PDI-P hopes fresh blood will boost its election showing

PDI-P hopes fresh blood will boost its election showing

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

To win over the voters in the upcoming 2004 direct election, the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) has
introduced new faces to its lineup of legislative candidates.

During a two-day national meeting on Wednesday to select its
candidates, party branches put forward many well-known public
figures to represent the party in the House of Representative.

Noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, economic analysts Sri Mulyani
and Mari Pangestu, and political analyst Rizal Mallarangeng were
among the names being talked about.

The names of a number of noted show business personalities,
such as Marrisa Haque, Desy Ratnasari, Franky Sahilatua and Deddy
Sutomo, were also mentioned.

"We will finalize the list on Friday during a meeting led by
chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri. We hope that these people will
be willing to accept the offer," the party's secretary-general,
Soetjipto, said.

The meeting will scrap or add a number of names from the
existing list of 669 proposed by the party's branches across the
country.

Todung, however, said that no one from the PDI Perjuangan had
ever contacted him regarding his standing for the legislature.

"I appreciate the wishes of the PDI Perjuangan grass roots,
but I have yet to consider what kind of political path I will
take in the future," he told The Jakarta Post.

The noted lawyer said that he had been working for many years
with civil society organizations, but had yet to decide whether
he would join a political party.

The party's image has slumped recently, something that has
been blamed on the performance of President Megawati and her
administration, as well as other factors.

Ahead of the first ever direct election in 2004, the party has
tried to include noted public figures as vote getters.

The party is also keeping on many of its current crop of
legislators, including Roy B.B.Janis, Noviantika Nasution,
Pramono Anung Wibowo, Mangaara Siahaan and Soetjipto.

Megawati's brother Guruh Soekanoputra and her husband Taufik
Kiemas, despite their poor attendance record in the House, have
also been nominated again as legislative candidates.

Another relative of Megawati that will be on the list of
legislative candidates is her brother-in-law, Santayana Kiemas.

At the opening of the party's national meeting on Tuesday
Megawati gave a sharp warning to members, saying she would not
tolerate the renomination of candidates by branches other than
their original branch. It was not clear whether she will scrap
Taufik's name from the list.

Taufik is a legislator representing the South Sumatra branch,
but he is being renominated for the next five-year term by West
Java.