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

;JP;ASA; ANPAa..r.. 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

;JP;ASA; ANPAa..r.. 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

;JP;ASA; ANPAa..r.. 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