Electoral body to summon PDI-P leaders over books
Electoral body to summon PDI-P leaders over books
Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Cilacap, Central Java
The Cilacap Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) in Central
Java said on Saturday it would immediately summon local leaders
of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
over their involvement in a preelection scandal.
The scandal has centered on a request by the Cilacap chapter
of PDI Perjuangan for elementary and junior high school students
to buy exercise books bearing the images of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri; her father, founding president Sukarno; Cilacap
Regent Probo Yulastoro and Cilacap legislative council speaker
Frans Lukman.
Not only books are involved: The Cilacap regency
administration has also forced local civil servants, including
teachers, to buy red T-shirts bearing the images of Megawati and
Sukarno, as well as her party's red symbol.
Chairman of the Cilacap Panwaslu Yoes Sachri said on Saturday
that the purpose of the summons was to look into whether PDI
Perjuangan leaders had violated regulations on election
campaigns.
Although the committee had yet to start an investigation into
the case, Yoes has already said that based on common sense, the
move to force students and civil servants to buy such books or T-
shirts was inappropriate.
Moreover, the party, led by Megawati, had used the bureaucracy
to make the sales a success, he added.
He warned that if PDI Perjuangan refused to annul the move, it
could face electoral sanctions from his office.
"If the party leaders here are found guilty of violating
electoral law, they will punished," he said.
Yoes said that possible punishments included the scrapping, by
the Election Supervisory Committee, of PDI Perjuangan's list of
councillor candidates found to be involved in the scandal.
They could also be banned from campaigning for their party in
Cilacap, he added.
Some one million exercise books have been printed, with many
being sold to elementary and junior high school students. The
sales were approved by local education offices.
Probo Yulastoro and Frans Lukman are members of PDI
Perjuangan's election campaign committee for the 2004 general
elections.
The late Sukarno was a legendary and charismatic leader who
founded the Indonesian National Party (PNI), whose popular
platform -- nationalism -- has been associated with Megawati's
PDI Perjuangan. However, her sister, Rachmawati Soekarnoputri,
also claims to be advocating her father's teachings through the
newly established Pioneer Party.
Many students and civil servants in Cilacap, one of PDI
Perjuangan's strongholds in Central Java, appeared to be
powerless to reject the request to buy the exercise books or T-
shirts as it came from the top tier of the bureaucracy.
They were afraid of any possible sanctions should they defy
the order, said Yoes, quoting from many of those concerned.
"They have used the bureaucracy for their own political ends.
It is an illegal move. No governmental institution whatsoever can
be used for political campaigning," Yoes said.
He said that besides the plan to summon the PDI Perjuangan
leaders, the Panwaslu would also collect information and data
from civil servants, students and other people affected by the
political policy to back up the evidence.
"If the evidence is deemed sufficient, we shall quickly bring
the case before investigators," Yoes said.