Residents of West Java divided by question of next governor

Residents of West Java divided by question of next governor

The Jakarta Post, Cirebon/Bandung

The people of West Java are divided over who should lead the
province for the 2003-2008 period. Residents in the Pasundan area
want the next governor to be Sundanese, while non-Sundanese
residents in the northern part of the province want the next
governor to come from their region.

Gandjar Kurni, an influential figure in Bandung, capital of
West Java, said during a seminar in the city on Saturday that
whoever replaces outgoing Governor Nuriana should be Sundanese.
He said this would help him or her win the support of the
majority of residents and secure their backing for his or her
development programs.

He added that it would be strange if the next governor was not
Sundanese.

Popong Otje Djundjunan, wife of former Bandung mayor
Djundjunan, agreed, adding that the next governor should also be
intellectual and religious.

Popong, one of 106 people who registered their candidacy with
the gubernatorial election committee, said she was not
necessarily referring to herself, but that these attributes were
necessary for the next governor.

Iwan Hendrawan, chairman of the Association of Regency
Legislatures, criticized those people demanding a Sundanese
governor, saying the province was home to numerous other ethnic
groups besides Sundanese.

"The province will certainly be divided into at least two
provinces if the gubernatorial candidates use this divisive issue
to win the gubernatorial election," he said.

Meanwhile, Suryana, chairman of the Cirebon branch of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said
the party's branches in Karawang, Bekasi, Indramayu, Cirebon,
Kuningan and Majalengka supported the decision of the party's
executive board to name Rudi Harsya Tanaya, chairman of PDI
Perjuangan's West Java chapter, as its gubernatorial candidate.

Meanwhile, a number of other political parties have named
several different Army generals as gubernatorial candidates. They
include Maj. Gen. (ret) Tayo Tarmadi, the former chief of the
Siliwangi Military Command, and Maj. Gen. Sudradjat, the director
general for defense strategy affairs at the defense ministry.