KPU to hire 15,000 students for data entry

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The General Elections Commission (KPU) will hire around 15,000 university students across the country to help enter data at some 5,000 districts nationwide, says KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin.

"Each district will get three students to help in inputting data," Nazaruddin said after a meeting with rectors and deputy rectors from 13 universities.

He said that some students would be soon invited to Jakarta for training on technical matters, especially on ballot counting.

He did not reveal the cost of the training or the honorarium the students would get but a reliable source at KPU said that the commission had allocated Rp 150 billion (US$17.6 million) for computers and Rp 100 billion for the honorarium of the students.

The commission proposed an additional budget of Rp 900 billion to the House of Representatives earlier, on top of its current budget of Rp 2.3 trillion.

Indonesia will hold the legislative election on April 5, followed by the direct presidential election on July 5. Should the election fail to produce a clear winner, a runoff would be held on Sept. 20 to be contested by the top two in the first round.

A total of 24 political parties are participating in the legislative election and only parties or coalitions that receive 3 percent of the seats in the House or 5 percent of total votes will be allowed to join the country's first direct presidential election.

Meanwhile, Jakarta State University (UNJ) deputy rector Cut Karamil claimed that state and private universities were ready to deploy students to help the commission.

"We want to help facilitate the process of the general elections. Our students are ready to help the KPU," Cut said.

Besides UNJ, at least 12 rectors and deputy rectors attended the meeting with the KPU, including the rector of the University of Indonesia, Atma Jaya Catholic University, Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra and Sam Ratulangi University in Manado, North Sulawesi.

Representatives from the Bandung Institute of Technology, the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java also joined the meeting.

Although the universities agreed to help the KPU in the general elections, they differed on whether or not a political campaign would be allowed in their respective campuses.

Cut said the UNJ had decided to ban any campaigning on campus, for fear that it would create friction among students.

"We don't want friction among students because of the campaigns," she asserted.

Padjadjaran University deputy rector Syarif A. Barmawi supported Cut's statement, adding that campaigning on campus and other state facilities was prohibited by law.

"We will just follow the law. It's clearly stipulated in the law that we are not permitted to use state facilities for a campaign," Barmawi told reporters.

According to Article 74 (g) of Law No. 12/ 2003 on general elections, campaigns cannot be conducted at state facilities, places of worship or educational institutions.

But the law also stipulates that leaders of educational institutions could permit campaigning on campus if they believed it would not disrupt classes.

Several universities are still considering whether or not to allow campaigns on campus.