly supported by councillors from PAN, Golkar and some tiny factions on the council.