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Contents:
The Thinker: Book Sheds Light On Aspiring Leaders Wiranto and Prabowo [16 March]
Retired three-star army general, Sintong S. Panjaitan, the former commander of the Army’s Special Forces, or Kopassus, whose last official position was as special adviser on military and defense to former president, BJ Habibie, published “The Journey of a Commando,” a book that could put a bad light on two former senior military officers who also happen to be running for president: Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto. [full story…]
Also: ‘Sintong Better Be Ready For Complaints’ [16 March] [full story…]
Indonesia Beats Path Out Of Suharto Era [26 March] [full story…]
Hanura digs deeper into its conscience [27 March] [full story…]
Prabowo Subianto: Indonesia's Dark-Horse Candidate [31 March] [full story…]
Papua murder sparks election tension [17 March]
THE killing of an Indonesian soldier in Papua, allegedly by separatist guerillas, has highlighted the risks of violent outbreaks undermining the country's elections. [full story...]
Also: 60% of voters in Central Highlands (Papua) are illiterate [18 March] [full story…]
Call for election in Jayawijaya to be boycotted [24 March] [full story…]
Police chief: On high alert for election period, warns against mass meetings in Papua [30 March] [full story…]
Campaign turns ugly, injures seven in Wamena [30 March] [full story…]
Yudhoyono well placed in Indonesian polls [16 March]
Formal campaigning opened on Monday for elections to national, provincial and local legislatures in which 171m largely Muslim voters are expected to clear the way for the re-election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president. Mr Yudhoyono is not a candidate in the April 9 legislative election, but candidates for the July 8 direct presidential election must be backed by parties that win 20 per cent of the 560 seats in parliament, or 25 per cent of the popular vote. [full story…]
The Thinker: Friends Who Have Come a Long Way [17 March]
Reflections on activists from the era of former president Suharto running for positions in the upcoming legislative elections. They include Budiman Sujatmiko, Faisol Reza and Pius Lustrilanang, courageous men who were hounded by Suharto and his minions who
saw them as enemies of the state for criticizing his New Order regime. [full story…]
International Crisis Group: Deep Distrust in Aceh as Elections Approach [23 March]
The latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, reports that hostility between the TNI and the GAM is at its highest point since the peace deal in 2005, although there is little danger that the low-level pre-election violence will escalate. “Many in the TNI are convinced that GAM is still committed to independence, and that a big victory for Partai Aceh, GAM’s political party, could threaten the unity of the republic”, says Sidney Jones, Crisis Group’s Senior Adviser to the Asia Program. “Many in GAM see the military as determined to stop Partai Aceh at all costs and believe that pre-election attacks on its members or offices are linked to the TNI”. [full story…]
Also: Peaceful start to election campaigning in Aceh [17 March] [full story…]
Aceh Police Look Into Unicef Grenade as Distraction Tactic [18 March] [full story…]
Police, military deployed at all Aceh polling stations [21 March] [full story…]
Indonesia's Aceh Province Tense Ahead Of Elections [23 March] [full story…]
George Junus Aditjondro: Threatening Aceh’s Expatriates [25 March] [full story…]
Aceh Party Denies Seeking Secession from Indonesia [27 March] [full story…]
Aus Should Press Indon On Aceh Election Monitors: Expert [27 March] [full story…]
Aceh local parties hopeful to beat national parties locally [30 March] [full story…]
SBY woos voters in tense Aceh [29 March] [full story…]
Factbox-Tense Aceh a key test as Indonesia faces polls [29 March] [full story…]
Yudhoyono keeps V-P options open [17 March]
As political parties kicked off a 21-day campaign for next month's parliamentary polls yesterday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono continued to keep his options open about a tie-up with his Vice-President for the presidential polls in July. The two leaders have been the main focus of Indonesia's political speculation ever since Mr Jusuf Kalla, who is chairman of Indonesia's largest party Golkar, said last month that he was ready to run for the top post if his party asked him to. President Yudhoyono is not ruling out an alliance with the PDI-P. [full story…]
PKB Legislator May Spend 6.5 Years in Jail if Guilty [17 March]
Prosecutors at the Anti-Corruption Court have sought a six-and-a-half-year jail term for suspended National Awakening Party, or PKB, lawmaker Yusuf Erwin Faishal, on trial for two separate cases of graft. Yusuf, who once chaired the House of Representatives’ Commission IV, which oversees forestry, allegedly received Rp 5 billion ($415,000) in bribe money in connection with the conversion of a forest into a seaport. [full story…]
Islamic Political Parties Presiding Over Their Own Demise [18 March]
Once considered a threat by some, political Islam is now under threat. Come April 9, Islamic parties may find themselves impaled by their own expectations. Studies by the Centre for Strategic & International Studies and the Indonesia Survey Institute suggest a dry harvest for the nine competing Islamic parties, with optimistic projections at 23 percent, or worse dropping to 15 percent of votes. [full story…]
Also: Indonesia's Islamic Parties Losing Their Lustre [21 March] [full story…]
Why They Are Losing Support [21 March] [full story…]
Election Credibility Questioned [19 March]Also: Election Fraud?: Jakarta Post editorial [19 March] [full story…]
Jeffrey Winters: Free and fair election in Indonesia?: [23 March] [full story…]
KPU Denies Doctoring Data, Rejects Calls for Delay [24 March] [full story…]
Tempo: Life and Death on the Voter Rolls [31 March] [full story…]
Is It Time to Consider Postponing Elections?: Jakarta Globe editorial [20 March]
Less than one month before the legislative elections are held on April 9, it has become clear to anyone that this time, preparations for the five-yearly democratic event have been, to say the least, haphazard. Less than one month before the legislative elections many voters remain blissfully ignorant about how the ballots should be marked. Ballot papers also have yet to reach their destination in many parts of the archipelago, and newspapers abound with reports of
defective ballot papers that need to be printed anew and resent. And the final voter list, already revised several times, has yet to be made public. [full story…]
Also: Experts Predict Chaos After April 9 Election [25 March] [full story…]
The 2009 Elections: RI’s Future and Reputation at Stake [31 March] [full story…]
The Big Issue: Does the Military Still Have Influence in Elections? [23 March]
Despite its withdrawal from practical politics, the military remains one of the most powerful political institutions in the country, and questions on whether it will return to practical politics always arise during elections. This year’s election is no exception. If anything, the speculation, and fears, have only heightened now that the contenders in July’s presidential polls include four retired military generals. In addition, virtually all the big political parties in the country now count dozens of former military personnel among their ranks. [full story…]
Intense lobbying by retired generals for place near the top [26 March] [full story…]
The Political Rights of Soldiers Old and New [28 March] [full story…]
Ex-Militia Leader, Guterres, Plays Cleanskin Card In Poll Push [27 March] [full story…]
The Big Issue: Female Candidates Face Rocky Road to Election [24 March]
Female candidates remain a mere commodity, brought in as part of an attempt to
reach the 30 percent quota for female candidates, says one candidate. “Party policy is not discriminative, but in practice it is. Female candidates are not given the same access and resources. In a recent campaign rally, for example, none of the female candidates were given the chance to speak up.” [full story…]
Also: Women to Reveal Polygamous Candidates [27 March] [full story…]
Coalition building problems in a presidential system [25 March]
Observing the current political campaign, where candidates for parliamentary election vie for attention with candidates for presidential election in the media and in the streets, one may forget the connection between the president and the legislative body can be source of political friction in the presidential system. Indonesia’s politics in the last decade has shown the problematic relationship between the president and the parliament. [full story…]
Human rights checklist for Indonesia [25 March]
Campaigning has begun for Indonesia’s general election on April 9. There are 44 political parties and literally hundreds of thousands of candidates competing for seats in the national and local legislative bodies. From the main streets in big cities to alleys in small villages there is a profusion of banners, posters and flags. But what is lacking among the myriad campaign tools is a clear message as to each candidate’s platform, including their human rights agenda. [full story…]
Christian PDS party fights to strengthen country's pluralism [25 March]
The PDS, headed by doctor and philanthropist Ruyandi Hutasoit, is one of just two Christian parties participating in this year's election. Its name coveys a notion of pacifism, but Ferry said that the party stands firm in its fight for equal rights among people of different beliefs in the country. [full story…]
Political parties lack commitment to public services [27 March]
Despite regional autonomy having been rolled out in Indonesia a decade ago, most political parties contesting the 2009 elections have remained almost silent about improving public services at local level during their campaign rallies. Instead of explaining to their wealth-hungry constituents their strategies to alleviate poverty and improve the local economy, most parties have taken the opportunity to prematurely introduce their presidential candidates or lure support through musical performances. [full story…]
The Unexpected Face Of Indonesian Politics [30 March]
Political parties that believe mass rallies with pop stars are actually winning them votes should think again. Political pundits who believe voters are as cynical about politics as they are should think again. Public enthusiasm for hearing candidates speak is repeated across Indonesia. While meetings are held in different types of venues, common to them all is that candidates have to talk about the things the voters asked. These were definitely not meetings at which candidates could speak down to voters using nicely worded platitudes. [full story…]
The Thinker: Book Sheds Light On Aspiring Leaders
The Jakarta Globe
Monday, March 16, 2009
Taufik Darusman
Old soldiers never die, the legendary US Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur once said, they just fade away.
Most older Indonesian soldiers also tend to retreat to the background, although many later reappear on the national scene as cabinet ministers, top executives in large private or state-owned corporations, ambassadors, or wealthy businessmen.
In recent times, they have been setting up political parties as well and sitting on as chairmen. Notably, two military officers have become presidents, even though Suharto and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were only 46 years old and 55 years old respectively when they first took office.
Still, a few soldiers write memoirs to share their stories to the public. Among them is retired three-star army general, Sintong S. Panjaitan, the former commander of the Army’s Special Forces, or Kopassus, and later territorial military commander, whose charge also included the former Portuguese colony and now sovereign state of East Timor.
Last week Sintong, whose last official position was as special adviser on military and defense to former president, BJ Habibie, published “The Journey of a Commando,” a book that could put a bad light on two former senior military officers who also happen to be running for president: Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto.
Sintong, who hails from North Sumatra Province and whose people are known never to mince words, dismissed Prabowo as “deranged” for concocting — unbeknownst to his direct superiors — a pre-emptive plan to kidnap key military officers in a bid to foil what he imagined to be a military coup in the making
against his father-in-law, Suharto, in 1983.
Worse, Sintong wrote, the military failed to censure Prabowo for the misdeed. Then 15 years later, according to Sintong, the military again failed in its duties when it only discharged Koppasus personnel serving under Prabowo for kidnapping activists and never probed more extensively to find out who the
mastermind was behind the act .
The book also revealed the full extent of Prabowo’s bizarre behavior in the aftermath of Suharto’s resignation, as he maneuvered to remain in power despite his dismissal as commander of the powerful Kostrad strategic armed forces unit by Habibie.
Sintong, who gained national prominence in 1981 when he led an antiterror team to overpower hijackers of a Garuda aircraft in Bangkok — not one single passenger died during the 30-second operation while it left all five terrorists dead — had no less kinder words for Wiranto.
As the commander of the Armed Forces at the time of the 1998 May riots in Jakarta that saw over 500 people perish, 4,000 buildings damaged, 1,000 cars torched and 1,000 homes burned down, Wiranto should have been held responsible for the national tragedy, Sintong wrote.
Sintong also questioned Wiranto’s professionalism and sense of leadership for leaving Jakarta at the height of the riots to attend a change-of-the-guard ceremony, which was a relatively mundane event and for refusing to accept a special mandate from then president Suharto to restore law and order in the aftermath
of a blaze that lasted for three days in Jakarta.
Even by post-reform standards the revelations found in Sintong’s book are remarkable. So far, Prabowo and Wiranto have reacted in a civil manner to the book’s contents. What this means is anybody’s guess. Either they’re not keen on publicly challenging Sintong’s claims, or maybe it’s a tacit admission to the veracity of the book.
The incredibly shoddy editing and the numerous misspellings strongly suggest that the book was published hastily, about four weeks before the legislative election and the ensuing presidential election on July 9. It is a matter of speculation whether the timing of the book’s publication was designed to provide voters with a different, if not adverse, perspective on two men who are running for the nation’s highest office.
But those who subscribe to the so-called conspiracy theories are different from those who vote on the basis of real-time developments with little regard for the past.
As the nation has been overwhelmed by the enormity and the pace of national events in the past decade or since reform has set in, it looks all too easy for people to forget to factor in the past when they decide on the future.
Taufik Darusman is a veteran Jakarta-based journalist.
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‘Sintong Better Be Ready For Complaints’
The Jakarta Post
Monday, March 16, 2009
Erwida Maulia
The writer of a new book dealing with past military operations in Indonesia should prepare to face criticism and lawsuits, the President said Sunday.
Responding to the controversy surrounding the launch of a book authored by a former elite army forces commander, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also a retired officer, said dealing with criticism is “part of the learning process in a democracy”.
“To be able to write is a right enjoyed by everyone,” he said at his residence outside Jakarta, adding that he had not read the book by Lt. Gen. (ret) Sintong Panjaitan.
Titled Sintong Panjaitan: A Journey of a Para-Commando the biography discusses the role played by several retired officers in high-profile conflicts who are now running for the presidency, including Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto.
“Sintong would have his arguments and facts to write a book like that,” the President said. Prabowo was the last chief of the elite forces while Wiranto was the military commander.
Among others contentious issues, Sintong questions Wiranto’s responsibility regarding the May 1998 riots in Jakarta and other cities that led to the downfall of Indonesia’s second president Soeharto. Wiranto was then the Indonesian Military commander.
Both have dismissed prior suggestions and inquiries into their roles in military operations as political manoeuvres designed to discourage them from contesting the elections.
Prabowo is running for the Gerindra party while Wiranto is the candidate for the Hanura party. Both are founders of their respective political organizations.
“If Pak Prabowo or Pak Wiranto have anything against [the content], there are mechanisms for them to file a complaint against Pak Sintong,” Susilo said.
Sintong is most widely known as the regional commander in charge at the time of the 1991 massacre in St. Cruz, a cemetery in Dili, when soldiers opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators, killing hundreds.
Prabowo, a former son-in-law of Soeharto, was dismissed as commander of the elite army forces while his subordinates were charged with abducting student activists in the last years of Soeharto’s New Order.
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Indonesia Beats Path Out Of Suharto Era
Financial Times (UK)
March 26, 2009
John Aglionby in Yogyakarta
photo: Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, a son-in-law of former dictator Suharto, greets supporters at a campaign rally in Surabaya
When Prabowo Subianto, leader of the Great Indonesia Movement party, appeared at a campaign rally in the central Java city of Yogyakarta last week, his articulate stump speech was all about the need for regime change.
With a huge banner behind him exhorting voters to “Restore Indonesia as Asia’s tiger”, he spoke for almost half an hour about how the “little people” had been neglected since the fall of the dictator Suharto in 1998 and that it was time for strong new leadership.
Mr Prabowo’s problem is that while his party, known as Gerindra, is only a year old, he is anything but a fresh face. He was a son-in-law of Suharto and under his rule became one of the youngest lieutenant generals in Indonesian history.
He also faces a political rival, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who appears set to be re-elected to a further term as president Mr Yudhoyono and his Democrat party are both well ahead in polls for the legislative election to be held on April 9 ahead of the presidential contest.
The hats Mr Prabowo distributed at the rally were emblazoned with the three stars of a general to remind voters of his background. His presidential campaign is financed by Hashim Djojohadikusumo, his billionaire brother, who was also close to the Suharto family.
Mr Prabowo’s emergence, analysts say, demonstrates the enduring power of the Suharto-era oligarchy in spite of the dictator's death last year. “The theme of the election for many people is, ‘You again? You again?’” said Budi Santoso, an analyst based in Yogyakarta.
