Why does Mega back Sutiyoso?

Why does Mega back Sutiyoso?

The country's biggest political party, which gained a majority
vote of over thirty percent in the last general elections, the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI Perjuangan), has endorsed the
candidacy of incumbent Governor Sutiyoso to be Jakarta's next
governor. This is against the policy of the party's own faction
in the City Council which has prepared as candidate one of its
members, Tarmidi Suhardjo, as the next Jakarta governor.

It is reported that PDI Perjuangan's chairwoman herself,
Megawati Soekarnoputri, has argued that Sutiyoso is still needed
to stabilize conditions during the coming annual session of the
People's Consultative Assembly in August and during the next
general election in 2004.

A former deputy chairman of the PDI Perjuangan's central
board, Suparlan, who is also a legislator, has stated the party
does not have any suitable candidate for the post of governor of
Jakarta, including the chairman of the City Council who is a
member of PDI Perjuangan. President Megawati's preference for
Sutiyoso has been criticized by a number of persons and is seen
as an intervention by the executive.

Meanwhile, there has been a growing demand among the
indigenous population of Jakarta residents, the Betawi people,
that the post of Jakarta governor be given to one of them who is
better informed about the problems of the capital city.

But its implications may be far reaching for PDI Perjuangan
itself. It may well lose a significant number of followers in the
coming general elections in 2004 especially among those who had
believed that the PDI Perjuangan is a party caring for the
interests of the common man on the street.

The choice of Sutiyoso by the Megawati camp has led to heated
debates among supporters of PDI Perjuangan in general. It will be
interesting to see if the reason behind Megawati's decision is
her nationalistic fear of the powerful and extreme religious
elements in Jakarta society.

GANDHI SUKARDI

Jakarta