JP/3/SOCCER

JP/3/SOCCER

Candidates asked
about soccer

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI) challenged
on Wednesday all five presidential candidates to share their
vision on soccer.

PSSI chairman Nurdin Halid said that two presidential
candidates had confirmed they would attend the debate on Friday
at Hotel Hilton. They are Gen. (ret) Wiranto and Amien Rais. He
said that he was awaiting confirmation from three other
presidential candidates, Hamzah Haz, Megawati Soekarnoputri and
Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The debate will be screened by television station TV7 on
Friday, from 10.30 p.m. to 12 p.m. -- Antara

;JP;ASA;
ANPAa..r..
Trail-Mega-blood

JP/3/BLOOD

Followers told to
stop "bloodshed"

SURABAYA: Presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri urged
her followers on Wednesday to stop giving their thumbprints in
blood, saying that the act could lead to violence.

"If they really support me, they should stop this and use
their energies in other sympathetic action," Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary-general Sutjipto
quoted Megawati as saying.

The followers of Megawati, who is also the PDI-P leader, shed
blood symbolically after Muslim clerics in East Java issued an
edict that prohibited Muslims from voting for female candidates.
-- JP

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Surabaya-KPU-SBY

JP/3/KPU

KPU to summon
Susilo's campaign team

SURABAYA: The East Java General Elections Commission will
immediately summon the chairman of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
and Jusuf Kalla campaign team, in order to seek information on
the alleged involvement of a civil servant in the team.

The civil servant in question is Fandi Utomo, a lecturer at
state-run Surabaya Technical Institute (ITS).

Sukemi, a spokesman for the institute, confirmed that Fandi
was a civil servant with the institute, but quickly added that
Fandi had already tendered his resignation.

A General Elections Commission decree rules that civil
servants, military and police personnel are barred from becoming
members of campaign teams in the presidential election. -- Antara

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Workers-president

JP/3/PRESIDENT

Workers threaten
not to vote

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: Hundreds of workers at two local
companies here threatened on Wednesday not to vote in the
upcoming presidential election unless the government and local
councillors helped solve their problems.

"We have started to collect voter cards, and if they have
still failed to help solve our problems as of July 5, we shall
set fire to the cards," said Sutjipto, the coordinator of the
protest.

The workers, from PT Hasil Deliberty and PT Inti Tara Makmur,
have been demanding severance pay, which has not been paid by the
companies for a few months. -- Antara

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Amien-Pekanbaru-campaign

JP/3/TRAIL

Amien to
campaign in Riau

PEKANBARU, Riau: Amien Rais and Siswono Yudohusodo are due to
stage another outdoor campaign on Thursday, which will take place
in a field in the Riau capital, Pekanbaru. This time, Amien and
Siswono will hit town with an entourage of 75 people.

Fendri Jaswir, head of the Amien-Siswono media center in
Pekanbaru, claimed that the campaign would be attended by some
10,000 people.

He said that some top supporters of Amien and Siswono would
attend the campaign rally, including Reform Star Party (PBR)
leader, the preacher Zainuddin M.Z., Freedom Bull National Party
(PNBK) leader Eros Djarot and his brother, film director Slamet
Rahardjo Djarot. -- Antara