Parties hit campaign trails in separate regions

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto's children, a controversial folk singer and cabinet ministers hit the campaign trails across Indonesia for the dominant political grouping Golkar yesterday.

They appeared before the public with dangdut popular folk singers to attract a crowd. It was reported that despite the impressive campaigners, turnout was not as big as expected.

The Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP) featured its chief Ismail Hasan Metareum in North Sumatra. In other areas, it fielded Moslem preachers and politicians to attract people.

In the predominantly Roman Catholic East Timor, PPP kicked off campaigning in Dili, where only about 200 people fronted up to listen to local party leaders.

The government-recognized Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) under Soerjadi, which barely has any public figures, unlike in 1992, hit the trail with smaller groups of supporters.

The other PDI camp under Megawati Soekarnoputri, which lost the government's favor in a rebel congress last year, kept its word to stay away from campaigning.

Bambang Trihatmodjo, a son of the President, appeared on the podium for a mere one minute in Bandung.

Acknowledging he was not good at addressing a gathering, he said he was afraid the crowd would disperse if he bore it with his "dull" rhetoric.

Then he shouted to the crowd of several thousand people in local dialect, "Who will you vote for?"

"Golkar," they thundered.

He turned around to the dozens of singers behind him and his sister Titik Prabowo.

She, too, appeared to repeat Bambang's words of "Who will you vote for?" in local dialect before handing the microphone to Abdul Gafur, a Golkar deputy chief.

In Semarang, the President's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana -- one of Golkar deputy chiefs -- promised to help eradicate poverty.

"We hope there is no Indonesian living in poverty by the end of the seventh Fife Year Plan (1999-2003)," she said.

In East Jakarta, dangdut singer Rhoma Irama disclosed to the public why he crossed over to Golkar from PPP.

"Golkar and the government under President Soeharto is becoming more Islamic every day," he told the thousands of people who jostled to get a close look at the famous vote-getter.

Up until 1992, Rhoma had campaigned for PPP. His shift in political affiliation is widely believed to have triggered a riot in the Central Java town of Pekalongan, a PPP stronghold, last month. An angry mob torched a stage he was to perform on to promote Golkar.

Rhoma said yesterday that under President Soeharto, Islam had been flourishing and the government was no longer "hostile" to Moslems.

"After President Soeharto went on a haj pilgrimage, people from all walks of life, from neighborhood chiefs to cabinet ministers, from corporals to generals, all fight their way to Mecca for the pilgrimage," he said.

Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution Hartarto appeared for about 15 minutes in Bogor before he gave a hand to Jakarta comedians such as Kadir, Tarzan, and a dangdut band.

Golkar's campaign in Surabaya also lacked enthusiasm. The mood in the city, Indonesia's second largest, was much like an ordinary holiday yesterday. Few PPP and PDI flags flew on the streets.

In Yogyakarta, the first day of campaigning was marked with the conspicuous absence of PDI flags from the street. Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung and Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. paid an inspection visit.

Meanwhile, Golkar supporters and sympathizers in Jakarta were disappointed at the absence of several cabinet ministers who were scheduled to appear.

They were Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo, State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, State Minister of Research and Technology BJ Habibie, Minister of Information Harmoko and Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono.

"Why did Habibie fail to turn up? I'd note that," said a disappointed campaign participant in South Jakarta.

Elsewhere in South Jakarta, Golkar supporters turned down a substitute campaigner and asked dangdut singers to perform instead.

Harmoko's absence in the South Jakarta subdistrict was due to mechanical troubles with the helicopter meant to transport Harmoko from Serang, West Java. Local supporters, local and foreign media awaited Harmoko's arrival.

In the spirit of "the show must go on" over 200 people disappointed by Harmoko's absence listened or danced to dangdut music in a South Jakarta soccer field near Megawati's residence.

In a discussion with a substitute campaigner, they demanded better traffic management, a mosque and a school in their area.

The crowd and party campaigners were awash in yellow clothing and accessories from head bands saying "Long live Golkar", hats with the party's symbol of a banyan tree to stickers, T-shirts, and even the dangdut singer's fingernails and toenails were painted a pale yellow.

In the capital, three competing political parties anchored political flags of green, yellow and red and the national flag throughout downtown main streets yesterday.

Witnessed by representatives from each party, Deputy Governor of Administrative Affairs Idroes and Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso, party activists anchored 1,100 flags around the National Monument and Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Diponegoro. (23/ahy/har/33/nur/01/10)