PDI-P presidential campaign team faces tough questions in Jakarta

PDI-P presidential campaign team faces tough questions in Jakarta

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

Wednesday saw a rare, lively dialog during a campaign event held
by presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri's team from the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Although attendees were only from parties and organizations
that clearly supported the Megawati-Hasyim Muzadi ticket, the
event in Senen, Central Jakarta, was not the usual monolog-and-
applause fare.

Campaigners fielded tough questions, such as a demand for an
explanation of the drastic drop in the party's vote in April's
legislative election and the usefulness of inviting only
organizations that had already expressed support for the above
candidates.

On the drop in PDI-P support, party executive Sabam Sirait
repeated the line of party officials that Governor Sutiyoso was
to blame for his frequent eviction of squatters and vendors prior
to the election. (They are the "little people" who are believed
to have contributed to the PDI-P's victory in the 1999 polls.)
The party won 30 seats on Jakarta City Council in 1999 but only
11 in April.

Sutiyoso was nominated by the PDI-P in the most recent
gubernatorial election in the city.

However, a participant, mentioning the air-conditioned venue,
said a better explanation for the decline in party support would
be the gap between the party and the grass roots.

"This place (at Graha Atrium) ... is not accessible to the
grass roots, who are the major supporters of the PDI-P," Dadang
Nurhadi said.

Yusuf Helmi, of Menteng, Central Jakarta, also criticized
organizers for inviting only members of the PDI-P, Prosperous
Peace Party (PDS), and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which Hasyim leads.

The party should pay more attention to swing voters, he said.

Effendi, another attendee, questioned the President's
commitment to the city's poor.