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)