All the main candidates in the July presidential election made their names under Suharto. Mr Yudhoyono was a general and Wiranto, who ran unsuccessfully in 2004, was defence minister and armed forces chief during East Timor’s bloody secession in 1999.
Megawati Sukarnoputri, Mr Yudhoyono’s predecessor, is also making another run. The daughter of Indonesia’s founding president, she led one of the two opposition parties Suharto allowed to operate within tight controls.
Moreover, the largest party in parliament is still Golkar, the political machine created by Suharto, though Mr Yudhoyono’s Democrat party appears set to overtake it in the legislative election.
Analysts believe it is likely to be at least a further decade before the old order cedes the centre stage.
“The most amazing thing about Indonesian politics is the continuity of the Suharto oligarchy and their ability to adapt. They’re great survivors,” says Jeffrey Winters, a long-time Indonesia watcher at Northwestern University in Chicago.
The oligarchy’s grip on power should not surprise anyone, says Amin Abdullah, head of the State Islamic University in Yogyakarta.
“Under Suharto, leaders couldn’t emerge except from the military or a tiny elite, so we have a lost generation of civilian leadership,” he says.
Indonesia’s path out of the shadow of the Suharto-era is emerging, however. A constitutional court ruling this year means voters will elect individual legislators in the upcoming election; previously, voters endorsed party tickets and then party officials allocated the seats based on won.
“This decision is the most powerful empowerment of the voters in 60 years of Indonesian electoral history,” says Kevin Evans, an Australian analyst.
Mr Evans predicts that more than half of the 560 seats in parliament will be filled by new faces.
The oligarchy’s power is also eroding through the direct election of leaders at all levels of government. The incumbent re-election rate is about 60 per cent, low by global standards and a manifestation of increasing public demand for good governance.
Kevin O’Rourke, an analyst in Jakarta, believes Indonesia’s 33 popularly elected governors will play an increasingly prominent role in national politics.
“The rules of the system have changed,” says Mr O’Rourke. “The game used to be to seek rents and money to pay the regional legislature to re-elect you. Now it’s all about performance.”
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Hanura digs deeper into its conscience
The Jakarta Post
March 27, 2009
Ridwan Max Sijabat
Being number one on the list of contesting parties means little in the grand scheme of the elections, and that is something that the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party is well aware of heading into the upcoming legislative elections.
Defeated in the 2004 presidential race, former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief, defense minister and four-star Gen. (ret) Wiranto, who expressed disappointment with the "deceiving results" of the past general elections that "gave nothing to the people", quit the Golkar Party and joined forces with close friends to form Hanura on Nov. 14, 2006.
The party was built to serve as a political vehicle to take over power through the polls, with the main mission of pursuing universal social welfare, free education and free or at least affordable healthcare for the needy.
With its name, the military-style party is determined to prove its leadership is a far cry from the TNI's leadership during the ruthless crackdown in the 1999 riots in then East Timor and the bloody sectarian violence in Maluku, while it tries to tout the promise of a national leader with a conscience achieving the
party's national goals.
"The people should elect a national leader and legislative candidates who have a conscience, because development in all sectors cannot go on without a conscience," Hanura chairman Wiranto pleaded with his audience in a recent campaign speech.
Responding to reports of a lack of human resources, financing and internal consolidation, Hanura deputy chairman Fuad Bawazir denounced "misleading results" of certain surveys that indicated the party had little chance of attaining its target of 20 percent of votes in the legislative elections.
"Emerging as a nationalist party with two additional affiliate mass organizations in 2006, Wiranto, former Army chief Gen. Subagyo H.S. and former TNI general affairs chief Suaidi Marasabessy have their own networks to be deployed to seek political support for the party, presidential candidate Wiranto and our legislative candidates," he said.
As new party, Hanura lacks a strong voter base, but has been developing its leaders' networks, while the affiliate mass organizations have been working for the past two years to build new networks in rural and urban areas nationwide.
Bawazir criticized major parties' overconfidence in assuming they would certainly be eligible for the presidential race, saying no side could claim a ticket to the presidential race before the April 9 legislative polls.
"The legislative elections will prove which parties have a mandate to represent the people in parliament, and which are eligible to nominate presidential candidates. Regarding the national leadership issue, Wiranto failed in the 2004 presidential race, but has never failed as a president of course because he never became president," he said, adding that Hanura was pragmatic enough to realize it might need to form a coalition with other parties, including Islamic-based ones.
The party has promised that should it come out on top at the polls, it would reform the bureaucracy and fight corruption to bring about good governance, as well as review the investment law and other controversial laws to create public policy that would benefit the majority of the people.
"So far, Hanura still relies on Wiranto to bring forward its economic and public service development programs, and if he is eligible for the presidential race, most people, including farmers, the families of servicemen, veterans and Golkar supporters, will probably vote for Wiranto," Bawazir said, adding that to many, Wiranto, with more than 20 million votes in the last presidential election, was far more popular than Vice President and Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla or Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party chairman Prabowo Subianto.
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Indonesia's Dark-Horse Candidate
Asia Times
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Katherine Demopoulos
JAKARTA - Career soldier Prabowo Subianto is still a dark-horse candidate among the 38 different political parties jockeying for position ahead of next month's legislative elections and a looming presidential race set for July.
A former son-in-law of dictator Suharto, and an alleged mastermind of the violence and abuses that attended East Timor's break from Indonesia in 1999, he is running a decidedly slick and well-financed campaign that appears to have substantial grassroots resonance.
Although he is trailing incumbent president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and frontrunner Megawati Sukarnoputri in the polls, Prabowo and his political party's numbers could be pivotal to the formation of the next ruling coalition. His Great Indonesia Movement party, or Gerindra, claims 11.2 million members.
The most recent polls forecast his party to win between 2.6% and 6.23% of the legislative vote, sufficient popular support to cross the 2.5% threshold needed for a party to assume legislative seats. Those figures could rise considering between 9% and 50% of polled voters say they are still undecided.
Political analysts say that if Gerindra wins 6-7% of the legislature, it will be a major player in the coalition building for presidential nominations. A party or coalition needs 20% of seats of parliament or 25% of the popular votes to put forward a presidential candidate.
Political analysts partially credit Prabowo's and Gerindra's early success to the financial resources of his brother, Hashim Djojohadikusomo, who last year was ranked by Globe Asia magazine as Indonesia's 14th richest person with a net worth of just over US$1 billion.
He has helped to bankroll Prabowo's prime time media barrage, depicting glossy panoramas of Indonesia, peopled with smiling children and hard-working farmers and fishermen. Market research firm Nielson estimates Gerindra has garnered more TV exposure than any other party by positioning its ads around Sikar, the country's most popular soap opera and most viewed news bulletin. His campaign has also been burnished by high-profile foreign advisors, including US political communications expert Rob Allyn, who worked for outgoing US president George W Bush's successful Texas governor campaign in 1994, and reportedly a German scriptwriter involved in various popular Indonesian soap operas.
"If you were a political actor in Indonesia, you'd have to be looking at him closely and paying attention. There might be a hidden agenda. It might be quite a legitimate tilt at the president or it might be a tilt for 2014, or getting something else he wants," said Damien Kingsbury, associate professor at Australia's Deakin University.
Rural Sensitivity
By spending much of his campaign time in rural villages, Prabowo has shown a populist touch certain other top candidates have lacked. He has in particular courted farmers and fishermen, demographic groups which make up the majority of the rural population.
He has leveraged his position as chairman of the Indonesian Farmers' Association, which claims 10 million members nationwide, to build up his grassroots credentials and has lobbied the agriculture ministry on matters of rural concern. He has also vowed to create 36 million new agricultural jobs and double the average per capita income from its current $2,000 to $4,000 per year.
"I haven't seen any politician who has been so active and so persistent in approaching the farmers down to the village across the archipelago," said Aleksius Jemadu, professor at Pelita Harapan University, located on the outskirts of Jakarta.
"He is a military strategist and he has a long-term perspective and he knows what he can do to strengthen his popularity. He used to be known by the public as a general, but knows he has to change his image to [that of] an effective leader," he added.
Gerindra spokesman Haryanto Taslam echoes that assessment. He said in an interview with Asia Times Online that during a recent village visit Prabowo bought up palm oil stocks - at above the market price - from farmers who had complained about falling prices.
He has also distributed fertilizer directly to farmers and tried to get cheaper rice seed than that on offer from a government-appointed company, according to Haryanto.
In many ways, Haryanto is central to Prabowo's image-conscious electoral strategy. As a former democracy activist, Haryanto was kidnapped and held for 40 days during the waning days of the Suharto regime. In his capacity as former Kopassus commander, Prabowo has since personally apologized to him for his
detention, Haryanto says.
"The issue is not personal, but [it was] the system at that time," he said. "Prabowo asked me to join him to fight together to fix Indonesia. And I wanted to join because my political attitude is parallel with Prabowo's, wanting to give the best for Indonesian people. I think there is no problem working together with him."
Prabowo has in the past admitted responsibility for kidnapping pro-democracy activists. Speaking recently to foreign journalists, Prabowo said of the government's past political kidnapping policy: "Under one regime it is preventative detention, then there is regime change and it is called kidnapping."
Controversial Past
Such elliptical wordplay does little to assuage the activists who recall Prabowo's controversial history. He stands most pointedly accused of organizing thugs who terrorized pro-independence figures in East Timor, as well as involvement in orchestrating the riots that targeted ethnic Chinese Indonesians in 1998.
In a fully embedded democracy, "a candidate like him would not stand a snowball's chance in hell," said Kingsbury. "Indonesia is on a reformist political and economic path and Prabowo represents the opposite of that."
But for most of Indonesia's rural poor, activists' kidnappings and communal riots are a world away. Their hardships have not eased in the decade of democracy and among many there is nostalgia for Suharto's strong leadership and policies that helped to uplift tens of millions out of poverty.
"Some people are harking back to the New Order. I think there has been some re-swinging of the pendulum," said one Jakarta-based commentator, who requested anonymity. "My fear [of Prabowo's candidacy] is a reversion to fascism."
Prabowo's campaign appeals to the masses through promises to reschedule foreign debt payments and put the cash into education and healthcare. He has also taken a nationalistic line in vowing to stop the sale of strategic state assets to foreigners and review perceived unfavorable existing government contracts.
"The message is so concrete, so real, so relevant with the situation of his audience, especially the farmers, the people at the grassroots ... He provides a clear vision to solve all the real problems that they are facing in their everyday life," added Pelita Harapan University's Jemadu.
"He's making some very basic appeals to popular nationalism and populist economics," said Tim Lindsey at Melbourne University's Asian Law Center. He warns that if some of Prabowo's proposed policies were actually implemented, Indonesia would risk being cut off from international credit markets.
Some analysts fear that a Prabowo-led or influenced government could bid to turn back the clock on Indonesian democracy. Prabowo has said he wants to revert to the original form of Indonesia's constitution, which gives strong powers to the executive and lacks checks and balances. Others, such as Lindsey, believe Indonesia has moved past Suharto's and his former New Order regime's legacy.
"The time for New Order leftovers is running out. In 2014, it's pretty unlikely that we'll be seeing the same array of politicians. We're witnessing a generational shift," said Lindsey. "Young ones are not aware of Prabowo's record, but it also works against them because the ideas they stand for resonate with fewer people. Rather than being the re-emergence of New Order politicians, perhaps this is their last hurrah."
Katherine Demopoulos is a journalist based in Jakarta, Indonesia. She works as a freelance reporter for the BBC and Guardian, and also writes extensively on Asian energy markets.
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Papua Murder Sparks Election Tension
The Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tom Allard in Jakarta
THE killing of an Indonesian soldier in Papua, allegedly by separatist guerillas, has highlighted the risks of violent outbreaks undermining the country's elections.
The campaign for the national parliament, as well as provincial and district legislatures, formally began yesterday with all 38 parties called on to sign a petition vowing to conduct a peaceful poll, during an elaborate ceremony in Jakarta.
Almost 12,000 candidates will contest the election and more than 170 million Indonesians will be eligible to vote on April 9.
But tensions in regions that have historically sought independence from Jakarta, and confusion about voting rules and procedures, have raised concerns about bloodshed.
Even before the official campaign opening, there has been much politicking and there are clear signs in Papua that the long-running but sporadic independence movement is ratcheting up its activities at a time of greater media focus.
The murder at the weekend of an Indonesian soldier has been blamed on armed members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM). The death occurred after an ambush while an Indonesian military unit was on patrol, local police said.
It capped a steadily escalating rise in attacks by the OPM, including a raid on a police post and an alleged stabbing attack by the OPM in which two men died and another two were badly injured. There has also been an increase in separatist rallies in Papua.
Indonesian police's feared mobile brigade, Brimob, has sent hundreds of extra officers to Papua for the duration of the campaign.
Brimob units have also been sent to Maluku and Aceh, other Indonesian provinces with a history of separatist activity.
In recent months in Aceh, four cadres from Partai Aceh have been murdered. Partai Aceh is the political organisation that evolved from its independence movement after the 2005 peace deal that ended a bloody civil war.
Most analysts attribute the Aceh deaths to disputes over business and criminal activities, but acknowledge the risks of violence and disorder in the first national poll since the peace accord was signed in Aceh.
The large number of candidates and the complexity of voting procedures pose challenges for maintaining security during and after the campaign.
For example, a new rule means only candidates from parties that secure 2.5 per cent of the national vote will be eligible to take their place in the national legislature.
That means many winning candidates could find themselves stripped of their seats if they do not belong to one of the eight or so parties expected to reach or exceed the 2.5 per cent threshold.
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60% of voters in Central Highlands (Papua) are illiterate
SINDO
18 March 2009
The chairman of BEM (?) in Papua, Yan Matuan said that almost 60 percent of the people in the Central Highlands who have the right to vote are illiterate, which means that a much longer time is needed to explain the method of voting by marking the ballot paper with a tick.
It would be better if other methods were also allowed, because if things go ahead as now, requiring a tick, many mistakes could occur because the voters are confused, especially the more elderly people. 'The system needs to be properly explained, otherwise many votes will be declared invalid,' he said.
He suggested that the Elecoral Commission in Jayawijaya should try to make things easier and more practical for the voters to cast their votes so as to keep the number of invalid votes as low as possible.
A member of the Electoral Commission in Papua, Ferry Kareth, said that previous methods of casting a vote such as piercing a hole with a nail or making a cross should be accepted as legitimate, as long as there was only one mark on the ballot paper.
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Call for election in Jayawijaya to be boycotted
Cenderawasih Pos, 24 March 2009
Abridged translation by TAPOL
Wamena: Scores of people rallied in front of the office of the bupati of Wamena on Monday, 23 March, calling for the elections in Jayawijaya to be boycotted because they are in violation of Article 10 of Law 22, 2007 on the organisation of the elections.
The crowd of protesters among whom were several candidates, arrived at the office just as a meeting was underway between the Jayawijaya Electoral Commission and five district chiefs from the area.
The rally which was organised by Forum Peduli Pemilu (Forum of Concern about the Election). The chairman of the Forum said that the government had not correctly compiled the list of voters in the aftermath of the election in 2008. While the KPU said that the number of electors in the eleven districts was 128,333, two months after the elections, the KPU produced a different figure of 137,839 voters. This has confused not only the candidates but also the parties and the community as a whole.
They said that the lists were clearly 'fixed' as there was a sharp increase in the population in such a short space of time.
No officials from the administration or from the KPU were available to meet the demonstrators.
Later, a member of the KPU told journalists that such demonstrations were understandable and were a form of social control. He explained that the Commission had received the data from the population service.
