Physician's link with Golkar raises questions

Physician's link with Golkar raises questions

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta

The inclusion of a noted physician on the campaign team of the
Golkar Party has raised suspicions that he might have had a role
in disqualifying another key candidate.

Farid Anfasa Moeloek led a team of doctors two weeks ago that
concluded that presidential hopeful Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid
of the National Awakening Party (PKB) was physically unfit to be
president.

Now the General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) has
stated that Farid, who is also chairman of the Indonesia Doctors
Association, (IDI) had become a member of Wiranto's campaign
team.

Although his inclusion on the team was a political right, the
doctors' failure to be transparent when disqualifying Gus Dur
would justify his (Gus Dur's) allegations, Panwaslu chairman
Komaruddin Hidayat said.

"They have to be transparent about what conditions had foiled
Gus Dur's presidential bid, his health problems such as a stroke
or his disability," he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone
interview Friday.

The health examination criteria for presidential candidates
was jointly drawn up by the General Elections Commission (KPU)
and the IDI.

Gus Dur has filed a civil lawsuit at the Central Jakarta
District Court against the commission, the IDI and the Ministry
of Health, seeking a whopping Rp 1 trillion (US$110 million) in
damages.

Separately, KPU chairman Nazaruddin Syamsuddin said that there
was nothing wrong with Farid's role as a campaigner for Wiranto.

"There is no problem because his name was included after the
team of doctors led had completed the medical examination," he
argued.

However, during a press conference held at the KPU building,
Farid denied that he would campaign for Wiranto.

Farid said his name was put on a roster of campaigners, and he
learned about it only after a KPU staff member told him about it.

"As chairman of the IDI who just carried out the medical
examination on the candidates, I could not be a campaigner for a
certain candidate. There has to be a mistake, maybe my name was
wrongly included," he was quoted by detik.com newsportal as
saying.

Farid's name appeared along with former Soeharto ministers,
including former information minister Harmoko, former housing
minister Cosmas Batubara, former minister for industry Hartarto
and former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Feisal Tandjung. Farid
was a former minister of health from March 1998 to October 1999
under both Soeharto and Habibie.

Also included on the list were legal expert Ismail Sunny and
former finance minister J.B. Sumarlin.