Pedicab driver plans to establish new party

Pedicab driver plans to establish new party

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A number of gubernatorial candidates said on Friday they would go
on with their struggle to realize their programs after their
names were removed from the list of candidates for lack of
support from the City Council's factions.

Rasdullah, a pedicab driver, said that he would establish a
new party representing urban poor people.

"I will set up a new party to be named Ampera, which stands
for Amanat Penderitaan Rakyat (Message of the People's
Suffering)," he told a discussion on the Jakarta gubernatorial
election.

To be a governor, whose duty it is to govern the people,
Rasdullah said, was everyone's right regardless of their status
or walk of life.

Rasdullah was nominated as a gubernatorial candidate by the
Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), a non-governmental organization
chaired by Wardah Hafidz.

The discussion, organized by the Indonesian Institute for
Democracy Education (IDE), also featured a number of other
candidates, including engineer Marco H. Kusumawijaya, women's
activist Nursjahbani Katjasungkana and Ridwan Saidi, a Betawi
(native Jakarta people) cultural expert.

Concurring with Rasdullah, Marco revealed that he planned to
establish a center which would continue to campaign on the public
issues affecting Jakarta residents through the publication of
booklets, pamphlets and writings.

"The main goal is to stimulate public participation and the
emergence of new thoughts from the public," said Marco, who is
known as an expert on urban planning.

The center would take independent as well critical stances
against the city administration, he said, "But, we will give
recommendations needed for the improvement of the public well-
being upon request."

Another speaker, Nursjahbani, blasted the election system as
it prevented those who had no support from the parties in the
council from proceeding to the next stage.

"Everything's just as I predicted. The election will only
benefit those who have affiliations with the councilors,"
complained Nursyahbani, who was nominated for governor by the
Jakarta Residents' Forum (Fakta).

However, Nursjahbani remarked that she would continue her
campaign for greater public involvement in the current election
citing that her main agenda during the gubernatorial election
process was to campaign for direct elections.

Nursjahbani asserted that direct elections were necessary to
help increase public participation and involvement in local
politics, which in turn would help to promote democracy.

Ridwan, who is popularly known as a representative of the
Betawi community, said that he would continue to monitor the
election closely. "I want to gather evidence that money politics
has been involved in the election."