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Police chief: On high alert for election period, warns against mass meetings in Papua
Cenderawasih Pos, 30 March 2009
Abridged translation by TAPOL
In anticipation of disturbances during the election campaigning period, the chief of police has announced that starting today, 30 March, the police are on Stage 1 alert in the provinces of Papua and West Papua.
'This doesn't mean that the situation is serious,' he said, but the police need to stand ready in the days leading to the election,' he said.
He said that some groups were calling for the election to be boycotted, as well as a statement by Goliath Tabuni who said he would try to disrupt the election .
Police chief Bagus Ekodanto said that police were being deployed to guard a number of polling stations, including those in remote areas.
He said he has also issued a special regulation about ensuring that the right to freedom of speech used in public is exercised calmly. 'This regulation bans the holding of demonstrations, rallies and the delivery of speeches that could attract a large number of people. The regulation will remain in force from 30 March until 13 April which is after the votes have been counted. '
Views could be expressed, he said, but without mobilising masses of people, while not violating Law 9, 1998 regarding freedom to express opinions in public. 'Basically, I am not prohibiting people from expressing their opinions in public as long as it does not attract large numbers of people or disturbs public order.'
He said that he had informed the governor of this decision which is in accord with the Special Autonomy Law and that the governor was in agreement.
'To make it quite clear, if there are groups that try to force their opinions and mobilise a large number of people, we will take firm action, in accordance with the laws in force,' he said.
He said that action would be taken against those who violate the law, and the penalty will be increased by one third of that established in the law. [This is surely a gross violation of the rule of law, proclaimed by none other that the chief of police!]
There are reports circulating about a move to boycott the election in Papua.
Meanwhile the governor Barnabas Suebu, has called upon the OPM not to do anything that would disrupt the election. 'I call on those still fighting in the forests to come down and integrate with the rest of society to build Papua in accordance with the Special Autonomy Law,' he is quoted as saying.
Responding to information that there might be a lot of voters who don not turn out to vote (golput), the governor said that at the last election in 2004, the turnout in Papua was 90% and he hoped that this time, it would be higher than that.
[Comment: Needless to say, mass rallies are currently going on all over the country. In Papua as well, national parties such as the PDI-P (Megawati's party) and Gerindra (the party of Prabowo), have held rallies attended by thousands of people. Presumably, the police regulation means that those who hold large public meetings not under the banner of any of the national parties could face severe penalties for using the 'the festival of democracy' to put their ideas across in public. TAPOL]
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Campaign turns ugly, injures seven in Wamena
The Jakarta Post , Wamen
03/30/2009 10:10 PM
A mass campaign turned ugly and injured seven residents during a mass campaign held by Democratic Party at Sinapuk field in Wamena, Papua province on Monday.
According to tempointeraktif.com, the riot started when a group of supporter was fighting for foods with security guards from the party. Another group from Nduga regency suddenly came to the riot and attacked the supporters thus escalating the tension of the violence.
Wamena resident Wenda confirmed about the incident but could not disclose on the number of residents wounded during the event.
“But the situation in our region is normal,” he said.
Papua Police's executive Comr. Nurhabri said that he had yet to receive any reports over the accident. (ewd)
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Yudhoyono well placed in Indonesian polls
Financial Times
John Aglionby in Jakarta
March 16 2009
Formal campaigning opened on Monday in Indonesia for elections to national, provincial and local legislatures in which 171m largely Muslim voters are expected to clear the way for the re-election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president.
Mr Yudhoyono is not a candidate in the April 9 legislative election, but candidates for the July 8 direct presidential election must be backed by parties that win 20 per cent of the 560 seats in parliament, or 25 per cent of the popular vote in what is the world’s third largest democracy.
After eight months of initial canvassing restricted largely to the media, Mr Yudhoyono’s Democrat party, with more than 20 per cent support, is leading the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, Mr Yudhoyono’s predecessor, which is registering support in the mid-teens.
A percentage point or so behind is Golkar, the political machine of the former dictator Suharto and the largest party in parliament. Islamic-oriented parties, which won more than a third of the vote at the last election in 2004, are now polling about half that level.
The wildcard is the new Great Indonesia Movement party led by Prabowo Subianto, a former Suharto son-in-law whose military career was cut short in 1998 after his involvement in the kidnapping of some two dozen activists, 13 of whom disappeared.
Up to a dozen parties are expected to pass the 2.5 per cent popular vote threshold required to win parliamentary seats.
Some 20 per cent of voters remain undecided, but analysts believe that a sizeable proportion of these will back the Democrat party because Mr Yudhoyono’s popularity and record are likely to decide the campaign in the absence of a meaningful policy debate.
According to Roy Morgan International, a market research company, he is one of only three democratically elected leaders whose job approval rating exceeds 60 per cent – the others being Barack Obama of the US and Australia’s Kevin Rudd.
In presidential election surveys Mr Yudhoyono, a taciturn former general known as SBY, is polling in the mid-40s and rising. He is at least 20 percentage points ahead of Mrs Megawati, with all other potential candidates in single digits.
Speculation is mounting that if the Democrat party does very well, securing more than 25 per cent of the parliamentary seats, Mr Yudhoyono could create enough momentum to win a majority in the first round of the presidential election in July and so avoid a September run-off between the top two candidates, which was required at the last election.
“The public perception of SBY is that he is doing a good job and so this will undoubtedly help the Democrat party,” said Sunny Tanuwidjaja of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “But the economic crisis will be the main factor . . . Will the stimulus limit the impact on people or not?”
Mr Yudhoyono has announced a Rp71,300bn ($5.9bn, €4.6bn, £4.2bn) package of tax cuts and infrastructure projects due to be rolled out later this month.
Indonesia’s three elections since the fall of Suharto in 1998 have been largely free and fair and observers are confident this one will be no different.
The only big change in the proportional representation multi-member constituency system that Indonesia uses is that voters will this time be allowed to select individual candidates, rather than simply nominating a party. This innovation is intended to remove from the parties the power to decide which candidates end up sitting in parliament.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
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The Thinker: Friends Who Have Come a Long Way
The Jakarta Globe
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Ezki Suyanto
The first time I touched snow, it was in 1998, in Brooklyn, New York, outside of Sidney Jones’s apartment. It was an amazing feeling. Today I am struck with the same feeling of amazement, as some friends of mine who were activists during the era of former president Suharto are running for positions in the upcoming legislative elections on April 9. These activists include Budiman Sujatmiko, Faisol Reza and Pius Lustrilanang, courageous men who were hounded by Suharto and his minions who saw them as enemies of the state for criticizing his New Order regime.
I remember the first time I met Budiman at Salemba prison in 1996 after he was arrested and held as a political prisoner for being the chairman of the People’s Democracy Party, or PRD. The government accused the PRD of being the instigator of the riots on July 27, 1996. Budiman was not afraid to speak his mind. He
was not afraid when the government accused him of being a communist. “That is the government’s style,” Budiman said at the time. “Whoever is against Suharto is a communist.” He adored Megawati Sukarnoputri and urged the people to encourage Megawati to step forward and assume the role of Indonesia’s new leader.
We thought that was an impossible dream because since Suharto was still in power, no one could mention other names as a president as one risked being jailed as a political prisoner. When Megawati became president, Budiman’s face came to my mind. I was amazed that what Budiman believed in had actually become true. He joined Megawati’s Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, even though it meant he would be expelled from his own party.
Another PRD member who has thrown his hat into the elections is Faisol Reza, a former victim of kidnapping by Indonesia’s Special Forces, or Kopassus. Faisol was a PRD committee member at the time of his disappearance. During that time, Kopassus was led by Suharto’s then son-in-law, Prabowo Subianto. Faisol has now joined the Nation Awakening Party, or PKB.
The first time I met Faisol, he was testifying at the office of the Legal Aid Foundation after he was released by his Kopassus captors at a military compound. He was afraid to talk. He cried when he told journalists of his experience during his detention. He disappeared for a while and returned to his home town in Probolinggo to meet his family. When I reminded him of how he behaved after his release, he laughed and said, “Don’t remind me again of what happened in the past. I just want to move forward.”
But what shocked me the most was what happened to Pius Lustrilanang. He was also kidnapped in 1998 and was released before Faisol. Pius was kidnapped because he was the Aldera secretary general, an organization which campaigned against Suharto’s dictatorship, especially the military’s role in national affairs.
After his release, Pius went to the United States during the Clinton administration. Pius asked the US government to withdraw military training and funding for the Indonesian military. In a strange twist of fate, Pius is a candidate representing the Gerindra party, which is led by Prabowo Subianto, the head of Kopassus during the time Pius was kidnapped.
Apart from myself, many people have been asking why he joined Prabowo’s party. Pius said that Prabowo was only obeying orders from a higher commander, and that Gerindra’s vision and mission were compatible to his.
I met Pius when he gave his testimony in the same place as Faisol’s. I accompanied him during his human rights campaign in New York. We stayed at Max Suryadinata’s house, an Indonesian who became an American citizen.
We took Pius to meet US Congress members and Defense Department officials. Pius told them how the Indonesian military exerted great influence and power over civilians. Pius asked the international community to assist Indonesia in becoming a democratic country under civilian rule, not military rule.
Budiman, Faisol and Pius will represent the people if they win in the coming elections. I hope my friends will remain true to the ideals of their youth should they be elected. Should they change and forget their principles, I shall just remember them as human rights victims and amazing friends in a time gone by.
Ezki Suyanto works on human rights and development issues in Indonesia.
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Indonesia: Deep Distrust in Aceh as Elections Approach
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW BRIEFING Jakarta/Brussels, 23 March 2009: Tensions in Aceh are high leading up to the 9 April elections and are likely to continue thereafter unless the underlying cause – growing distrust between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian military (TNI) – is addressed.
Indonesia: Deep Distrust in Aceh as Elections Approach, the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, reports that hostility between the TNI and the GAM is at its highest point since the peace deal in 2005, although there is little danger that the low-level pre-election violence will escalate.
“Many in the TNI are convinced that GAM is still committed to independence, and that a big victory for Partai Aceh, GAM’s political party, could threaten the unity of the republic”, says Sidney Jones, Crisis Group’s Senior Adviser to the Asia Program. “Many in GAM see the military as determined to stop Partai Aceh at all costs and believe that pre-election attacks on its members or offices are linked to the TNI”.
The TNI’s fears are misplaced, despite the campaign rhetoric of some Partai Aceh members. The GAM leadership has repeatedly reiterated its commitment to the 2005 Helsinki agreement, and most ex-combatants, far from wanting to resume the conflict, are more interested in getting what they see as their fare share of post-conflict benefits – in some cases, through extortion.
GAM fears may also be misplaced, but until the attacks – including four murders in February and March of men associated with Partai Aceh or GAM’s former armed wing – are solved, suspicions of TNI involvement will persist. One key to reducing tension lies in better law enforcement, but Aceh police have a poor record of identifying perpetrators of serious crimes. The appointment of a respected new provincial police commander in late February should help.
GAM and the TNI each believe the other has reneged on commitments made in Helsinki or afterwards, but existing channels for dialogue have been weakened by the non-participation of key parties. Civil society has a huge role to play in getting the peace process back on track, by demanding accountability from GAM and the TNI, getting citizens to demand more from elected officials, and refusing intimidation from any party.
“Getting through the election with a minimum of violence is the short-term goal”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director. “The longer-term objective should be to bolster the peace, but both sides will have to take concrete steps to address problems in their own ranks before any confidence-building measures will work”.
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Peaceful start to election campaigning in Aceh
The Straits Times (Singapore)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Lynn Lee, Indonesia Correspondent
BANDA ACEH: - "The Indonesian province that spent three decades fighting for its independence before it was hit by the 2004 tsunami will gingerly step into the mainstream of Indonesian politics this year.
For the first time, six local parties from Aceh are taking part in the April 9 general election, together with 37 of the 38 national parties.
Campaigning got off to a positive start yesterday, despite the recent spate of attacks against political party members in the province, which was caught in a separatist conflict that started in the 1970s and ended in 2005.
Last week, five men were injured when a grenade was flung into a cafe owned by a member of the largest local party, the Aceh Party.
Yesterday, however, the scene was peaceful at the Grand Mosque, where party leaders pledged to keep the peace, and not resort to intimidation during the three-week-long campaign period and polling day.
Aceh is the only one of Indonesia's 33 provinces where local parties will compete against national parties for district and provincial Parliament seats. Only members of national parties can sit in the national Parliament in Jakarta.
The province was given the right to have local parties in 2005 as part of a peace deal signed by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which had been fighting for independence for 30 years, and the Indonesian government.
By accepting that it was part of Indonesia, Aceh was told it could have more autonomy in its political system and management of natural resources.
But the cases of violence in the past few months have raised concerns as to whether the peace will hold when the political temperature rises and some three million Acehnese go to the polls.
Local parties insist they are not out to get one another and say they do not know who is causing the trouble.
But some suggest that the military is at work. They say the military remains suspicious of local parties, fearing that members who enter local government will abuse their power and resurrect the independence movement of the past.
But the parties, including former hardcore proponents of independence from GAM, say they have accepted being part of Indonesia.
Mr Kamaruddin Abu Bakar, a combatant turned No. 2 in the Aceh Party, told The Straits Times: 'We respect the rules of the peace agreement, we respect democracy. Before, we used to fight, but now we want to make sure the peace process stays and make the lives of Aceh people better.'
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Aceh Police Look Into Unicef Grenade as Distraction Tactic
The Jakarta Globe
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Nurdin Hasan
Banda Aceh. Aceh Police said they were looking to confirm if a smoke grenade thrown at the office of Unicef on Tuesday was an attempt to divert their attention from election security in Aceh Province.
The smoke grenade, found in front of the office of the United Nations Children’s Fund in the capital of Aceh Province, failed to explode, police said.
The grenade was discovered by a security officer under a Unicef car at the office in Lamlagang, a crowded residential area in Banda Aceh.
Before police were informed, the grenade, with the pin intact, was kept temporarily at the office’s security post. Azhari, a Unicef security officer, reported the incident at 8:45 a.m. after reading the words “hand grenade” on the object.
“I did not know it was a grenade. I only found out in the morning after I read the inscription,” he said. Before
discovering the grenade, Azhari said he noticed a Kijang Innova and a Honda CRV drive past the office at around 3 a.m. Moments later, the Honda CRV drove down the street again. “But I did not try to stop it. An hour later, on my patrol, I found the object under a car,” he told reporters.
A number of foreign nationals working at the Unicef office seemed alarmed by the incident, but refused to comment.
A member of the Aceh Mobile Brigade, or Brimob, bomb squad, Chief Brig. Rizaldi said the Korean-made smoke grenade was commonly used to provide cover in warfare.
“The grenade did not go off because one of the pins was still plugged in. This kind of grenade has two pins, but only one had been removed before it was thrown at the Unicef office,” Rizaldi said, adding that the police had taken the grenade away for further analysis.
Some observers have accused the Indonesian Armed Forces of involvement in a recent string of grenade attacks, but the latest incident appears to indicate a lack of military training by the alleged would-be attackers, given their failure to pull out both pins. Farid Ahmad Saleh, an Aceh Police spokesman, said police would continue to focus on election security, and would abide by existing procedures in safeguarding the offices of international agencies operating in Aceh.
“We have yet to find out if the grenade incident in the Unicef office is meant to divert us [from our focus on political parties]. However, it is clear that the police need to continue to concentrate on keeping the election in Aceh safe,” he said.
Police have yet to announce any suspects in connection with the incident. In the lead up to the legislative elections on April 9, the offices of some political parties — in particular the Aceh Party, which was established by former Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, guerillas — have been the target of grenade attacks
since the end of last year.
Aceh Police are yet to solve any of the cases involving grenades.
