Sultan Hamengkubuwono X withdraws from presidential race

Sultan Hamengkubuwono X withdraws from presidential race

Sri Wahyuni and A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta/Jakarta

Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X announced on
Friday his decision to quit from the Golkar presidential
convention in protest at the acquittal of Golkar chairman Akbar
Tandjung. However, the party executive described the sultan's
decision merely as an acknowledgement that he had only a slim
chance of winning the presidential convention.

Citing Akbar's exoneration of corruption by the Supreme Court
on Thursday as a denial of a sense of justice and morality, the
sultan said the judgment caused a problem for him as a
representative of a culture that adamantly abided by moral and
ethical codes of conduct.

"I also face problems between respecting the law and
values of justice in society," the sultan said in announcing his
decision.

Slamet Effendi Yusuf, who is in charge of the Golkar
convention, however, insisted he was not surprised at all at the
sultan's decision because he was simply using Akbar's exoneration
as a pretext to hide his own weakness.

"We have heard about the plan several times. At last, we now
know that he (the sultan) has taken this opportunity (the Supreme
Court verdict) to announce his pullout," Slamet said on Friday.

Golkar has listed seven potential candidates, including
Sultan, to run for the presidency, but will select its final
candidate only after the legislative election on April 5. The
other candidates are: Akbar, media tycoon Surya Paloh, business
tycoon Aburizal Bakrie, Gen. (ret) Wiranto, former president
Soeharto's son-in-law Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto, and
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla.

The sultan became the first of Golkar's presidential hopefuls
to withdraw from the presidential race. The Yogyakarta governor
was often described by the media as holding the lowest position
among the seven.

The sultan acknowledged that his chances of winning had
narrowed because Akbar's chances of winning the party race were
much improved after the court decision.

"There's a kind of unwritten rule that the party leader is the
main candidate for the presidency," he said.

Meanwhile, National Awakening Party (PKB) executive Effendy
Choirie said that Akbar would capitalize on the current momentum
to seek to win the presidency. Choirie, however, said that the
public would be the ultimate decision-maker on whether Akbar, who
was former minister/state secretary when the alleged graft
occurred in 1999, would win the presidency.

Akbar is enjoying his freedom from legal problems. He
dismissed speculation that his exoneration from graft would
automatically help him to win the presidency, saying there was
still a long way to go.

He said that he would focus on how to help the Golkar Party
win the general elections. "We shall continue to improve the
consolidation of party members," he said.