Sultan supports 'clean' alliance

YOGYAKARTA: Yogyakarta governor and sultan, Hamengkubuwono X, called on the public to throw their weight behind a coalition of parties and public figures who had vowed to promote a clean national leadership.

"I don't know the details of the alliance as I only read about it in the papers. But I expect the coalition will help democracy to flourish and grow richer," the sultan said on Saturday.

He said he would wait and see before deciding whether to join the alliance.

"It's good to see a coalition of critics who fight for civil society. But it would be counterproductive if they just express their despair," he said.

A group of political party leaders, non-governmental organization figures and retired military officers announced the establishment on Friday of an alliance for clean national leadership. In their joint statement, they called on the public not to vote for crooked politicians. -- JP