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Police, military deployed at all Aceh polling stations
The Jakarta Post
March 21, 2009
Hotli Simanjuntak
BANDA ACEH
Given the escalating political tension in the past three months, the Aceh Police have asked the local military to deploy 1,000 soldiers to enhance security at all polling stations presumed insecure and prone to intimidations during the incoming legislative elections.
Deputy chief of the provincial police Brig. Gen. Herman Efendi said since all 10,281 polling stations in all regencies were prone to political intimidation, assaults and manipulations on voting day, they would be guarded by security personnel from the local police and the military.
"Every four polling station considered somewhat nonsecure, will be guarded by two police officers and four civilian security guards, while polling stations in the less secure category will be guarded by two police personnel and two civilian guards," he said.
He added security authorities and the Independent Election Commission (KIP) identified more than 5,740 nonsecure polling stations and more than 4,400 less secure polling stations in 23 regencies and municipalities in the province.
Herman said the 1,000 soldiers would be deployed alongside more than 12,800 police officers to maintain security and order on election day. The least secure polling stations were in Pidie, Bireuen and Pidie Jaya regencies.
He called on election candidates, party supporters and eligible voters to comply with election regulations and maintain peace and public order during the elections.
"To uphold the peace, it is not enough for all stakeholders, mainly election candidates, to declare a peaceful and secure election. Most importantly, all sides must abide by the regulation," he said.
Meanwhile, despite increasing criticism, Governor Irwandi Yusuf reiterated he would campaign for the Aceh Party, to show his personal commitment to the former rebels' party.
"I used to be a member of the Free Aceh Movement *GAM* as well as a combatant, so I have a moral obligation to campaign for the GAM's party," he said.
Compared to the other five local parties, the Aceh Party is considered the only party financially and materially prepared, as well as the party with the most qualified candidates for the legislative elections, having registered 615 politicians with the KIP to campaign across the vast province.
Meanwhile, eligible voters expressed concern over the excessive security procedures they said intimidated them and reminded them of the traumatic and bloody conflict just passed.
Rukayiah, a conflict victim living in Cot Keueng, Aceh Besar, said the presence of soldiers at polling stations would be a psychological hurdle for her when voting.
"The government does not have a strong reason to involve the military in maintaining security and order at polling stations. It might discourage eligible voters from voting," she said.
Mawardi Ismail, a city lawyer, questioned why the police were not bringing more police personnel from other provinces rather than asking for military reinforcements, despite the Constitution allowing it.
"People are unlikely to be intimidated by military uniforms, but they will be *intimidated* by the way the military handles security matters in polling stations. So it is very important the police and military show their neutrality when handling security matters," he said.
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Indonesia's Aceh Province Tense Ahead Of Elections
ANTHONY DEUTSCH Associated Press Writer
JAKARTA, March 23 (AP) - Tension in Indonesia's formerly war-torn province of Aceh has escalated ahead of April's parliamentary elections, with 16 people killed and dozens of buildings and cars damaged in recent months, monitoring groups said Monday.
Most casualties resulted from personal disputes, but several appear to be political assassinations, the World Bank's Aceh Conflict Monitoring unit said in a report on its Web site.
The violence has reached "alarming levels and raised fears of an escalation" in the run-up to next month's polls, the World Bank said.
Aceh, the northwestern most region of the vast archipelago, has been relatively calm since the government signed a peace deal with separatists in 2005, ending 29 years of fighting that left 15,000 people dead.
There has been scattered violence since then, but nothing like the level seen between December and February.
The World Bank says 16 people were killed -- including four members of the Aceh Party, which represents the interests of former rebels, in what appear to be political assassinations.
Forty-seven other people have injured and 17 buildings or vehicles damaged, it said, and political parties have been targeted at least 13 times in arson or grenade attacks.
Around 171 million Indonesians have registered for the legislative election being contested by 38 parties and a presidential poll on July 8.
Most political observers expect general elections in the world's third largest democracy to be peaceful, but Aceh is considered a possible flash point because of its long, troubled relationship with the central government.
Hatred still runs deep between forces of the Indonesian army and the former Aceh rebels now governing the territory.
"It's absolutely critical to get better policing in Aceh because the tensions would go down if the perpetrators of the crimes were found," said Indonesia security analyst Sydney Jones, a senior adviser to the International Crisis Group think tank.
Another concern is that the government has discouraged international monitoring of the elections, Jones said, adding that violence may arise during vote counting if the outcome disappoints parties expecting landslide wins.
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Threatening Aceh’s Expatriates
The Jakarta Post
March 25, 2009
George Junus Aditjondro
Op-Ed
BANDA ACEH
At daybreak on Tuesday, March 18, Azhari, a security guard at a U.N. agency in Banda Aceh discovered an unexploded South Korean-made smoke grenade, usually used for riot control, in front of the building.
At around 3 a.m., the guard had noticed two cars pass by the front of the office twice. Their passengers possibly threw the grenade, forgetting to pull, or purposefully not pulling, the grenade’s pin.
Interestingly, most expatriates working on the reconstruction in Aceh had been previously warned by text message, so the U.N. agency’s expatriate staff mostly refrained from coming into the office.
Despite not causing any victims, this was the first time a U.N. agency had become the target of the pre-election intimidation that has raged over the post-conflict territory for the last two years.
If the aim of the grenade throwers was to force Aceh’s expatriate reconstruction workers to leave the province in the face of the upcoming elections, they would be disappointed.
The responses of the expatriates have been quite varied. An aid agency with links to a European development agency has decided to send their staff home for one week before and one week after
election day, on April 9. Meanwhile, a US-based aid agency decided to just close down their office on election day.
In general, the Tuesday morning incident has not influenced the activities of Aceh’s expatriate community that much. Their field activities, mostly carried out by local staff who know better how to interact with the local rural communities and are more sensitive to Aceh’s political jungle than the expatriates, have
been slightly scaled down
In contrast to the expatriates, Aceh’s development workers seem to be more worried about the impact of the grenade throwing incident. Many of them fear that international agencies, especially those working under the United Nations, will reconsider their mission in Aceh.
UNICEF in particular, has been warmly welcomed in Aceh, since, by building dozens of elementary schools, child care centers and other projects, this U.N. agency has helped to improve the lot of many children, deprived of their basic needs by the 2004 earthquake and tsunami.
This brings us to two possible interpretations.
First, if the grenade throwers were people entitled to carry weapons and ammunition, then this incident sends a message to the expatriate community to leave the province in the face of the forthcoming elections. Or, those who decide to stay are encouraged to refrain from acting as “informal foreign observers” during the election, after President SBY rejected Aceh Governor Irwandy Yusuf’s request to allow foreign observers
to monitor the Aceh elections.
Second, if the grenade throwers were not entitled to carry weapons and ammunition, it would be a different story. The availability of those lethal objects to unentitled persons is a threat to the safety of society members at large.
Regardless of which interpretation is closer to the truth, smoke grenades can still be harmful to human beings if they are within five to 10 meters. But the fact that the U.N. agency and other expatriates had been warned by text message indicates that the grenade throwers only wanted to intimidate, and not to kill, any
expatriate.
Grenade throwing seems to be one of the most favored intimidation techniques of the “unknown persons”, or OTK, in Aceh, for the last two years. A more lethal grenade was used to intimidate Munawar Liza Zaenal, the major of Sabang. On Tuesday, Feb. 2, a grenade with its pin pulled out, tied with a rubber band and greased with oil, was found in the mayor’s car. Fortunately, the grenade was found and could be disarmed.
Grenades have also been thrown at the houses of other former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders who have now been accommodated by the Aceh Transition Committee (KPA). Interestingly, none of those prominent people were injured, because it seems that the grenade throwers always timed it so they were not at home.
Recently, on Friday, Feb. 20, another South Korean-made grenade, known as a granat manggis, was thrown at 3:30 a.m. at the campaign office of the Aceh Party (PA) in Takengon, Central Aceh. Although this was a more lethal type, no Aceh Party member was injured. They had vacated their office after they had
noticed suspicious characters riding by their office on Honda motorcycles for the previous two days.
On one occasion, grenade throwers targeted the police. At midnight on April 23, 2007, a grenade was thrown at the headquarters of the Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in Jeulingke, Banda Aceh.
Regretfully, in none of these incidents, have the perpetrators been apprehended, detained or tried. Therefore, in contrast to what may have been the aim of the grenade throwers at the U.N. agency office, it is even more urgent now to bring in foreign observers, to allow the people of Aceh to exercise their democratic rights without fear of grenades and other forms of repression.
The writer has been studying the post-Helsinki reconstruction of Aceh.
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Aceh Party Denies Seeking Secession from Indonesia
The Jakarta Post
March 27, 2009
The Aceh Party, the leading local party in Aceh whose members mostly include former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) combatants, has denied it was still seeking Aceh's secession from Indonesia.
According to international and local observers, the party's leaders told their supporters during campaigning activities if they won the April 9 legislative elections, Aceh would be free from Indonesia.
"It is not true. We didn't set the party up to proclaim independence, but to implement what the Helsinki memorandum of understanding *MOU* stated, which is that former GAM members can set up a political party," the spokesman of the Aceh Party, Adnan Bransyah, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"That means we are still part of Indonesia," he added.
The 2005 Helsinki peace agreement resolved years of separatist conflict in the resource-rich province.
The presence of local parties in Aceh was one of the prerogatives the Indonesian government agreed to, following the signing of the Helsinki pact.
Adnan, who is also a former GAM member, said Aceh was part of Indonesia and that nothing would be done to separate Aceh from the country.
The Aceh Party said it currently had more than 50,000 members across the province and had set up 23 branch offices in cities and regencies.
According to the International Crisis Group (ICG), the Indonesian Military believes GAM still wants Aceh's
independence, despite former members setting up a local party to contest the elections.
The World Bank also revealed some Aceh Party campaigners reportedly circulating leaflets stating their party was the only legitimate local party according to the MOU, and making promises that a victory in April would lead to a referendum on independence.
According to World Bank coordinator for the Aceh post-conflict program, Muslahuddin, the party said Aceh would be independent through a referendum in 2013.
"According to our report, the Aceh Party has declared itself the only legitimate party in the province, while five other local parties were illegitimate," Muslahuddin said in a recent interview.
The five other local parties are the People's Aceh Party (PRA), the Acehnese People's Independent Aspiration (SIRA), the United Aceh Party, the Aceh Sovereignty Party (PDA) and the Safe and Prosperous Aceh Party (PAAS).
Some reports showed the Aceh Party, aiming to dominate the provincial council, was most likely behind several intimidation attacks against other local parties' supporters.
Three days ago, SIRA party supporters were beaten up by other party supporters during the campaigning period in Aceh Barat Daya Regency. PRA supporters also received death threats from unidentified party members several days ago in Bireun, North Aceh.
Adnan denied accusations that his party had intimidated other party members.
The Iskandar Muda military command's spokesman, Major Dudi Dzulfadli, acknowledged several violations had occurred in Aceh recently. (naf)
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Aus Should Press Indon On Aceh Election Monitors: Expert
Adam Gartrell, South-East Asia Correspondent
JAKARTA, March 27 AAP - Australia should press Indonesia to allow foreign election monitors to oversee polling in its troubled province of Aceh next month, an expert says.
One of Australia's top Indonesia experts, Damien Kingsbury, says a sizeable contingent of foreign election monitors would help ensure polling in the province ran smoothly.
But the Indonesian government has appeared reluctant to allow foreigners to monitor polling in Aceh, where tensions are high following a string of political assassinations and attacks in recent months.
The violence is threatening to derail a fragile peace, brokered in 2005, that ended a deadly 30-year conflict between Jakarta and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists.
Kingsbury said Australia should press Indonesia to let foreign monitors in.
"I can't see why that would be regarded as diplomatically bad, Kingsbury said.
"If having monitors helps secure a positive outcome, then I can't see why that would be regarded as the least bit problematic."
The Australian government is giving Indonesia $6.2 million to help stage its elections, but has no plans to send formal election monitors.
"Our assistance reflects Indonesia's extensive experience in conducting elections, including in 2004 when local election monitoring networks proved highly effective in observing the poll across Indonesia," a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesperson said.
But the International Crisis Group (ICG) this week said donor countries had failed to anticipate the need for foreign monitors to observe the elections.
"There will likely be only a handful (of monitors), partly because of the reluctance of the Indonesian government to invite international monitors," an ICG report said.
"But it is also the shortsightedness of major bilateral donors."
The Australian embassy in Jakarta has registered 20 staff to observe elections in four Indonesian provinces, including Aceh, but they will not act as formal election monitors, meaning they will not report on the conduct of polling.
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Aceh local parties hopeful to beat national parties locally
The Jakarta Post
Monday, March 30, 2009
Aceh's local parties are showing a definite edge in the competition with major national parties for legislative council seats, but are still jockeying to align themselves with their competitors to obtain a presence in the House of Representatives.
Secretary General of the United Development Party (PPP), Irgan Chairul Mahfidz, acknowledged Wednesday that his party would have difficulties in getting votes for local legislative councils as the province has its own local parties, but was confident of getting votes from Aceh for the House of Representatives in Jakarta.
"We realize, it may be difficult for us to get a lot of votes for the councils in regencies or at provincial level," Irgan told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Aceh voters will be marking four different ballots in the April 9 elections. Local party candidates will be listed along with their competitors from the national parties on the provincial and regency ballots, but not on the DPR legislative ballots.
But at national level, local parties depend on major parties like PPP, Golkar, the Democrat Party, and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
Irgan said that Aceh had supported his party since 1977 and it usually won every general election there.
He believes his party will gain enough to take some local seats but is focusing on the national seats.
The Democrat Party also expressed a high confidence level about getting votes in Aceh.
"We are targeting 20 percent of all votes from Aceh," a member of the Democrat Party, Syarief Hasan, told The Jakarta Post.
Syarief Hasan, currently a member of the House of Representatives, said that the party had conducted a survey in the province and results indicated they would do well.
The Democrat party is also reportedly counting on local backing for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president in the July .
They have approached the former spokesperson of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) Sofyan Dawood to lead the party's success team for Aceh, North Sumatera, West Sumatera, and Riau.
Sofyan Dawood acknowledged that he had been offered to be the success team leader for SBY to win as president.
"Actually I haven't received assignment papers yet, but yes, I support SBY as the president," Sofyan, who is a member of Aceh Party, said.
He said that even though he supported SBY this did not mean his party would vote for the Democratic Party for the legislative elections.
"We are supporting certain legislative candidates, not the parties," he said.
The Secretary General of Aceh People Party (PRA), Thamrin Ananda, acknowledged that local parties needed the national parties for leverage at the national level.
"We know that it is impossible for us to present our needs in the House of Representatives without the support of the national parties," Thamrin said.
According to him, PRA still has to wait for the legislative election results before deciding whether it will form a coalition with any of the national parties.
He predicted that three national parties would have success netting votes in Aceh. These parties would be the Golkar Party, the Democrat Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). (naf)
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Indonesian president woos voters in tense Aceh
Ed Davies
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, March 29 (Reuters) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono praised on Sunday the rebuilding of Aceh and played down concerns over a peace deal in the province, as he highlighted Indonesia's stability ahead of polls next month.
Tensions have risen in the province in recent months with a number of attacks on members of Aceh parties blamed by some on disgruntled elements of the Indonesian military concerned that some former rebels have not dropped separatist aims.
Yudhoyono, who is seeking a second term in office, has visited Aceh twice in two months and has a key stake in ensuring the peace deal struck during his administration after the devastating 2004 tsunami remains on track.
"I hope peace and order will persist here because we don't want any more conflict," he told a campaign rally for his Democrat Party on a rain-soaked field besides a sports stadium in the provincial capital of the staunchly Muslim province of 4 million.
