JP/2/Hasyim
Presidential candidates solicit more support as election nears
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The two presidential candidates camps intensified their efforts on Saturday to garner more support nationwide as the Sept. 20 presidential election runoff draws near.
In Jakarta, vice presidential hopeful Hasyim Muzadi visited on Saturday, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, chief patron of the National Awakening Party (PKB), at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta.
Gus Dur was hospitalized a few days ago after his insulin level surged above normal.
The visit was apparently aimed at mending Hasyim's strained relationship with Gus Dur, as well as garnering support from him and his partner in the election.
Emerging from Gus Dur's hospital room, Hasyim, the running mate of Megawati Soekarnoputri, dismissed allegations that he and Gus Dur were making political deals.
"We just shared a light moment together, we joked a lot. The only thing we talked seriously about was the recent release of Malaysian former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim," he was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday.
Gus Dur is a prominent figure in densely populated East Java province, where he has a large following in the Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in the country. It boasts some 40 million followers nationwide, with a stronghold in East Java. Gus Dur, a former NU chairman, is the grandson of the late Hasyim As'ari, the founder of the organization.
Separately, presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, from Hasyim's rival camp, visited Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province on the same day, where he held talks with Muslim clerics in the strife-torn province. In the meeting, Susilo reiterated his promise that he would return peace in the province should he be elected.
Earlier on the same day, Susilo held a similar meeting with the Christian community in Medan, North Sumatra province, where he vowed to eradicate chronic corruption in the country.
The same promise was made by his running mate Jusuf Kalla in Padang, West Sumatra province, where he vowed that if he and Susilo were elected, his administration would appoint a clean and resolute attorney general and National Police chief during their first three months in office.
In Banjarmasin, Central Kalimantan province, Golkar Party leader Akbar Tandjung again drummed up support for Megawati's bid for the presidency, calling on the party's rank and file in the city to help her be reelected. Speaking during the declaration of the province's Nationhood Coalition that supports Megawati's bid for the presidency, Akbar said that supporting Megawati had been a party decision, so that all members of the party had to support it fully. Those who refuse to support Megawati in the presidential election runoff will be severe punished, said Akbar.
Later on in the afternoon, Akbar flew back to Jakarta to attend a youth gathering that declared support for Megawati's bid for the presidency. The gathering was attended by some 2,000 youths, claiming that they represented 25 youth organizations nationwide.