Warsito picked as governor candidate

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. placed his own candidate in prime position to take the governorship of Central Kalimantan by crossing the most popular indigenous contestant from the list yesterday.

Yogie nominated Warsito Rasman, the ministry's director general of public administration and regional autonomy and currently acting governor of Central Kalimantan.

The minister also allowed two more of the five candidates proposed by the Central Kalimantan legislature to remain in contention. They are E. Gerson and Donis N. Singaraca.

Scrapped from the list were Asmawi Agani, who had the most support from the legislature in the preliminary election, and Abdullah Zainie, a member of the House of Representatives (DPR) from the province.

The provincial legislature will select one of the three government-endorsed nominees in a plenary session on June 22.

Yogie's insistence on placing Warsito on the candidacy list has from the beginning drawn storms of protest from a Central Kalimantan public who want an indigenous figure as their governor.

Local community leaders, who protested against Yogie's policy at the House last week, have threatened to disrupt the election of a non-indigenous governor.

Warsito, who hails from Java, also secured support from the central executive board of the powerful government-backed Golkar political machine.

"I take the names (of the candidates) from the local legislature not from customary organizations or something," he said, repeating his standard argument.

When swearing in Warsito as acting governor in January, Yogie promised the Central Kalimantan public that the director general would not run in the election.

Yesterday, he promised that the central government would always try to "give the best for the people."

Yogie has appointed Soedardjat Nataatmadja, the ministry's secretary general, to supervise the forthcoming election.

Soedardjat has been assigned to supervise the process of the selection of the gubernatorial candidates.

"His task will be to see if the upcoming vote proceeds legally and orderly," spokesman for the ministry of home affairs HSA Yusacc said as quoted by Antara.

Under normal circumstances, the task is assigned to the director general of public administration and regional autonomy.

Recently, Soedardjat promised that the election would proceed smoothly and legally because all the candidates had been elected by the legislature.(pan)