Parliamentary elections kick off on April 9 followed by a key presidential vote on July 8. The polls will be key to dictating the pace of further reform in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
Yudhoyono, who has been zig-zagging across the sprawling archipelago in the past few weeks to campaign, has also been trying to sell his government's success lifting economic growth, tackling poverty and fighting endemic graft.
Along with tee-shirts and other handouts, political rallies in Indonesia often use popular local singers, sometimes wearing sexy tight-fitting outfits, to drum up crowds.
In Aceh, the only province officially allowed to follow sharia law in secular Indonesia, the campaign rally was a little more reserved and started with a recital from the Koran.
But the crowd, separated between men and head-scarfed women, began dancing and yelling as more local acts took to the stage. Water jets from fire hoses sporadically rained down to keep people cool under a blazing sun.
NEW HOMES, ROADS
Along with national parties, six local parties in Aceh including one formed by former rebels will contest the election.
Yudhoyono, 59, a former general known by his initials SBY, and his Democrat Party are currently well ahead in national polls, although local parties are expected to do well in Aceh.
Aceh, an area rich in resources ranging from gas to coffee lying on the tip of Sumatra, suffered from three decades of bloody separatist conflict between the secessionist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian armed forces.
But the December 2004 tsunami in which 170,000 people in Aceh died or went missing proved a shove for both sides to reach a peace agreement in 2005 giving it special status.
Yudhoyono reeled out a series of numbers highlighting the reconstruction of Aceh by the government and donors including 134,000 new homes, 3,600 km (2,237 miles) of roads and 20 ports. "Do you know why the world joined to help? Because Aceh is now peaceful," he told the crowd of flag-waving supporters during an
intermission between local singers.
Most analysts do not see the peace deal in imminent danger, but there has been a pick up in violence in recent months, including murky shootings and grenade attacks.
"As political tensions have risen in Aceh, hostility between GAM and the TNI (Indonesian military) is at its highest point since the MOU was signed," the International Crisis Group said in a report last week, referring to a memorandum of understanding signed by GAM and the government in the 2005 peace accord.
Stability in Aceh is particularly crucial now since it needs to attract more investment as the government winds down the state reconstruction agency set up to rebuild the province after the tsunami and channel billions of dollars from donors.
The government also wants to use the Aceh model to resolve another long-running separatist conflict in the eastern area of Papua after recently opening talks with an exiled rebel leader.
(Additional reporting by Reza Munawir and Karima Anjani in Jakarta; Editing by David Fox)
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Factbox-Tense Aceh a key test as Indonesia faces polls
March 29 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Aceh province will take part in parliamentary elections next month for the first time since the signing of a peace deal in 2005 between the government and separatist rebels.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is seeking a second term in office this year, has visited the province twice in two months and has a key stake in ensuring that the peace process signed during his administration remains on course, particularly as tensions have risen in Aceh recently.
Some blame factions within the Indonesian military for recent attacks on members of Aceh's political parties. In the military's view, some of the former rebels still want resources-rich Aceh to secede from Indonesia.
About 15,000 people died during three decades of conflict between the secessionist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian armed forces. But when more than 170,000 people died in the area in the devastating tsunami in December 2004, it provided a catalyst for both sides to reach a peace agreement.
Along with the national parties, six local parties, including the Aceh Party, comprised mainly of former GAM rebels, will contest the April 9 parliamentary elections.
PEACE IN ACEH AND WHAT IS AT STAKE?
* Peace and security are among President Yudhoyono's most important achievements during his five-year term -- no mean feat for a country that was ruptured by social unrest, religious conflict and internal security threats from militant Islamic groups after former President Suharto resigned in 1998.
The peace deal in Aceh, brokered by his vice president, Jusuf Kalla, ended decades of conflict and allowed the reconstruction of the tsunami-hit areas to go ahead successfully.
* Aceh's success is seen as a possible model for resolving the long-running separatist conflict in Papua, in the easternmost part of Indonesia.
The government recently opened talks with an exiled rebel leader in a bid to go along this path, and has floated the Aceh model as a possible fix for other conflicts, including a Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand.
* Several soldiers in Aceh were recently disciplined after being accused of abusing local Aceh Party members and for pulling down election flags, and a new police chief, from outside the province, was appointed to improve law enforcement.
* The former GAM rebels will be tested on their commitment to the 2005 Helsinki agreement, which stipulated that they must drop all claims for independence and hand over large arms caches. It is widely suspected that not all of the arms were handed in.
* The election is seen as a test of sharia law. Staunchly Muslim Aceh is the only province in officially secular Indonesia that is allowed to use sharia law, as part of an agreement under the autonomy deal, but there is some dissent among the former rebels over its use.
* Now that the post-tsunami reconstruction is winding down, Aceh needs to attract investment, and maintaining peace is vital for the development of its abundant resources including coffee and gas.
(Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu and Ed Davies)
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Yudhoyono keeps V-P options open
The Straits Times (Singapore)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Indonesia Correspondent
He won't close door on Golkar tie-up again but is also not ruling out PDI-P
JAKARTA: - As political parties kicked off a 21-day campaign for next month's parliamentary polls yesterday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono continued to keep his options open about a tie-up with his Vice-President for the presidential polls in July.
The two leaders have been the main focus of Indonesia's political speculation ever since Mr Jusuf Kalla, who is chairman of Indonesia's largest party Golkar, said last month that he was ready to run for the top post if his party asked him to.
In the latest response to questions about a tie-up with his former running mate, Dr Yudhoyono said he was not too keen about JK's - as Mr Kalla is popularly known - conditional candidacy.
'About six months ago, I was asked a question about my teaming up with JK. Had I said I would surely pair up again with Kalla, I would have been embarrassed now, because we've found out now that JK and Golkar have that position,' he said.
At the same time, however, Dr Yudhoyono left observers guessing,saying that 'in politics, anything can happen'.
His party, he told reporters on Sunday night at his home in Cikeas, West Java province, was 'willing to open our door... and are ready to team up with anyone'.
He said teamin up with Golkar was obviously a possibility, as he had a good relationship with the party, but he also did not rule out a coalition with Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P).
The comments came despite a rare meeting between Mr Kalla and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri last week, which had raised speculation that the Vice-President could team up with Ms Megawati's PDI-P instead of Dr Yudhoyono's Democratic Party.
Dr Yudhoyono also revealed that he and his party would intensify talks on which party to team up with and whom to choose as his running mate by the middle of next month, following the April 9 legislative elections.
Political analysts believe that the President may not run again with Mr Kalla, but may still pick a running mate from Golkar so that he can form a stable government if he wins, as Golkar is likely to win a large number of seats in Parliament.
'On many occasions, Yudhoyono has always mentioned the word Golkar, rather than the word Kalla,' analyst Bima Arya Sugiharto of Universitas Paramadina in Jakarta was quoted as observing in the Seputar Indonesia daily.
'And Yudhoyono has never explicitly said that he still wanted to pair up with Kalla. This indicates Yudhoyono will not fully leave Golkar.'
The tie-ups are critical because under the presidential election law, a party must win at least 25 per cent of the votes in the legislative elections before it can field a presidential candidate. Those with less support can forge a coalition to make up the numbers.
Indonesian political parties have already begun talks with one another on possible coalitions, although these are non-binding. In 2004, Golkar won 21 per cent of the votes, while the Democratic Party took 7.5 per cent. The two parties, along with several other smaller parties, form the present government.
The majority of Golkar's provincial heads have thrown their support behind Mr Kalla, though a final decision on the party's presidential candidate will be made only late next month.
So far, the only thing that the various parties have appeared to agree on is committing to a peaceful campaign between March 16 and April 5 - which representatives from 38 parties signed a joint statement to honour yesterday.
Political parties, meanwhile, have been taking turns to hold rallies across Indonesia, running television commercials and newspaper advertisements in 'soft' campaigns that started last July.
wahyudis@sph.com.sg
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PKB Legislator May Spend 6.5 Years in Jail if Guilty
The Jakarta Globe
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Nivell Rayda
Prosecutors at the Anti-Corruption Court on Monday sought a six-and-a-half-year jail term for suspended National Awakening Party, or PKB, lawmaker Yusuf Erwin Faishal, on trial for two
separate cases of graft.
Yusuf, who once chaired the House of Representatives’ Commission IV, which oversees forestry, allegedly received Rp 5 billion ($415,000) in bribe money from South Sumatra officials in 2006-07 in connection with the conversion of a forest into Tanjung Api-Api seaport, which was being discussed by the commission.
The money was divided among all 21 members of the commission, with Yusuf receiving the highest amount.
Sarjan Taher, a Democratic Party lawmaker, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison in January for collaborating with Yusuf on the case.
Last Friday, Chandra Antonio Tan, an investor in the project who provided the money, was sentenced to three years in prison.
The case has also implicated former South Sumatra Governor Syahrial Oesman, who was declared a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, last Thursday.
“Chandra promised Commission IV the money, once the project was approved by the House,” prosecutor Riyono told the court.
“Yusuf then instructed Sarjan to tell Chandra that the commission would require Rp 5 billion to ensure a smooth passage of the forest-conversion permit.”
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Islamic Political Parties Presiding Over Their Own Demise
The Jakarta Post
March 18, 2009
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
Once considered a threat by some, political Islam is now under threat. Come April 9, Islamic parties may find themselves impaled by their own expectations.
Studies by the Centre for Strategic & International Studies and the Indonesia Survey Institute suggest a dry harvest for the nine competing Islamic parties, with optimistic projections at 23 percent, or worse dropping to 15 percent of votes.
There is a waning interest in political piety unseen since the final year of Soeharto’s repression of the 1997 election.
Grand speeches are unlikely to save the United Development Party (PPP), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) or the National Mandate Party (PAN) from sliding to 5 percent or less, as haughty divisions halve the National Awakening Party’s (PKB) 10.5 percent returns from the previous election.
The emerging “green” of Indonesia’s political canvas is suddenly awash with the “blue”, “red” and “yellow” of the Democratic Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party, who are expected to sweep half of all votes cast.
The giddy heights of Indonesia’s first election in 1955 are a fading memory of Islamic parties surging toward 43 percent of votes.
When former president Soeharto “simplified” the party system, the amalgamation of Islamic parties under the PPP still received 29 percent of votes in the 1977 election. That marked the highest turnout ever for a single Islamic party.
The first democratic election in four decades saw political Islam return in force by winning 34 percent of total votes in 1999.
But the absolute numbers told a more nuanced story.
Only by combining the 24.5 million votes of the two biggest Islamic parties of 2004, the PKB and the PPP, could it be comparable to second placed Golkar’s 23.3 million votes, and far behind election winner PDI-P’s 35.4 million.
Five years later, Islamic parties again raised their tally to 38 percent.
But the spectacular rise of the PKS in 2004 — jumping from 2 percent under the Justice Party in 1999 to 7.3 percent — concealed the diffusion of support for Islamic parties.
Apart from the PKS, the support base for Islamic parties became thinner.
The PKB, the PPP and the PAN saw their collective votes drop by 3.4 million, in a deficit caused by the PKS’s rise, the emergence of new Islamic parties such as the Reform Star Party (PBR) and an appealing nationalist option in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party.
“Either [religious] fanaticism is declining or voters are more rational,” PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar replied when asked by The Jakarta Post about the falling popularity of Islamic parties.
The truth, perhaps, is a bit of both.
Islamic parties are divided within and among themselves.
Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah are irreconcilable currents, while the likes of the PKS young upstarts refuse to conform to traditional streams.
The solidity of today’s Islamic parties are no match for the Masyumi and NU parties that in 1955 placed second and third, just below Sukarno’s Indonesian Nationalist Party, but above the Indonesian Communist Party.
Internally there is divided leadership and lack of leadership as fissures plague the Muslim political elite.
The PKB, which has the strongest block of votes from its 30 million NU members, is split between former NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid and official party leader Muhaimin. Not to mention the PKNU, which also claims to be an NU based party.
Wahid has in fact urged his followers to vote for the Gerindra Party instead of the PKB. At a time when voters often seek to be led, leadership is a significant deficit among Islamic parties.
Other than the obsolete names of Wahid and former PAN chairman Amien Rais, there are few of equal political caliber to replace them.
This is in part because the next generation have not acquired the same cache as their elders, but also because the “old” guards refuse to let go.
Related to this is the inability of Islamic parties to break new ground beyond their established strongholds.
The PKB is primarily perceived as NU-based, while the PAN is overshadowed by Muhammadiyah. Others like the PPP are scrounging the fringes seeking the disconcerted masses from the two.
The PKS is an example of how a party with momentum in 2004 failed to break new ground beyond its urban support.
Fermented as a “militant underground” student movement, the PKS did well in networking a disgruntled middle class.
But in an open political competition, “guerilla” movements are no match for armies.
In recent weeks, the PKS has begun projecting itself as a more pluralist party to attract a wider voter base. Its TV ads include women not wearing headscarves.
It has also made inroads in rural areas of East Java by distributing fertilizers and farming seeds.
Whether this will be enough to save its gains is questionable.
The PAN has also done the same by moving away from the cultural-religious symbolism. It has done so somewhat uniquely, by being the party that has recruited the largest number of celebrities.
Despite the fear of a religiously conservative Indonesia over the past 10 years, these developing trends lend credence to the view that Muslims across the archipelago are too syncretic and moderate to opt for right-wing politics.
The rise of political Islam in 1999 and 2004 served as a surrogate for political dispossession rather than the birth of fundamentalism.
When the main course becomes tiresome, voters will seek “options”.
The resurgence of the PDI-P, the reinvention of Golkar and the advent of the Democratic Party serves much of what voters seek in 2009, creating a much-needed retrenchment of political piety, entrenchment of secular democracy.
The most potent role open for Islamic parties will be in the regions, where politics is more fractious.
They will also play the role of kingmaker/spoiler in the coming months, as a president will seek coalitions to form a government.
Political Islam is not dead, but its contribution is being put in its proper place: on the fringes of national politics.
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Indonesia's Islamic Parties Losing Their Lustre
The Straits Times (Singapore)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Salim Osman, Indonesia Correspondent
Latest surveys show sharp drop in support since 2004 elections
JAKARTA: Islamic parties appear to be losing their allure in mostly Muslim Indonesia.
Polls suggest that some of them may not even achieve the minimum 2.5 per cent of the popular vote, in next month's legislative polls, which is needed to allow them to field candidates in the next elections in 2014.
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) - a rising star in the 2004 elections that was once regarded as a likely kingmaker after the polls - is losing support even though it is trying to move towards the middle ground.
'Indonesia's Islamic parties have lost their appeal and are unlikely to do better than they did in 2004,' Dr Greg Fealy of the Australian National University, an Indonesia specialist, told The Straits Times here yesterday.
'Voters don't think Islamic parties have good answers to their socio-economic problems.'
According to Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi, Indonesian voters tend to rank bread-and-butter issues above religious ones and see non-Islamic parties as more competent.
'In the history of Indonesian democratic elections, Islamic parties have never been able to reach a national majority,' he said. 'That trend is ongoing and will likely continue in the 2009 elections.'
At least seven of the 38 parties taking part in the April 9 elections are deemed Islamic. In addition to the PKS, the main ones are the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).
In the latest poll released yesterday, only 24 per cent of those who responded said that they would vote for any of those Islamic parties next month. That is a sharp drop from the 38.1 per cent who actually cast ballots for one in the 2004 elections.
A vast majority - 67 per cent - of those who took part in the survey said they backed secular and non-Islamic parties instead, even though almost 90 per cent of all Indonesians are Muslim. In contrast, the survey of 2,455 voters conducted by the LSI found a surge in support for the secular Democratic Party (PD) of
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The PD was favoured by 24.3 per cent of those polled. That is a marked increase from the 10.36 per cent of the vote the party received in 2004.
