Mega says beware of bribes, as PDI-P hands out cash
The Jakarta Post Jakarta/Yogyakarta/Surakarta
While observers are warning political parties and the public to be on the alert for vote-buying, at least one high-profile candidate is apparently worried by attempts from rival parties to bribe voters.
On Wednesday, the leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), President Megawati Soekarnoputri expressed her feelings on the issue, amid nationwide criticism of her supporters' ill-mannered behavior. She warned her audience to repel attempts by rival parties trying to buy them off on the eve of the legislative election on April 5.
Addressing a cheering crowd of thousands in Bekasi, West Java, Megawati said, "Say no to money politics, and fight for PDI-P."
In the years under former president Soeharto the "dawn attack" was a popular term referring to supporters of political parties going door-to-door on the morning of election day to bribe voters.
Megawati, however, seemed completely ignorant of the credible reports that her campaign organizers in Bandung over the weekend were seen distributing Rp 50,000 notes to each person at a large rally.
The PDI-P campaign was also marred by reports of PDI-P youths forcefully requesting freebies from local shops.
In Jakarta, the Golkar Party largely refrained from their usual massive convoys, seemingly not wanting to provoke resentment. The previously dominant party in the Soeharto years, however, still showed their might by holding indoor campaign rallies in 44 regencies, each attended by an average of 700 supporters, a Golkar official claimed.
One lively campaign rally on Wednesday took place in South Jakarta, where campaigner Rev. Pati Ginting of the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) entertained and cajoled his audience.
The prolonged crisis, he said, was not only caused by corruption, but also because "the children of God are not free to worship. They're not free to build churches!" Ginting told some 500 party faithful.
PDS is the only Christian-oriented party that was granted eligibility status by the election commission. According to government statistics, Catholics and Protestants make up approximately 10 percent of the country's population.
Ginting exhorted the people to vote for Christians running for important positions in state institutions to ensure that all citizens could freely practice their religion.
He said more Christians were needed in legislative bodies to prevent discriminative legislation, apparently a reference to last year's education bill. A nationwide controversy erupted after the House of Representatives endorsed the Education Law. Most non-Muslims in the country were outraged because the law requires all schools to provide religious instruction according to the faith of the students, even at private Christian, Hindu or Buddhist schools, which many Muslims attend citing a higher standard of education.
Megawati's brother, Guruh Soekarnoputra in Yogyakarta reiterated PDI-P's intention to win over 50 percent of the votes. He said the party had enough support to win both the legislative and presidential elections by more than 50 percent.
In the province's Bantul regency, six PDI-P supporters were injured after a group of teens allegedly threw stones at their convoy of vehicles.
In Surakarta, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) canceled its campaign due to intimidation against the party's members and supporters. The decision followed the beating of a PKS supporter, Arif Kristanto, reportedly by a PDI-P gang, during a campaign event on March 18.
Police also confiscated bottles of liquor during a campaign on Wednesday and warned PDI-P to control their unruly red-clad band of ruffians.