Elections body to decide ministers' fate on Monday
JAKARTA (JP): The General Elections Commission (KPU) will decide on Monday whether to allow Cabinet ministers to campaign for parties contesting the June 7 polls.
Commission chairman Rudini said the ruling would be included in the code of conduct scheduled to be endorsed in Monday's plenary meeting. The code of conduct draft is being deliberated by KPU's subcommission in charge of organization and legislative affairs.
"In my opinion, all ministers should be barred from campaigning because of fresh fears of using state facilities during the campaign season and issuing policies benefiting their own parties.
"They must be allowed to campaign only after quitting their jobs as ministers," said the former home affairs minister.
He added most of the commission's 53 members shared his view.
President B.J. Habibie has barred five of 36 ministers in his Cabinet plus Attorney General Andi Ghalib from campaigning to prevent any abuse of power in the elections. The five ministers are Coordinating Minister for Development Supervision and Administrative Reform Hartarto, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid and Minister of Justice Muladi.
Campaigning is scheduled from May 18 through June 4.
In the past, Cabinet ministers campaigned for the ruling Golkar.
The election commission issued an internal ruling on Tuesday allowing its members to campaign for their parties and nominate themselves as legislators.
Support for the ban loomed on Friday, particularly from party leaders.
Justice Party chairman Nur Mahmudi Ismail and his National Awakening Party (PKB) counterpart, Matori Abdul Djalil, supported the ban. They argued it would create a fairer general election for all parties.
"The New Order acknowledged a tradition which allowed ministers to use their position and state budget in their campaign for the ruling party," Ismail said.
Matori said that Golkar could no longer enjoy such privileges.
"It is time for them to open their heart for the reality and let go of the past. No need for the ministers to campaign," he said at his office in South Jakarta.
Separately, Crescent Star Party chairman Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the decision should lie with the parties.
"But if the KPU decides that all ministers are banned ... I go for that. But, the matter must be regulated clearly."
Edi Sudradjat, chairman of the Justice and Unity Party seconded Rudini, who was his predecessor in the Cabinet.
"Ministers should quit their jobs if they want to join the political campaign because many government officials, including ministers, tend to mix up their personal, party and state interests," he said in a party gathering in the Central Java capital of Semarang on Friday.
Edi last campaigned for Golkar in the 1997 elections.
Riswandha Imawan, a political expert from Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, said the government should rule an across-the-board ban on ministers' campaigning if it was committed to a free and fair general election.
"All ministers should be barred from campaigning because they are policy-makers," he said.
Afan Gaffar, a government representative on the election commission, all KPU members should also be barred from campaigning to show consistency on the policy with ministers. (rms/edt/har/44)