But support for the two other major parties dropped in comparison to the last elections.
The survey showed Golkar with 15.9 per cent of the vote, down 7 per cent from its actual performance in 2004.
The Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle (PDI-P) secured 17.3 per cent in the poll, down slightly from the 19.82 per cent of the actual vote it achieved in the last elections.
Dr Fealy attributed the decline in the appeal of the Islamic parties to their ideology, their lack of internal unity and poor leadership, as well as their inability to offer Indonesians substantive programmes.
Ministers from Islamic parties in the Yudhoyono Cabinet had no good track record, he said.
Dr Fealy was also sceptical about the chances of the PKS. The most organised of all the Islamic parties, it did exceptionally well in 2004 winning nearly 8 per cent of the vote.
'The PKS has the riskiest strategy. It tried to change the orientation of the party and move to the middle ground,' he said. 'But instead of attracting more supporters, the party has lost its distinction and people consider it 'just another party'.'
PKS' image as 'a clean, caring and professional' party has also been tarnished by corruption allegations levelled against one of its legislators, noted analyst Bachtiar Effendi.
All the Islamic parties face one common problem: They lack leaders of national stature in the mould of Dr Amien Rais, founder of PAN, and former president Abdurrahman Wahid.
Only the PKS can claim a respected leader - its founder and former president Hidayat Nurwahid.
The party is touting the chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly as a possible presidential candidate but it has to do well next month in order for him to run for the top post.
salim@sph.com.sg
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The Straits Times (Singapore)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
HERE'S a look at the major Islamic parties taking part in next month's legislative elections and the reasons they are losing popularity.
THE PROSPEROUS JUSTICE PARTY (PKS):
The PKS grew out of an Islamic movement in university campuses in the 1980s and has projected itself as 'clean, caring and professional'. But of late, it has suffered from an internal rift over the orientation of the party, moving away from its Islamic roots to the middle ground.
The party has also been tainted by corruption allegations levelled against legislator Rama Pratama; an aborted plan to celebrate Valentine's Day by a party cadre; and an order from the West Java governor, a PKS stalwart, that the Sundanese traditional dancers of Jaipongan must cover themselves and be less erotic.
THE NATIONAL MANDATE PARTY (PAN):
The PAN grew out of Indonesia's second largest Muslim group, the Muhammadiyah. It lacks strong national figures other than its founder Amien Rais, now a chief adviser.
The party has also been hit by a corruption scandal involving a highly reputable legislator, Abdul Hadi Djamal. He was detained earlier this month after he received US$90,000 (S$136,000) and 54 million rupiah (S$6,980) in alleged bribes from a transportation official.
THE NATIONAL AWAKENING PARTY (PKB):
The PKB, founded by former president Abdurrahman Wahid, grew out of Indonesia's largest Muslim body, the Nahdlatul Ulama. It has lost ground in the past three years because of deep internal divisions.
Even Mr Abdurrahman has pulled out his supporters and told Indonesians not to vote for the PKB.
The feud between the former president and nephew Muhaimin Iskandar, the PKB chairman, has sparked confusion and disappointment among its supporters, who are likely to give their votes to other parties.
THE CRESCENT STAR PARTY (PBB):
The PBB is said to be a new version of the old Masyumi party banned by president Suharto. It only has 11 seats in the national Parliament.
The party's main problem is its lack of a strong leader. Its current chairman Malam Sambat Kaban, the Forestry Minister, and his predecessor, former law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, have been linked to corruption scandals although neither has been charged.
THE STAR REFORMED PARTY (PBR):
The PBR was formed after the United Development Party (PPP) splintered. It has only 13 seats in the national Parliament and has no strong leader.
SALIM OSMAN
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Election Credibility Questioned
The Jakarta Post
March 19, 2009
Alfian
photo: Politics all hot air?: A large banner for the National People’s Concern Party (PPRN) is ripped apart by strong winds during a campaign rally at the Bung Karno soccer stadium in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday. JP/P.J. Leo
Claims of massive fraud in the recent East Java gubernatorial election have raised the issue of the credibility of the April polls, coming days after the resignation of the investigating police chief.
The findings of alleged voter list manipulation that saw thousands of ineligible voters listed as casting their ballots in the East Java election were announced Wednesday by the Indonesia Democratic Party (PDI-P), the second largest faction at the House of Representatives.
Besides the PDI-P, other parties have also raised fears of the "East Java scenario" — where the candidate jointly backed by the PDI-P, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, suffered a surprise loss — eclipsing the national polls. The violations led to the Constitutional Court ordering revote and recount in three regencies, but no meaningful follow-up on the case was made by the National Police.
The candidate backed by the Democratic Party, Soekarwo, won the election.
On Tuesday, while on a flight on the campaign trail, Vice President and Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla lashed out in response to the news of the resignation of the provincial police chief investigating the East Java election, Insp. Gen. Herman Surjadi Sumawiredja.
Herman had cited intervention into his investigation. He had named the provincial polling body (KPUD) head Wahyudi Purnomo a suspect in the case, but the National Police named him a witness. Herman was transferred to Jakarta, but then resigned from the police corps.
Kalla said the case would raise distrust in the elections.
"If the election is tainted, democracy is under threat... if trust vanishes, so does democracy," he said.
PDI-P secretary-general Pramono Anung said the findings revealed changes in the registered voter lists, which among others turned out to include the multiplication of scores of voter identities sharing one name but with different addresses, birth dates or employee numbers. National Police officers have cited
insufficient evidence to continue the investigation.
The PDI-P claims voter fraud was found in the regencies of Magetan, Trenggalek and Ngawi, as well as in Pacitan, the hometown of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“With this manipulation, one identity number can be used to vote hundreds or even thousands of times. We've recorded all of this data and we'll process it further. We can't let it happen, as it will destroy our democratic process,” Pramono said.
He added about 34,724 fraud cases were found in Trenggalek regency, 97,478 in Ngawi regency, and 40,883 in Magetan. All are found in the total of 261,673 registered voter lists, he added.
Asked who was the possible mastermind behind the manipulation, Pramono only said, “One thing's for sure: the opposition party does not have access to do this.”
Anas Urbaningrum, secretary-general of President Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, said the party had nothing to do with the fraud.
“We have committed from the beginning to support clean and honest elections. We want to win in a respectful way, and it’s not our party’s style to do such things,” he said.
He added the General Elections Commission (KPU) must clarify the PDI-P's findings immediately.
Pramono urged the KPU to promptly withdraw the fraudulent registered voter lists and investigate the alleged fraud.
“This finding must be processed further, especially after the alleged fraud in Bangkalan and Sampang,” he said, referring to the regencies at the heart of Khofifah's appeal to the Supreme Court.
On Wednesday, former East Java Police chief Herman was seen at the residence of PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.
“I've been invited by the PDI-P because the party wants to hear my explanation of the case,” he said.
“I have no political motivation to be here. I just want the case to be reopened and resolved so the police can still be a trusted law enforcement institution.”
Legal expert Soetandyo Wignjosoebroto said the East Java issue did not so much concern the neutrality of the police force in the gubernatorial elections.
“If [the elections] continue as planned, there will be a lot of problems,” he told Media Indonesia daily, adding that National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri should explain what really took place in East Java.
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The Jakarta Post
March 19, 2009
In protecting his own credibility, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has no choice but to quickly authorize an independent investigation into the alleged manipulation of voter lists in East Java and punish those responsible for the crimes or helping to cover up the crime. The price that his government and even
the nation might have to pay could be unbearable if the real truth about the East Java gubernatorial election manipulation issue is not comprehensively revealed.
We have no doubt at all that as a statesman and a democrat, the President fully supports fair, just and democratic legislative and presidential elections. His own position has so far also put him in the lead over his competitors. But no one can rule out the possibility that his supporters, or those who have personal
vested interests, could commit crimes at the cost of Yudhoyono. The President’s firm and prompt action therefore is urgently needed to find the truth.
The President also needs to remember issue could soon have a snowball effect. On Wednesday, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary-general Pramono Anung alleged that similar crimes might have also occurred in Trenggalek, Magetan and Ngawi, also in East Java. The provincial elections monitoring committee (Panwaslu) also mentioned Pacitan regency, Yudhoyono’s hometown. Yudhoyono’s party, the Democrat Party, has nominated his son Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono to represent the
regencies at the House of Representatives.
The allegedly manipulated voter lists were used for the recent East Java gubernatorial election. And the same lists will also be used for the April legislative elections and July presidential election.
In a very unusual manner, Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Tuesday bluntly expressed his resentment over the alleged attempt by National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri to annul the East Java Police’s findings that there had been serious election violations by the provincial general elections commission (KPUD). Knowing his character, people believe Kalla, who is also the Golkar chairman, should have obtained strong evidence before talking to journalists. Kalla, who has announced his intention to face off against Yudhoyono in the July presidential election, has a strong interest to ensure the alleged crime is thoroughly investigated and justice is upheld.
The abrupt decision by Bambang to sack the provincial police chief Insp. Gen. Herman Surjadi Sumawiredja after the latter stubbornly insisted he had found strong evidence of election crimes only triggered strong suspicion that Bambang acted to protect the interests of very, very important persons in this country.
Whatever the reasons or pretexts Bambang uses to defend his decision to sack his subordinate, and no matter how sincere he is in his explanation, the public will continue to suspect his motives.
It is natural that election contestants will trade accusations with their rivals to lure voters during the campaigns. But the President needs to take firm action to investigate the allegation and to punish those who committed the crimes. The future of the nation is at stake now.
And to our National Police chief, we wish to remind him that he could endanger the position of the police institution if he fails to prove that no election crimes occurred in the province or elsewhere.
---------------------------------------------------
Free and fair election in Indonesia?
The Jakarta Post
Monday, March 23, 2009
Jeffrey A. Winters, Evanston, Illinois
What began as a localized case of electoral fraud in East Java’s gubernatorial elections has now exploded into a scandal potentially reaching to the highest levels in Jakarta. Even more worrying, as Indonesia approaches the April 9 parliamentary elections, the voting list crimes alleged in East Java could exist in other provinces across the nation.
On February 18, East Java police chief Herman Sumawiredja announced that his investigators had found credible evidence of criminal fraud in the elections. This officially upgraded the case from a preliminary investigation to a criminal case, meaning police could now compel individuals and institutions to comply with their investigation. They could seize files and computers and detain suspects. The police also named the head of the regional election commission, Wahyudi Purnomo, as a criminal suspect.
The next morning, chief Sumawiredja was suddenly removed from his post by police headquarters in Jakarta. Even more strange, later that afternoon the head of police intelligence from Jakarta flew to Surabaya to meet with the investigative team. In a closed session at the Shangrila Hotel that began after dinner and lasted until 4 am, the top cop from Jakarta pressured the investigators to downgrade the case from a criminal to a preliminary investigation.
The East Java police investigators, who were convinced their work was solid, resisted the pressure, knowing that downgrading the case was the same as killing the investigation. Under enormous pressure, they capitulated in the wee hours of the morning. The investigation was halted. The provincial police chief was gone. And Purnomo was no longer a criminal suspect.
But the story did not end there. To the chagrin of the actors in Jakarta seeking to stop the process, police chief Sumawiredja refused to remain silent or be intimidated.
He had been scheduled to retire as of 1 June 2009, but instead demanded the date be moved forward to 1 March. He reasoned that he would have no new position or office for three months, so why not just retire immediately?
Sumawiredja’s request alarmed the higher-ups at police headquarters (and to this day they have not issued the paperwork acknowledging the 1 March date). But as Sumawiredja said to the local press, “If we are talking about extending my retirement date beyond 1 June, that’s up to police headquarters. But if we
are talking about me moving my retirement forward a few months, that’s my decision.”
Sumawiredja stated at the same press conference that although he had no problem with being rotated out of his post prematurely, he was fully aware why the action was being taken. It was political, in his view, and directly related to the investigation into the case of criminal electoral fraud. He did not want to be silenced by the same officials that removed him.
Police chief Sumawiredja’s revealing public statements since being removed raise three pressing questions.
First, was the election of East Java’s governor legitimate? Despite allegations by the defeated candidate, the
Constitutional Court decided on February 4th that it was. It will be up to the Court to review that finding in light of chief Sumawiredja’s announcement on Feb.18 that there was strong evidence of criminal fraud in the election.
Second, why did officials from Jakarta intervene in such a heavy-handed manner to halt the criminal investigation in East Java? If there was ever a case that could improve public perceptions about the quality of the nation’s police, this would be it. But instead of praising the East Java investigators for the high quality of their work, the top brass in Jakarta scolded them, pressured them to stop, and removed their boss.
The police officers who knew the details of the case best were in East Java, and they came to the unanimous conclusion that there was evidence of massive fraud in the voting lists (DPT) used in the election. In the two regencies they investigated in depth, they found 345,000 fictive names on a digital version of the official roster of 1.2 million voters. That’s over 27 percent.
When they tracked down several hundred hard copies of the voter lists and compared them with the digital data they had, they could confirm 29,000 fictive names. The sample they had of the hard copies strongly supported the view that the 345,000 figure was accurate.
And yet higher officials from Jakarta, who knew far less about the case than the direct investigators, flew to Surabaya to insist that the investigators were wrong and should stop.
The obvious question is: On whose initiative did the head of police in Jakarta intervene in this case? Did he decide on his own to take this action (and why would he do that?), or was he instructed by higher officials in the Yudhoyono administration to stop the investigation? It happens that the candidate who won the governorship in East Java was backed by the president’s party.
And finally, if voter registration lists were as criminally fraudulent and manipulated as chief Sumawiredja alleges, what confidence can Indonesians have that voter lists produced for branches of the same Electoral Commission across the archipelago are any less fraudulent? All voter lists were presumably produced in the same manner.
Heads of the parties competing for parliamentary seats on April 9 have begun expressing alarm about the implications of the East Java case for the broader democratic process. They have demanded that voter lists be cleaned up in the few days that remain before election day.
And if that is logistically impossible, then some have demanded that all voter lists (DPT) be placed online so that citizens, NGO’s, the press, and analysts in the parties can examine them in detail. There may be no other way to restore confidence in the process.
Thus far, the responses from police headquarters and from top officials at the national elections commission (KPU) have been extremely weak. The police claim there was nothing irregular in removing chief Sumawiredja. They also criticized the upgrading of the case to the criminal level as “premature.” But that was the only way to dig deeper for evidence of criminality from individuals and government agencies like the local electoral commission, who were doing all they could to block the investigators.
Since the case was downgraded, the investigation has effectively ended. The police could go no further without the power to compel compliance with their search for evidence.
Chief Sumawiredja had stated from the outset that if the initial evidence showing criminal fraud was not borne out by further investigation, he would be delighted to dismiss the case and apologize publicly to anyone drawn into the matter.
Meanwhile, top officials at the electoral commission have responded by trying to shift the blame to the political parties. Although it is the KPU’s job to certify the final voter lists used at polling stations across the country, they blame the parties for not verifying the data in draft lists circulated during the fall of 2008.
The parties have neither the staff nor the budget to take on this task, nor do they have the computing capabilities the KPU has to examine voter lists for a country of nearly 250 million citizens.
It is unclear how this scandal will evolve. Will the chief of police take full blame for the intervention in East Java, cutting off questions about the role of officials above him? Will the elections be postponed until the voter lists are cleaned up, as some party heads have demanded?
And if the elections are held with questions in the air about the voter lists, and after the elections it is found they were riddled with fictive names on the same scale as seen in East Java, can the elections have any legitimacy?
For his part, former police chief Sumawiredja has worried out loud about the potential for violence and social disruptions if the people discover the April elections were marred by massive fraud.
