'I'll vote for the best of a bad lot'

'I'll vote for the best of a bad lot'

Thursday is the last day of the official presidential campaign,
with only four days left to the election. An estimated 152
million people will vote for one of the five presidential
tickets. The Jakarta Post asked some Jakarta people what they
thought of the July 5 election.

Steven, 28, is an employee of a company that sells granite
slabs in South Jakarta. He lives with his wife in Kalideres, West
Jakarta:

I think having a direct presidential election is a good step
for Indonesia. Well, it would be if there were good candidates
whom I could trust to become reliable leaders.

However, for this year's election, I think all the candidates
are unsuitable. All of them have bad track records. So I don't
think the upcoming presidential election will do us any good.

At the beginning of the campaign, I frequently watched
election programs on television. But recently, I have lost
interest because all the candidates continuously sing the same
old songs over and over again.

Ultimately, they just try to sweet talk the people. For
example, when Wiranto spoke on a TV program in front of
healthcare workers, he simply promised to improve the lives of
healthcare workers.

Another candidate -- I forget who it was -- once spoke to the
teachers in a studio audience, saying that if he were elected
president, he would raise teachers' salary.

Other candidate promised to support farmers' interests by
raising the prices of agricultural commodities. But what would he
do for the rest of us, the consumers of the commodities? Well, he
didn't tell us.

It's easy for them to talk, but their promises sound empty to
me.

However, I will vote on July 5, and I will vote for the best
of a bad lot.

Robert Purba, 32, is a web master whose office is located in
Tebet, South Jakarta. He lives in a rented house nearby:

The presidential campaign in the capital has actually been
much quieter than the campaign for the legislative elections in
March in the sense that we don't see so many floats, traffic jams
and crowds of supporters.

Nevertheless, the candidates are apparently using all possible
means to promote their images among the voters.

I have a friend who received an order to make millions of each
of several types of brochures and pamphlets for one presidential
ticket.

Regardless of the quality of the messages these candidates are
offering us, the presidential campaign has nevertheless been more
intense than what we were used to previously.

--The Jakarta Post