National Scene 1997

National Scene 1997

Photo A/B/C: Scene

JP/alx, JP/msa, Antara

MAKING THE SCENE: President Soeharto and (ret.) Gen. Abdul Haris
Nasution don their military uniforms once again as the Armed
Forces accorded them the rank of five-star generals (left). R.
Hartono (above, sitting left) replaced Harmoko as minister of
information in June. Here he sits next to Siti Hardiyanti
Rukmana, Soeharto's daughter, who's profile increased this year
as she successfully campaigned for Golkar in Central and East
Java for the elections. Both are touted as vice-presidential
candidates. Harmoko, as Golkar's chief, was sworn in as speaker
of the People's Consultative Assembly in October (right). Sitting
behind him are deputy speakers chosen from the Assembly's four
factions.

Photo D/E/F/G: Election

JP/leo, JP/ben, JP/arf, JP

ELECTION FEVER: The dominant Golkar faction swept the May 29
general elections, winning 74.3 percent of the votes. An
elections institute official counts the vote tally at a polling
booth (extreme left). While election day generally went smoothly,
the campaigns were marred by tragedy and saw the rise of a "Mega-
Bintang" phenomenon in which supporters of ousted Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri joined with
sympathetic supporters of the United Development Party (left).
Among the campaign tragedies was a riot which broke out in
Ciputat, South Jakarta (above), on the last day of the campaign.
The internal turmoil within PDI caused a deep fall in their share
of vote as their campaigns attracted little support (below).

Photo H/I: Hope

JP, JP/bay

NEW HOPE: Anisa Livia Ramadhani (above) was one of the babies
born on Feb. 4 which saw the Indonesian population reach 200
million. Anisa was born at Pondok Indah Hospital, South Jakarta.
Many also cheered when the Bantul court in Yogyakarta dismissed
the case against Dwi Sumaji, seen here along with his family
(left), who was accused of murdering journalist Fuad Muhammad
Syafruddin. The case was marred by speculation that police
manipulated evidence against Dwi Sumaji. After a series of
testimonies asserting Dwi's innocence, prosecutors asked for the
case to be dismissed.

Photo J/K: Labor

JP/oby, Antara

LABORIOUS YEAR: Laborers waiting for work chat among themselves
(above). The severe economic slump in the latter half of this
year has prompted thousands of layoffs with more expected next
year. As workers here began bracing for a tough year, 24,000
problematic Indonesian workers were airlifted home from Saudi
Arabia by the government. Here they gather their bags upon
arriving in Indonesia with an unknown future ahead (right photo).