The writer is professor of political economy at Northwestern University, USA.
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KPU Denies Doctoring Data, Rejects Calls for Delay
The Jakarta Globe
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Febriamy Hutapea & Muninggar Sri Saraswati
Postponing the April 9 legislative elections was unnecessary, the General Elections Commission chairman, Abdul Hafiz Anshary, said on Monday. The voter list prepared by the commission, he said, was valid.
“Our data for the final voter list, which has been provided by Provincial General Elections Commissions, is valid and accurate,” he said. “We may have missed a few things, but they can be fixed.”
Hafiz denied that the voter list for East Java Province had been doctored, saying he confirmed data with local election commissions in the Sampang and Bangkalan districts of East Java over the weekend.
He said a voter list that had been disseminated among political parties did not come from the General Elections Commission, or KPU.
“There was no signature from a local officer or stamp from the office. It remains unclear who spread the fake data,” he said.
Hafiz said the national commission had distributed the official final voter list to all political parties on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the head of the KPU’s ethics council, Jimly Asshiddiqie, said people should not be influenced over moves by certain political parties and legislative candidates to delay the elections.
He encouraged people to support the KPU and make the election a success because it was important to the country’s post-1998 reform process.
“This election will become the last election in closing the country’s transition process, and afterwards we’ll face a new governmental era,” he said.
Expressing similar sentiments, Mahfud MD, chief of the Constitutional Court, said there was no reason to postpone the elections despite the controversy over the voter list during the East Java gubernatorial elections.
It was Prabowo Subianto, the presidential candidate of the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, who first proposed the postponement.
“It’s not necessary to postpone the election,” Mahfud said. “Only a few called for a postponement, and that was politically motivated.”
He said the Constitutional Court, which conducted a hearing into a dispute filed by unsuccessful East Java gubernatorial candidate Khofifah Indar Parawansa, found the list had been manipulated. Mahfud said, that the court had referred the case to the police.
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Life and Death on the Voter Rolls
Tempo Magazine
No. 31/IX
March 31-April 06, 2009
National
The voter rolls are being questioned. It may result in many election disputes.
TOTOT Sugianto is dumbfounded upon seeing the list of registered voters which he received from the Voting Committee two weeks ago. “As I recall, Pak Yus Pratomo died seven months ago,” said this head of Neighborhood Association 01, Citizen’s Association V, Bojongsari village, (Kembaran district, Purwokerto) Central Java, to Tempo, on Thursday last week.
In addition to the deceased, according to Totot, there are some voters who moved out of the area five months ago. According to Zen Afroni, Chairman of the Supervisors Committee of Kembaran District, there are at least 121 voters who have died who are still on the voter rolls. “Clearly the data has not been
updated,” said Zen
Totot told how the last village administration asked for data on its residents be updated in April 2008, before the holding of the election of the Governor of Central Java. After that, “Until now we have never been asked to submit a list of residents,” he said. “As it turned out, we have already been sent a list of registered voters.”
Bambang Eka Cahya Widodo, a member of the General Elections Supervisory Agency, said that their side found that many of the voter rolls have been inflated. In Trenggalek, Central Java, for instance, 6,115 voters have the same residence numbers. “The numbers are quite significant in Central Java and East Java,” said Bambang to Tempo reporter Pramono, on Monday last week.
Hasto Kristianto, a politician with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said that he was not surprised with these findings. He is convinced that there are certain parties that stand to benefit from this voter roll padding. Under an election system which goes by the most votes received, a single vote can
be very meaningful.
There are at least seven ways the rolls are being padded. According to Hasto, the easiest to spot is when there are names which are the same but with different residence numbers. Then there are names which are different but have the same residence number, and residence numbers which should be number-only, yet
contain some letters.
Furthermore, there are cases where names and residence numbers are the same but spread across different voting districts, or combinations of fictive voter names, or non-standard registration numbers, or registered voters who are not yet 17 years of age and unmarried, or even not even born yet. “This is
like what happened in the last election for Governor of East Java,” said Hasto.
According to Hasto, it is possible that the East Java case will repeat itself on a national level. If the general election is still held while this problem remains unresolved, many sides will be dissatisfied. “If it is forced to be held, it will certainly reduce the credibility of the democratic process,” said Hasto.
General Elections Commission (KPU) Chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary denied that data has been manipulated. If there are any mistakes, they are administrative in nature. Data checking and research has not been thorough. He cited that the budget was not released by the government last year to complete the
verification schedule.
Hafiz believes that this matter can be resolved before 9 April. “It is not true that the election is in danger of failure,” he said. “Let’s not have one rotten apple spoil the barrel.”
I Gusti Putu Artha, a KPU member, is asking to not make any generalizations about the East Java case. “Its process was different, and so was the data,” said Putu. In anticipation, their side has already instructed KPU offices in the provinces to verify the data.
Printouts of the voter rolls have also been distributed to political parties, so that the parties can get involved in combing through them and report any mistakes to the KPU. “It will be sufficient to make a mark so that they cannot be misused at the voting booths,” said Putu.
According to Jimly Asshiddiqie, Chairman of the KPU Honor Council, it is obligatory to go through the lists to restore public trust in the election process. Fictive data must be eliminated. If any mistakes slip through, and cheating takes place, he asks that the parties gather evidence as lawsuit material in the Constitutional Court (MK).
The KPU and the MK, said Jimly, will only handle cases which are prepared. “If there is insufficient evidence, it will not be followed up.” The report must be made quickly, 25 days at most after Election Day. Disputation in the MK only lasts for 30 days.
The Constitutional Court only hears disputes over election results, not on the election process itself. This means that even if it is proven that cheating took place, most likely there will not be a repeat election. “There is not enough time due to the short time before the presidential election,” said Jimly.
-- Agus Supriyanto, Aris Andrianto (Purwokerto)
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Editorial: Is It Time to Consider Postponing Elections?
The Jakarta Globe
Friday, March 20, 2009
The upcoming elections already promise to be interesting to watch . Alas, not for good reasons.
Less than one month before the legislative elections are held on April 9, it has become clear to anyone that this time, preparations for the five-yearly democratic event have been, to say the least, haphazard.
Take the schedule for the three-week campaign season preceding poll day.
Three days into the campaign period, the General Elections Commission, or KPU, was still revising the schedule.
Not only was the schedule, which should have been finalized 24 days before the campaign rallies began, reworked a fourth time, but KPU officials even decided that the final schedule itself was not set in stone.
Political parties can swap their turns at holding campaign rallies as long as they inform the commission and the police of their arrangements.
Less than one month before the legislative elections many voters remain blissfully ignorant about how the ballots should be marked.
Ballot papers also have yet to reach their destination in many parts of the archipelago, and newspapers abound with reports of defective ballot papers that need to be printed anew and resent.
And the final voter list, already revised several times, has yet to be made public.
The KPU, which has been the target of a barrage of criticism for poor performance so far, claimed that the list was already completed but would only be unveiled shortly before poll day.
The lack of transparency on the part of the KPU has already led to problems.
A dispute that has erupted from last year’s gubernatorial elections in East Java has now raised real fear that a similar problem could raise itself onto the national stage in the upcoming elections.
KPU’s obstinancy not to make the final voter list public has already prompted several political parties, including the four largest, to schedule a meeting next week to discuss the East Java irregularities and decide on what they will do to prevent a reoccurrence during the April elections.
Admittedly, organizing nationwide, multiple elections for a country that is also the world’s largest archipelago is not the easiest of all jobs, but incompetence should not be aggravated by intransparency.
The KPU should be made to understand that transparency is also key to holding elections, and that it is the nation’s democratic future and reputation that is as stake, not merely theirs.
And for the sake of the nation, there may be some value in considering whether it is really wise to forge ahead and hold badly prepared elections on time or delay for ones that are better prepared.
This time, such an important decision should not merely rest with the KPU.
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Experts Predict Chaos After April 9 Election
The Jakarta Post
March 25, 2009
Endy M. Bayuni
Best case, there will be plenty of lawsuits and demands for a revote nationwide. Worst case, there may be violence as people reject the results of next month’s election.
Two political experts sharing their thoughts about the general election with the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club (JFCC) on Wednesday agreed that this year’s poll will be messy and chaotic, with the potential of violence erupting after, rather than before, voting takes place on April 9.
“The Constitutional Court has to be prepared with so many petitions for a revote,” said Chusnul Mar’iyah of the University of Indonesia and a former member of the General Election Commission (KPU).
Chusnul laid the blame squarely on the Court for ordering several local gubernatorial and regency elections, including the last one in East Java in February, to be retaken in response to demands from losing participants.
The Constitutional Court had acted outside its authority of just declaring something as constitutional or not, she said. “It had set a bad precedent that losing parties and candidates in the April 9 election would exploit.”
She also predicted that the KPU would face many lawsuits for failing to communicate well to the political parties about the mechanism of election, particularly in converting votes to seats.
Jeffrey Winters, a senior Indonesianist from the Northwestern University in Illinois, said one area for a major controversy in the aftermath of the election is the voter registry, with claims that the total number being significantly bloated.
Quoting senior Golkar politician Surya Paloh, Winters said if people learned later that the voters’ list had been tampered with in significant ways, “there will be violence”.
A total of 38 political parties are contesting the election nationwide for seats in the House of Representatives and the provincial and regency/mayoralty legislative councils. Voters also cast their ballots for the Regional Representatives Council.
While Indonesia has not had a history of election violence, many people fear this year’s election would be messy for lack of preparations, logistical challenges, budget constraints, and incompetence on the part of the organizers.
The KPU said more than 171 million people have been registered to vote, but the vote registry has of late been the subject of a major controversy.
Complicating the issue is the recent allegation of manipulation of the voter registry following the revelation by former East Java police chief xxx that he had been removed from his job last month just as he was discovering fraud in the gubernatorial election.
The national police chief General Bambang XXx has denied that the removal of Herman had anything to do with the investigation of election fraud, and insisted that the police were still continuing with the probe.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has since conducted its own investigation into the current updated voter registry in selected regencies in East Java and found that the number of voters have been bloated by as much as 40 percent.
Other parties are joining the PDI-P chorus for more transparency over the voter registry and some going as far as suggesting delaying the vote until after the registry is fixed in a way that satisfied everyone.
The Ministry of Home Affairs and KPU had meanwhile been blaming each other for the gross errors found in the voter registry.
Winters said these errors were too diverse and too frequent to be blamed on some computer glitches, and more indicative of manipulation going on.
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The 2009 Elections: RI’s Future and Reputation at Stake
The Jakarta Post
March 31, 2009
Rizal Sukma
As the April 9 elections draw closer, the mood has become more and more gloomy. The preparations for the big day have been marred by tremendous logistical problems. Incorrect printing of ballots, ballot shortages, the wrong ballots sent to some provinces and districts, uncertain campaign schedules, the problem of the transportation of election materials and many more problems have all pointed to the incompetence of the
current General Elections Committee (KPU).
All these have led some observers to question the readiness of the government to hold the April 9 elections simultaneously across the country. Some have even called for the elections to be postponed. Whatever excuses the KPU officials can come up with, there is no doubt that this year’s elections, the third since Indonesia moved toward democracy in 1998, will be worse than those in 1999 and 2004.
This could be blamed on the quality of the KPU itself. Composed of figures of unknown merit, if not sheer incompetence, it seems that the KPU has no confidence in itself. But, we should also equally blame the House of Representatives (DPR) which elected the current members of the KPU in the first place. The previous KPU, despite being marred by corruption cases and charges, did an excellent job.
The upcoming elections will also face the question of legitimacy. The problem with the list of registered voters in the recent governor’s election in East Java has alarmed many political parties. Many began to worry that the elections might be fraught with fraud. If this problem persists, then the legitimacy of the elections would come under serious question.
There is also the high possibility of outbreaks of violence in the aftermath of the elections. This is a scary thought indeed. In 2004, the elections were almost trouble-free. Violence was almost absent. Those who disputed the results brought the cases to court. In turn, they accepted the court’s rulings. This kind of maturity served as a source of pride for the nation.
Indeed, Indonesian leaders have often cited the quality of the 2004 elections as the defining moment in Indonesia’s transition to democracy. Many praised Indonesia for its ability to organize such a complex election. Since 2004, Indonesia has been described as the third largest democracy on earth. It has become
a source of inspiration for pro-democracy forces in other countries. In fact, it has become the last bastion of democracy in Southeast Asia.
Now, after such admirable achievements, could Indonesia plunge back to where it began? The stakes are too high for this nation. The failure to organize orderly and peaceful elections after experiencing two successful elections is unacceptable. The future of democracy would be at stake. Indonesia should prevent
itself experiencing a democratic backslide. We should not give antidemocracy forces in the country, and outside, reason to cheer and celebrate the failure of democracy in Indonesia.
After 10 difficult years of transition, Indonesia’s democracy has begun to receive international appreciation. Indonesia’s profile and a positive reputation abroad have begun to emerge.
Within Southeast Asia, as mentioned above, Indonesia has increasingly returned to its previous status as the beacon of stability. It has also earned a reputation as the only free country in the region.
At the global level, Indonesia’s profile is also on the rise. As a member of the G20, Indonesia is expected to play a role in the G20 Summit in London this week to find a solution to many global economic problems. Indonesia has also played a major role in facilitating the path toward a global consensus on how to respond to climate change. More recently, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) included Indonesia in a group of the world’s fastest growing economies called BRIICS (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa).
All these achievements are too valuable to be thrown away by our inability to organize peaceful, free and fair elections. Indonesia’s leaders and politicians, as well as its people, should not allow the country to slide back into chaos. The urgency for sustaining our political achievements is even greater now in this time of economic adversity.
Time is running out fast. However, we still have the opportunity to prove that all negative speculations are wrong. Prior to the 2004 elections, many observers also predicted that Indonesia would plunge into chaos. We proved them wrong then. We should do the same now.
The writer is an executive director at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta.
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The Big Issue: Does the Military Still Have Influence in Elections?
The Jakarta Globe
March 23, 2009
Markus Junianto Sihaloho
Despite its withdrawal from practical politics, the military remains one of the most powerful political institutions in the country, and questions on whether it will return to practical politics always arise during elections.
This year’s election is no exception. If anything, the speculation, and fears, have only heightened now that the contenders in July’s presidential polls include four retired military generals — incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Democratic Party; Wiranto, chairman of the People’s Conscience Party, or Hanura; Prabowo Subianto, chief patron of the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra; and former Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso. In addition, virtually all the big political parties in the country now count dozens of former military personnel among their ranks.
Just recently, a group of retired military generals organized a news conference to announce its intention to support candidates who fight for a return to the original 1945 Constitution. Of the presidential candidates, only Prabowo, former commander of the Army’s Special Forces, or Kopassus, has stated that as one of his aims.
Under the amended constitution approved in 2004, active military personnel are banned from practical politics, including even voting. Going back to the original 1945 constitution would allow the military to return to the country’s political life.
Experts, however, agree that there is little chance for the military to make a political comeback now. The closest thing to that, they say, would be an attempt by political parties to try to politicize the military.
“It’s the political parties and figures who always try to drag the military into the election process,” said Indra Samego, a political and military analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, or LIPI.
There are more than a million military and police personnel throughout the country. Add to that their family members, and you have a significant potential voting bloc and political force attractive to the parties.
Former political activist Fajrul Rahman has alleged that Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party might use the military to win the elections, especially now that coalition partner Golkar Party and Islam-based Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, were distancing themselves from the ruling party.
Yudhoyono, according to Fajrul, has depended upon the political apparatuses of coalition partners Golkar and PKS to help rule the country.
