PDI-P backs ex-generals for top post in North Sumatra

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) has named four retired Army generals as gubernatorial candidates to lead the province of North Sumatra for the next five years.

Budi Mulya Bangun, a legislator of the party's provincial chapter, confirmed on Friday that the PDI Perjuangan executive board had proposed the four candidates to the North Sumatra chapter.

"The four are outgoing governor Tengku Rizal Nurdin, Maj. Gen. (ret) Samsyir Siregar, ex-chief of the former State Intelligence Coordinating Board (Bakin), former chief of the East Java Military Command Maj. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, and former chief of the Trikora Military Command Maj. Gen. (ret) Radjakami Sembiring," he said.

Rizal, whose term of office will end June 2003, is also former chief of the Bukit Barisan Military Command overseeing both North and West Sumatra and Riau, while Radjakami is also deputy chairman of PDI Perjuangan.

Budi explained that his party was determined to select its gubernatorial candidates from the military, to maintain the unity of pluralist groups in the province.

The province, home to Malay, Batak, Javanese, Acehnese, Chinese and Minangkabau ethnic groups and various religions, is prone to sectarian and ethnic conflicts and in the past, several churches in the provincial capital were bombed.

Friday was opening day for the registration of gubernatorial candidates, but by evening, no candidates had registered with the gubernatorial election committee.

Golkar was scheduled to nominate the deputy chairman of the provincial legislature, Abdul Wahab Dalimunthe, but the party faction has yet to register him with the election commission.

Rizal confirmed that he would contest in the gubernatorial election for his second period with political support expected from PDI Perjuangan.

He called on the gubernatorial election committee and non- governmental organizations to closely monitor the election to prevent it from being contaminated by money politics. Azwir Sofyan, a provincial legislator of the National Mandate Party, agreed and said they should also be wary of possible graft cases during the election.

Meanwhile, Fachriza Marta Tandjung, coordinator of the North Sumatra Crisis Centre (NSCC), expressed her skepticism that the gubernatorial election would be free of money politics.

Robinson Sitepu, another PDI Perjuangan legislator, conceded that campaign teams of several individuals wanting to contest in the gubernatorial election had already launched "a political guerrilla" to gather support for their candidates.

"Even worse, several legislators conceded that they were promised projects if their candidate wins the election," he said.

He said he and many other legislators had received "good service" from several prospective gubernatorial candidates over the last three months. He declined to identify the prospective candidates from whom they had received good service.

Of the 85 seats in the provincial legislative council, 30 were occupied by PDI Perjuangan and 17 by Golkar, while the remaining 38 were divided among ten minor political parties, including the Indonesian Military and National Police faction.