Megawati blamed for nation's failings

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Golkar Party's political campaign has fixed its guns on President Megawati Soekarnoputri, stepping up on rhetoric that blames her for the nation's many ailments.

"Megawati has to pay the political cost for the rampant corruption in the bureaucracy and judiciary system, the stagnant reform agenda, the sluggish economic recovery and her controversial policy on governors' elections in many provinces," Golkar strategist Bomer Pasaribu said referring to the Indonesian Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader.

PDI-P strategist Jacob Tobing said it was not fair to lump all the blame on Megawati and her party.

The Golkar Party was former dictator and president Soeharto's political machine and kept him in power for 32 years. Soeharto was named last week as the world's most corrupt leader by Transparency International.

Pasaribu said many of those who gave voted for PDI-P in the 1999 election had returned to Golkar as they still did not trust the newer minority parties.

Based on a recent evaluations, Golkar's campaign activities throughout the country were on schedule and had been well received, he said. March 11 to April 1 is the designated campaign period for the 24 political parties contesting this year's elections.

"Golkar has been to almost all the electoral districts and our campaigning sites are inundated by yellow squads (of supporters) and eligible voters shifting their political preference from the ruling major party," he told The Jakarta Post by phone on Friday.

There are 211 provincial level electoral districts throughout the country, 32 for the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), 69 at national level and 1,746 at the regental/municipal level with a total of nearly 600,000 polling booths.

Tobing said his party remained determined to win swinging votes in electoral districts dominated by Golkar, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party (PPP).

"So far, our strategy is showing itself effective in almost all electoral districts and our studies show we can maintain the confidence of voters who supported PDI-P in the 1999 elections. We are now entering other parties' strongholds in West Java, East Java, Aceh, South Sulawesi and Papua," he said.

Both Pasaribu and Tobing said their parties' strategies aimed to attract the grass-roots level, while development programs and economic policy would be left to their presidential candidates to campaign for.

Golkar, condemned following former president Soeharto's downfall in May 1998, was regaining the people's confidence as it did in six consecutive elections from 1973 to 1997, Pasaribu said.

Found by a group of bureaucrats and the military in 1964, Golkar came under fierce attack by the reformist movement in 1998 for its support for Soeharto but was allowed to contest the 1999 elections.