Megawati urged to abandon Sutiyoso
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
An activist has strongly urged President Megawati Soekarnoputri to withdraw her support from the nomination of incumbent Governor Sutiyoso for another term in office to win back her supporters at the grassroots level.
"This is the right moment for Megawati to withdraw her support. That way she can win back her followers," the chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum (FAKTA), Azas Tigor Nainggolan, said on Saturday.
"Continuing to support Sutiyoso would only jeopardize her party's chances in the 2004 general election," he told The Jakarta Post.
Tigor said that Megawati needed Sutiyoso's help to keep her position in power as he had the support of many business links and capital owners.
Many of Megawati's followers have protested her support of Sutiyoso's nomination, not only because of his poor performance as a governor, but especially since he is a former military commander who was named as one of the suspects in the July 27, 1996 tragedy. Five people were killed, hundreds were injured and several went missing, while 124 of Megawati's supporters were arrested during the attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party.
The City Council's election committee will put forward the names of seven candidates for Megawati's approval some time this week before the election, which is scheduled for Sept. 11.
Tigor questioned the council's obligations to consult the President on the candidates despite the implementation of regional autonomy.
"The problem arose because there has been intervention from the central government. It will be more difficult for Jakarta to develop further because we all know that Sutiyoso failed in his first tenure."
Political observer Andi Alfian Mallarangeng said the consultation was needed concerning the governor's status as a representative of the central government.
"The consultation will only focus on administrative affairs."
He said Megawati could drop Sutiyoso's name from the candidate's list because he was a suspect in the July 27 incident.
He said she had the authority to eliminate any candidates if they were involved or even suspected to have been involved in any acts of treason or serious legal violations.
The gubernatorial election will have only one round as long as a candidate gets a single majority vote of 50 percent plus one. Otherwise, there will be stages to reduce the number of candidates to five and two respectively.