Investors eager to see free polls, Amien Rais says

Investors eager to see free polls, Amien Rais says

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign investors are waiting for free and fair
polls in Indonesia, after which they expected a credible
government.

A general election is scheduled for June 7.

Amien Rais, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) who
returned Friday from the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, addressed some 30,000 followers at the Senayan
Sports Stadium in Central Jakarta in a festive inauguration
ceremony of the party's Jakarta chapter. Traditional Betawi decor
and custom colored the function.

Amien was in Davos at the forum on its invitation as a
speaker. The forum ends Tuesday. Citing officials he said he met
there, he said, "Those figures believe that foreign investors
will come here in droves after a fair poll, which they expect
will create a new government supported by all the people."

With such hopes in restoring the economy, Amien said that
despite the party's misgivings about the endorsement of the
political bills on Friday, it accepted the new bills.

"PAN endorses the new political bills as long as the polls are
conducted freely, fairly and in a democratic manner," he said.

It was the party's latest stance after it was reported on
Saturday to have urged President B.J. Habibie to return the bills
to the House of Representatives for amendment.

At least, Amien added, the National Mandate Party had done its
best to influence the deliberations so that the bills could meet
public aspirations.

Amien and other observers have said failure to conduct free
and fair polls would create further violence.

PAN was among parties which voiced disagreement with, among
other things, a stipulation giving the Armed Forces 38 House
seats with voting rights.

On Sunday, Amien did not say who he met in Davos during his
short stay, but reports said he had been scheduled to meet
United States' Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Stanley
Roth, Harvard University director and economist Jeffrey Sachs,
and Chris Bertram of the German Sciences and Political
Foundation.

Among PAN's last-ditch efforts to influence the bills were a
hearing with legislators last Monday and a demonstration the next
day. In the first months of the deliberation, PAN was also among
many parties who tried to influence legislators.

PAN secretary-general Faisal Basri earlier said the party
realized the risks of delaying the elections, but said it would
continue to voice its views in a bid to influence the
implementation of the agreed pieces of legislation.

Amien also stated on Sunday that the government should not
feign ignorance as to who the often-cited provocateurs of recent
riots were and should instead arrest them. The government claims
it now has leads as to who the people are, but it has not
announced their names. Amien also urged the government to
continue its investigation into former president Soeharto.

"It is not a matter of hatred or revenge, but of law
enforcement," said Amien, adding that people might consider
forgiving Soeharto after he was brought to court. Calls for
people to respect the 77 year old have raised fears that this
could hamper the investigation of corruption and ill-gotten
wealth.

Sunday's function was attended by Lt. Gen. A.M. Hendropriyono,
minister of transmigration and resettlement of forest squatters;
Subroto, former minister of mines and energy; historian Taufik
Abdullah and chairman of PAN's advisory board; Jakarta deputy
governor M. Kahfi; former Armed Forces officer Maj. Gen. (ret)
Soewarno Adiwidjoyo and member of the party's advisory board;
Toety Heraty, PAN's deputy chairwoman; cultural observer Jaya
Suprana; and businessmen Rachmat Gobel and Setiawan Djody.

The Jakarta chapter is one of PAN's 22 provincial chapters.

The ceremony presented a colossal performance in which a giant
"octopus" symbolized the former regime and efforts by students,
portrayed by those from Muhammadiyah education institutions, to
topple it. (01)