Not much fodder in quiet elections for foreign media

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Journalists across the country are doing their best to cover the historic election campaigns -- however lackluster they may be -- but beyond a few neighboring countries, this year's elections will only be interesting when it comes to picking the president.

This is a far cry from the 1999 polls, the first general election after Soeharto's ouster and the end of 32 years of authoritarian rule in 1998.

Australian correspondent Matthew Moore of the Sydney Morning Herald daily, said that at the moment, "People in Australia would not turn on their TV set to see how Akbar Tandjung is doing in this election," referring to the leader of the formerly predominant party, Golkar, who was recently acquitted of all charges in a high-profile graft case.

"The coming presidential election will be much more interesting," he said of the country's first ever direct presidential election, slated for July 5.

This year's campaigns are also a first for the country as citizens directly vote for legislators apart from their parties, as well as for Regional Representatives Council (DPD) members across the nation. Despite the new system, however, disillusion and many old players may have contributed to the current lack of enthusiasm for the campaigns.

Moore, who has been in Jakarta for the past two years, said that the Australian daily was not preparing any special coverage nor security for its correspondents here, anticipating a fairly safe election year.

A similar comment was made by a news wire correspondent who requested anonymity. Despite the addition of a new institution, the DPD, the journalist said the legislative election failed to draw interest, as the composition was expected to be more or less similar to the last line-up.

"The presidential election is what we are waiting for," he said, adding that his office was unlikely to send additional reporters -- even for the presidential election.

In contrast, correspondents from Malaysia and Singapore said that coverage of its giant neighbor -- a source of worry, particularly since the economic crisis -- was always important.

"For Malaysia, what happens in Indonesia is always interesting and our newspaper has published many stories on the election," said Amy Chew from the Malaysian New Strait Times daily.

She admitted that the mood was a bit gloomy and it was not easy to find a story on the election.

"In 1999, I just had to go outside my office (in Central Jakarta) to find good news, but now I just have to work a little harder to find it," said Chew, who has been in Jakarta since 1998.

She further said that, even with the coverage on the ongoing election in Malaysia, the newspaper still published stories on Indonesia's election almost daily.

Intensive daily coverage on Indonesia's election is also found in the Singaporean Strait Times daily.

In its March 17 edition, for example, the daily ran a story on potential hot spots during the campaign period in Indonesia.

The newspaper also pursues soft stories, such as on Soeharto family members who are making an election bid, or on the free T- shirts distributed during campaigns.