Meet the Megawati campaign strategists

Tiarma Siboro and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

Public relations, party supporters and minorities are among the issues being focused on by three campaign teams working for the Megawati-Hasyim ticket.

The teams -- the Mega for President, Mega Center and the national Mega-Hasyim team which coordinates them all -- will have to work well together to bring out their supporters, mainly members or supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) led by Megawati and Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's biggest Muslim organization, which Hasyim chairs.

The teams will, however, have to explore the best strategy to win over NU supporters, millions of whom habitually vote for the National Awakening Party (PKB), which has officially endorsed the Wiranto-Solahuddin ticket. Solahuddin Wahid is a noted NU cleric.

The deputy secretary-general of the national Mega-Hasyim Team, Halim Mahfudz, told The Jakarta Post that reaching out to the grass roots was their main strategy in ensuring that the bulk of some 150,000 voters expected on July 5 would back the Megawati- Hasyim ticket.

"As we are soon to directly elect the country's leadership for the first time, intense dialog at the grassroots level is crucial. People have to understand why they should vote for the candidates," Halim said. It is the Mega-Hasyim team which is registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU).

The teams strategies comprise door-to-door campaigning, and mass prayer meetings, known as istighodzah, among NU followers.

Hasyim, who is temporarily stepped aside as NU chairman, will be relying on such gatherings to bring home to votes of NU supporters, the number of which is claimed by the NU to stand at 40 million nationwide. He has secured the support of around 1,000 influential clerics, who head Islamic religious schools with tens of thousands of students.

Megawati has taken to visiting traditional markets as part of her campaign.

Halim added, "We will also set a time for both Megawati and Hasyim to meet with minority groups as these communities trust the pair to defend them."

Hasyim and the NU are seen as representing moderate Islam while the PDI-P is considered a nationalist and secular party.

The Mega Center's responsibilities are focused on public relations, receiving feedback from the public and disseminating information.

Meanwhile, the main duties of the Mega for President team are to mobilize PDI-P's constituents and get the party vote out on election day.

While the national team coordinates the work of all teams, "each of the individual teams has room for creativity," national team member Pramono Anung told the Post.

The national team will spend around Rp 100 billion (US$11million) to support the campaign.

Profile of some PDI-P campaign team members

Soetjipto (chairman)

Known as a close Megawati aide who stood by her during the days of repression under former president Soeharto, he is the deputy chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly and PDI-P secretary-general. Before serving on the central board, he headed the party's East Java chapter.

Achmad Bagdja (deputy chairman)

A Hasyim loyalist, he is an NU deputy chairman and a former member of the now-defunct Supreme Advisory Council (DPA). He was proposed as a legislative candidate by the National Awakening Party (PKB) representing East Java in the recent legislative election, but failed to secure a seat.

Halim Mahfudz (deputy secretary)

He resigned from his position as public relations officer of the British-owned Standard Chartered Bank on June 1 to serve as the public relations officer of the campaign team. He is a strong supporter of the NU and was spokesman for the U.S.-based beverage company PT Coca-Cola Indonesia for two years. He has also worked for noted public relation firm Burson Masteller.

Pramono Anung (member)

A graduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), he was among the new faces that joined the PDI-P in the late 1990s. Elected as a legislator in 1999, he is now the party's deputy secretary-general and is regarded as being among the brains behind the campaign.