Not much fodder in quiet elections for foreign media

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.