Startling request for Golkar

JAKARTA: A neighborhood chief unchallenged since 1974 in Cakung, East Jakarta, has asked for a typewriter if Golkar wins next month's election.

Muhadjir's request may sound odd to many Jakartan bureaucrats who have long been computer literate, but he insisted that although he had been "in power" for more than 20 years he still dreamed of owning a typewriter.

"We don't mean to aim high. A typewriter will surely do," he said in a discussion with the Director General for Culture Edi Sedyawati at a Golkar campaign Monday.

Muhadjir, 45, said the absence of a typewriter has often made him the target of practical jokes because he has to write documents by hand in this computer age.

"The neighborhood has spearheaded Golkar's victory since the beginning," he was quoted as saying by Antara. "So give us a typewriter," he said to the thunderous laughter of the hundreds of Golkar supporters.

Sedyawati promised to tell the local district chief about his request. "A typewriter should be no problem," she said. (pan)