JP/3/ROUNDUP

The virtues of Pak Hasyim, as extolled by President Megawati

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja Jakarta

In a campaign rally attended by tens of thousands of supporters on Sunday in Jakarta, the choice of Hasyim Muzadi for the running mate of Megawati Soekarnoputri was defended by the President herself and others on the stage.

At the country's main stadium, the Bung Karno Sports Stadium in Central Jakarta, Megawati said that she had asked Hasyim, chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), to "keep me away from those around me who might try to get me involved in corruption."

NU and the country's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, jointly launched a "cultural campaign" against corruption last year. The campaign also involves the Indonesian Bishop Conference (KWI) and Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI).

Participants told reporters that they had also come to see Hasyim, saying that he was "a great man."

During her speech, Megawati once again warned of possible vote-buying attempts before the election, which her party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), fears may be one factor causing it to lose votes. The PDI-P came second to the Golkar Party in the legislative election in April with 18.53 percent of the vote.

One of Megawati's rivals in the race for the presidency, current Vice President Hamzah Haz of the United Development Party (PPP), also received a warm welcome in his home province of West Kalimantan, where he visited several regencies on Sunday.

Low-cost education and cracking down on gambling were his main themes, Antara reported from Pontianak, where flags, banners and leaflets bearing his picture and that of his running mate, Gen. (ret) Agum Gumelar, were much in evidence.

Another candidate, Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party (PAN), was on the campaign trail in Banten, and addressed a gathering at an NU boarding school in the province. The former chairman of Muhammadiyah, a "modernist" organization compared to the "traditionalist" NU regarding the interpretation of Islam, took the opportunity to dismiss suspicions that he was against "traditionalist" practices such as the mass prayer meetings often held by NU people. Accordingly, he said NU members "should not hesitate" to vote for him and his running mate Siswono Yudohusodo.

Their different approaches to Islam, with the NU historically more tolerant of traditional indigenous elements, has been a main constraint in relations between the two organizations. However, issues such as terrorism and corruption have brought them closer together on various occasions.

Also on Sunday, presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was campaigning in Palembang, South Sumatra, in the grounds of the house of a noted religious figure, where he sought to brush off the effects of "negative campaigning". There have been various rumors spread about him and his running mate Jusuf Kalla, ranging from their being anti-Chinese to being anti-Muslim or anti-Christian.

Solahuddin Wahid, the running mate of Gen. (ret) Wiranto of the Golkar Party, visited his alma mater, the Bandung Institute of Technology, on Sunday where he faced a critical student audience. He also visited the Al Bidayath Islamic boarding school in Batu Jajar in Bandung, Antara reported.