Golkar councillors sent to Bali ahead of election

Golkar councillors sent to Bali ahead of election

Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

Just a week away from the Nov. 28 gubernatorial election, 34
legislators of the Golkar Party's South Sulawesi chapter left for
Bali on Wednesday to avoid further division within the Golkar
faction after rumors of money exchanging hands between
candidates and councillors began to spread.

The chairman of the Golkar faction at the provincial
legislative council, Agus Arifin Nu'mang, confirmed on Friday
that the legislators and their families had been sent to the
tourist island for one week to prevent them from meeting with
gubernatorial candidates.

"The dominant Golkar faction is already divided because of the
presence of two candidates from Golkar. Our party supports only
Amin Syam, chairman of the Golkar chapter in the province," he
said.

The central government has approved three pairs of candidates
-- Amin Syam and Syahrul Yasin Limpo who were nominated by the
Golkar faction, Aksa Machmud and Malik Hambali nominated by the
Ummat Mandate faction, and Nurdin Halid and Iskandar Mandji
nominated by the Indonesian Nationhood and Unity faction.

Of the 35 Golkar legislators who previously supported Amin,
five have withdrawn their support and now back Nurdin, a member
of the House of Representatives from the Golkar Party. The
faction occupies 44 of 77 seats in the provincial legislative
council.

"We don't want Golkar legislators casting votes for candidates
not supported by the party. The situation would worsen if the
legislators remained in the city and the candidates were able to
meet with them," Agus said, adding that the legislators' Bali
trip was financed by the party and the legislators.

Agus said he had heard rumors of a certain gubernatorial
candidate offering legislators between Rp 200 million and Rp 500
million each to vote for him.

Agus declined to identify the candidate.

Students in the city have protested Nurdin's candidacy, saying
he was not suitable to lead the province because, besides having
no leadership capability, he had been implicated in corruption
cases in the past.

A plenary session held by the legislative council to listen to
outgoing governor HZB Palaguna's accountability speech appeared
unattended following the Golkar legislators' departure to Bali.

Palaguna's tenure ended on Friday after leading the province
for two consecutive terms from 1992 to 2002.

Agus denied that the legislators' departure affected the
plenary session, saying it went ahead according to schedule.

One of the councillors going to Bali, Ichsan Yasin Limpo, a
younger brother of deputy governor candidate Syahrul, said the
week-long stay in Bali was aimed at consolidating the Golkar
faction ahead of the election.

"This is an attempt to strengthen Golkar members' commitment
to Amin Syam's election as the South Sulawesi governor," Ichsan
said.