Prabowo leads farmer's association

Prabowo leads farmer's association

JAKARTA: Army veteran Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto has won
the largest votes in the election for the chairmanship of the
Indonesian Farmers' Association (HKTI), defeating his rival
Agustin Pulungan.

The election was held on Sunday during the association's fifth
5th national meeting at the Haj Dormitory in East Jakarta.

Prabowo, a former commander of the Army's Strategic Reserves
Command (Kostrad) and who formerly lost in the first round of the
country's presidential election, secured the majority of votes
totaling 309, while Agustin, who served as a deputy secretary
general, won only 15 votes.

"I will improve farmers' welfare and realize my dream of
making our country self reliant in food supply. I will also
promote the information system ... so that the farmers can obtain
more knowledge in related with their world," Prabowo said in his
speech as quoted by detik.com. He replaced Siswono Yudhohusodo.

Following his dismissal from the military on charges of
kidnapping pro-democracy activists in 1998, Prabowo, who was once
married to a daughter of former ruler Soeharto, has become active
in business apart from entering the presidential race.