Running mate Soetadi richest in Depok election
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Depok General Elections Commission (KPUD) announced Thursday the wealth of 10 mayoral and deputy mayoral candidates contesting in the June 27 elections, and determined Soetadi Dipowongso as the richest among them.
According to documents already verified by the Corruption Eradication Agency (KPK), the wealth of Soetadi, a PDI-P deputy treasurer and former official of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), stands at Rp 5.69 billion (US$592,400).
Three political parties -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) -- have nominated Soetadi as deputy mayoral candidate, with Yus Ruswandi being the mayoral candidate.
Yus has personal wealth of Rp 1.74 billion, the fifth richest among the ten candidates.
Another mayoral candidate, Badrul Kamal, who was nominated by Golkar, came in second with personal declared wealth of Rp 3.6 billion.
The 1999-2005 Depok mayor will contest the first direct mayoral election with running mate Syihabuddin Ahmad of the National Awakening Party (PKB).
The third richest is mayoral candidate Harun Heryana, a former bureaucrat, with Rp 2.4 billion. Nominated by several political parties including the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and the Star Reform Party (PBR), Harun will be accompanied by running mate Farkhan Abdul Rozak, chairman of Muhammadiyah's Depok chapter.
With Rp 1.94 billion, mayoral candidate Nur Mahmudi Ismail comes in as fourth richest. Nur, who will run with Yuyun Wirasasmita, is a former forestry minister and chairman and founder of the Justice Party (PK), which is now known as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
Nur and Yuyun were nominated by PKS, which won the 2004 elections and is the largest faction in the Depok municipality in West Java.
Yuyun was the six richest with Rp 1.16 billion in personal wealth, followed by deputy mayoral candidate Ilham Wijaya with Rp 467.88 million, Syihabuddin with Rp 414.34 million, mayoral candidate Abdul Wahab Abidin with Rp 332.15 million, and Farkhan with Rp 129.25 million.
Wahab and his running mate Ilham are supported by the Democratic Party, the second largest faction in Depok.
Chairman of the Democratic Party faction in the Depok Legislative Council said last week that his faction did not acknowledge the five other candidate teams because they had not announced their wealth as required by government regulation concerning the election of regional leaders.
Chairman of KPUD Depok, Zulkifli, said that the KPUD delayed announcing the wealth of candidates because the data had be verified by the BPK.