Elderly voters want a better life

Elderly voters want a better life

JAKARTA (JP): Representatives of the older generation have
expressed their hope that the 1997 general elections will usher
in a "better life" for the nation's population.

Lt. Gen. (ret) Achmad Thahir, chairman of the Legion of
Veterans, and Mrs. Supeni, chief of the Persatuan Nasional
Indonesia organization, said separately that they did not wish
anything for themselves any longer.

"We just want to see life get better," Thahir, 72, was quoted
by Antara as saying.

"Old people like us, we don't want much, except for a better
life for the younger generation," Supeni, 78, said. She then
defined her wish for a better life as a society closer to the
1945 Constitution.

The Central Bureau of Statistics says that the number of
voters over 65 years of age in the 1992 general elections stood
at 16.8 million. This figure is set to increase to 20.1 million
in next year's election.

Bureau chief Sugito recently said that those contestants in
the general elections who promise better welfare for "senior
citizens" would do well among older voters.

Thahir, as the head of his 850,000-strong organization, has
reaffirmed his support for the reelection of President Soeharto
in 1998. He said Indonesia had done well, but still needed
improvement here and there.

"The country is politically and economically stable, its
security and defense is good, and it has developed well," he said
approvingly.

Around 120 million people will be eligible to vote next year.

The three political contestants -- Golkar, the nationalist-
Christian alliance Indonesian Democratic Party and the United
Development Party with a Moslem power-base -- will compete for
425 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives. The
remaining 75 seats are automatically allocated to ABRI, down from
its current share of 100. (swe)