Now that the coalition appears to be crumbling, says Fajrul, Yudhoyono is likely to enlist the military and police to help him and his party win the elections.
The issue of military involvement in the upcoming elections made headlines earlier this year when Yudhoyono said that an army officer had urged people against voting for a candidate whose name began with “S.” The subtext of Yudhoyono’s remark was that he had no intention of dragging the military into the political arena — but that other presidential candidates do.
The military’s territorial command structure, which allows it to deploy members throughout the country, is a holdover from Suharto’s 32-year rule, when the military was not only a security force but also an active political player that helped keep the strongman in power.
Following Suharto’s resignation in May 1998, the military was forced to relinquish seats in the House of Representatives and hand over its lucrative business ventures to the government. Active military members are also barred from casting their votes in elections, let alone joining political parties.
The military has since provided a detailed plan for how to safeguard the institution’s neutrality through, among other things, bans on active military personnel being present at polling stations even when their family members were casting their votes.
Andi Widjajanto of the University of Indonesia, says, however, that Yudhoyono has tried to use the military for his own political designs, an apparent reference to retired Lt. Gen. Muhammad Yasin’s admission that he and several active high-ranking Army officers supported Yudhoyono in the 2004 presidential elections through a “mass organization” called Barisan Nasional.
Independent police observer Bambang Widodo Umar said that an internal meeting of families of police personnel in Banjarnegara, Central Java Province, in 2004 clearly showed that they were being pushed to vote for former president Megawati Sukarnoputri of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P.
A military source who declined to be named said that three presidential candidates competing to win voters at the Pesantren Az-Zaytun, an Islamic boarding school in West Java Province, used military facilities in their campaigns in 2004.
However, Bambang said that police and military officers who graduated from the officers’ academy before 2000 were vulnerable to being dragged into politics because they had learned the Suharto-era military doctrine under which the military had a role in both security and political affairs.
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono brushed aside all suggestions, saying that the military is now committed to helping establish good governance based on democratic principles.
“It means the military’s role must be decreased, while civilians must be given broader ones through nongovernmental organizations, political parties, local governments and police departments,” Juwono said, adding that the military would only be deployed to deal with issues that threaten national sovereignty.
Juwono added that for the military, the gate to political and legal reform in Indonesia had already been opened in 1998, with civil societies were becoming increasingly capable and well-organized.
Along with the government, Juwono said, the military had made a commitment to a stable, democratic national political scene under the framework laid out through the post-Suharto reform process.
“Let us say that there is a group of military personnel who want to return to past times, they can’t do that because the commitment bars them.” Juwono said. “Furthermore, it is now more difficult to impose order on the people. That’s why I am sure the military will not become involved in politics.”
However, Indria Samego said that the real test would be what happens to voters in local provinces, which are more vulnerable to political intervention.
Voters in big cities, he said, might have better political awareness than provincial voters, due to better levels of education and information access.
“When we want to supervise and prevent military and police structures from being used by political parties in the elections, give attention to the regions,” Indria said.
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Intense lobbying by retired generals for place near the top
SINDO 26/27 March 2009
Abridged in translation by TAPOL
Retired general Sutiyoso is engaged in active lobbying GOLKAR regional branches to secure a place side by side with Jusuf Kalla as his vice-president.
Head of his 'success team', Syarwan Hamid, also a retired general (who was home minister under Suharto) said he was optimistic that Sutiyoso (several years the governor of Jakarta) would win a place as candidate vice-president with Jusuf Kalla as president. Since Kalla [chairman of GOLKAR] is a civilian, he needs a military figure alongside him, and someone from Java to partner with Kalla who is not Javanese. The vice-presidential candidate would be capable of handling political and security affairs alongside Kalla taking care of the economy.
'There are three possibilities for this role - Wiranto, Prabowo or Sutiyoso,' said Syarwan, 'so it's a matter of take your pick.'
He said that relying on one of the smaller, recently established parties such as PIS is not sufficient. 'So we must look towards the large parties, and we have chosen GOLKAR for this. 'We are not lobbying with Partai Demokrat because it would be difficult to have military in both positions. [Partai Demokrat's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, former general who is now Indonesia's president,is seen as the most likely candidate to win the presidency later this year.]
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The Political Rights of Soldiers Old and New
The Jakarta Globe
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wimpir Tangkilisan
There is an old ballad that is associated with one of the most colorful generals ever to lead troops to battle, the legendary US Army general, Douglas MacArthur. It goes, “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.”
These days in Indonesia we too can say that old soldiers never die. However, instead of fading away, it seems they run for public office.
That’s not funny, say a lot of people. Nothing is humorous in a situation where four retired generals — Prabowo Subianto, Wiranto, Sutiyoso and the current president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono — are campaigning for election to the highest office within the gift of the Indonesian people. On top of that, all
the major political parties are fielding former military officers in the legislative elections.
This is a throwback to the militarism of the New Order era under Suharto. The only difference is that where before we witnessed the politicization of the military, today, they say, we are seeing the militarization of politics.
To which I say, “Hey, these individuals are out of uniform! They’re retired. They’re civilians. What is there to fear?”
But the story of the hour is that a group of retired generals is going to campaign for candidates wanting to revert to the 1945 Constitution of pre- reformasi days. And there is a great deal of talk about this and that political party, and this and that candidate harnessing the resources of the military to seduce the electorate or, worse, steal the elections.
I think the danger is overexaggerated. I am not saying it cannot happen, but if the mass media and civil society remain vigilant and are not paralyzed by fear, then even if there are military officers who are so removed from reality that they attempt to carry it out, the people will not allow the theft to happen. And
the reality is that we have already muddled this far into the reform era that reform, no matter how imperfect, has become irreversible.
The Indonesian military, once derided by the world as corrupt and repressive, has substantially reformed. It has not become a choir of angels, but it is effectively out of partisan politics and there’s no basis for identifying it with the political ambitions of retired officers.
To be sure, the military has not yet ended its business activities. According to the Brookings Institution, a
Washington-based think tank, it clings to business assets that can generate a profit of $73 million a year. But that’s a drop in the bucket when compared to its $2.9 billion budget, itself a modest amount considering that it is meant to protect a population of 225 million spread over an archipelago that is almost as wide as continental Europe.
In any case, the forces of military reform, led by Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, are prying those business assets out of military hands and I think it is only a matter of time before they completely succeed.
As for the retired military officers wading into electoral politics, each is a civilian and has as much right as other civilians to run for the office of his heart’s desire. Their advantages in the race are no more formidable than the advantages enjoyed by entertainers and preachers who run for office.
And let us be clear that all military officers and personnel in active service have the right to vote. No law bans them from exercising their suffrage. However, the military establishment as a whole has reached a consensus to voluntarily delay exercising this right, perhaps until the next general elections five years from now.
There may be a lot of practical wisdom behind that consensus. Not necessarily because the soldiers are not ready, but because there has to be a special set of mechanics for military personnel to be able to vote, especially when they are assigned to places far away from their voting districts.
If you take a look at the chaotic preparations for election day you find yourself saying, “Better wait, soldier, until the electoral machinery is in better shape.”
But there is something sad about postponing the soldier’s vote. It is his civil right, after all, that is being postponed.
He is, of course, armed with a gun, and thus he cannot — must not — engage in politicking.
But in the solitude of the election booth where he is alone with his conscience, he is just another human being, a citizen with civil rights like you and me.
As such, he should take part in choosing the civilian authorities who may one day send him off to some barricade to fight and die for his country.
Wimpie Tangkilisan is the president and editor in chief of the Jakarta Globe.
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Ex-Militia Leader Plays Cleanskin Card In Poll Push
The Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday, March 27, 2009
Tom Allard In Kupang, West Timor
EURICO GUTERRES - the militia leader found guilty and then acquitted of crimes against humanity during East Timor's violence-soaked birth as a nation - is hoping to catapult himself into Indonesia's national parliament, raising concerns any victory would greatly enhance his finances and influence.
Campaigning to represent one of Indonesia's poorest provinces, Guterres retains strong support among the pro-integrationist refugees from East Timor.
He is regarded as a national hero by many Indonesians, despite detailed allegations of his incitement of murderous rampages in 1999.
In an interview with the Herald, Guterres denied he had any links with the Indonesian security establishment that sponsored his Aitarak (Thorn) militia in East Timor. He described himself as a mediator and advocate for the downtrodden.
"The living conditions at the refugee camps here are not good. They are being neglected," he said. "There are some who wish to return to Timor Leste [East Timor]. That's why I wanted to run, because I wanted to make sure, if and when they return, they will be accepted well."
Guterres lives in Kupang, the capital of West Timor, but has been campaigning for the past week in the towns and villages along the border with East Timor, where most of the refugees from the 1999 conflict live.
The region's living conditions remain harsh. Local media reported the deaths of six children due to malnutrition this month. The area is also rife with smuggling of fuel, drugs and, in some instances, weapons into East Timor, say police sources.
Guterres was accused of orchestrating a militia attack on the house of a prominent pro-independence activist, Manuel Carrascalao, in 1999, which resulted in 12 deaths. This allegation was the centrepiece of his indictment on charges of crimes against humanity.
He also made an infamous speech in East Timor's capital Dili, declaring the country would become a "sea of fire" if East Timorese voted for independence.
Guterres served two years of a 10-year sentence before being acquitted and released last year. He is the only person ever jailed in Indonesia for the abuses in East Timor in 1999.
"What happened in Timor Leste for me is in the past. I was tried, I was in prison, but the Supreme Court found me not guilty," Guterres said. "I have never killed anyone, nor issued orders to kill anyone. But, because I was the leader then, people assume the killings was done under my order."
Ed Rees, a Timor analyst and security consultant, warned that Guterres had the "ability to be a problem" if elected to Parliament and is probably still "ultimately answerable" to military figures in Jakarta, retired or otherwise.
Prabowo Subianto is the Indonesian military counter-intelligence officer widely credited with enticing Guterres to become a spy and later a militia leader for Jakarta. Mr Subianto went on to head the notorious special forces unit Kopassus and is now running a well-financed bid for Indonesia's presidency.
"The people in [West Timor's border area] aren't having a great time," Mr Rees said. "If Guterres was given money and direction, there's certainly a lot of tinder for a fire."
Indonesia's Parliament is notoriously corrupt and its representatives are well remunerated by local standards.
Reflecting the flexible ideologies of many Indonesian political parties, Guterres, a Catholic, is running for the National Mandate Party (PAN), which has its roots in the moderate Indonesian Islamic movement Muhammadiyah.
PAN secured about 10 per cent of parliamentary seats in the last election. It is not traditionally strong in West Timor but Guterres's high profile means few pundits are writing off his chances.
And, despite his murky past, Guterres is promoting himself as a political cleanskin and bemoaning the justice system.
"There's corruption everywhere, but no one has been arrested. I want to change all that."
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The Big Issue: Female Candidates Face Rocky Road to Election
The Jakarta Globe
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Hera Diani
It was only 10:15 on Sunday morning, but Nursanita Nasution was already speeding along in her car to make her second appointment of the day. It’s campaign time, and the legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, has a jam-packed schedule to woo voters in her bid for a second term.
Nursanita had just finished addressing a prayer session in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, one of the electoral districts she represents. Her next stop was a party charity event in a Gandaria, South Jakarta, slum. After that, she had a school reunion — a chance to reach out to more potential voters — before flying off to Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi province, where she was booked to campaign for the party.
Just a couple hours earlier, the 48-year-old Nursanita was still home, preparing breakfast for her seven children aged 13 to 21.
“I know, it’s a lot. But after five boys, I wanted a girl and instead got two,” she said, laughing.
“The downside is, I can’t find a maid. No maid stays for long because there are just too many children. So, we’re doing all the chores on our own,” she said, pointing to her husband polishing their car.
During breakfast, Nursanita said female candidates remained a mere commodity in her party, brought in as part of an attempt to reach the 30 percent quota for female candidates.
“Party policy is not discriminative, but in practice it is. Female candidates are not given the same access and resources. In a recent campaign rally, for example, none of the female candidates were given the chance to speak up,” said Nursanita, who taught economics at the University of Indonesia before assuming a seat at the House of Representatives in 2004.
Moreover, although Nursanita and other female party members have formed women’s groups that run charities in 1,000 areas across the country, it was male candidates who got the political benefit from the organization.
“We are the ones who build the women’s communities, but then its the male candidates who get to approach them,” she said.
"It’s still the fact that it’s those with a lot of money who win, and men are still the ones with the wealth — female candidates get sidelined."
Apong Herlina
Patriarchy is still deeply entrenched in the party, she said, and “pity the children if the mothers are running in the election” is a sentiment that has been heard on the campaign trail.
“Islam does not discriminate against women. There is a story of a heroine named Nusaibah who saved the Prophet Muhammad during a war, which means that even women get to fight in battle,” Nursanita said.
Entrenched attitudes, in addition to a recent Constitutional Court ruling, she said, make competing in the legislative elections difficult for women.
The Constitutional Court ruled in December that only the candidates earning the most votes in the legislative elections, regardless of gender, are entitled to legislative seats. That, in effect, modified the previous electoral system, whereby political parties receiving the most votes then decided which of their candidates would take the actual seats, and at least one of a party’s three winning candidates in an electoral region had
to be a woman.
Data from the National Commission on Violence against Women showed that there were only 65 female legislators in the House, or 11.6 percent of the total House members. Observers and activists said that the House has long been dominated by male lawmakers who produced laws that have marginalized women. Female legislators, on the other hand, they say, have successfully helped bring about several key laws, such as those on children’s protection and human trafficking.
Some of Nursanita’s fellow female candidates said they did not face much discrimination related to gender.
Priscillia Suntoso, legislative candidate from the Democratic Party, claimed gender had never been an obstacle for her on the campaign trail, unlike the issue of ethnicity and religion.
“I never encountered any problems or discrimination because I’m a woman. I do, however, face discrimination because I’m of Chinese descent and a Catholic,” said Priscillia, an immigration lawyer who represents Pangkal Pinang in Bangka and Belitung province.
Apong Herlina, a noted labor activist and legislative candidate from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, said the only gender-related issue she had ever faced was how the party rarely ranked female candidates first on the party list.
“In Jakarta, for example, no woman candidate was ranked first on the list. Is it because women are less capable? Are we not good? I have no idea, that’s the party policy,” she said.
Her biggest concern, however, shared by Nursanita and Priscillia alike, was how voters still expected money from candidates.
“It is really sad how the general elections are still seen as a festive celebration where candidates spend money. And it’s really difficult to change that because people are so used to it,” Apong said.
Neither Apong, Priscillia nor Nursanita said they were willing to hand out cash.
“The bottom line is, most female candidates don’t have much money,” Apong said.
“So, female candidates may not face gender discrimination during the campaign. But still, money talks. Since it’s still the fact that it’s those with a lot of money who win, and men are still the ones with the wealth — female candidates are getting sidelined,” she added.
Still, Nursanita remained optimistic that her gender was an asset in the campaign. During the prayer session, she reiterated the Nusaibah story. She said it was important to vote for women so that more regulations favorable to women and children were passed, and she claimed that women were much less corrupt than their male counterparts.
“Do you know how many legislators are arrested because of corruption as of today? Nine! Do you know how many of them are women? None!” she told prospective voters.
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Women to Reveal Polygamous Candidates
The Jakarta Post
March 27, 2009
JAKARTA: Women's activists will publish the names of legislative candidates they allege have committed violence against women, including those practicing polygamy.
"We will call on women to vote against polygamous legislative candidates. For us, such a practice is classified as violence against women," the coordinator of Indonesia Women's Solidarity, Yeni Rosa Damayanti, said Thursday.
"How can they promote women's rights in parliament if they don't respect women?"
She said the solidarity had found 100 legislative candidates who had more than one wife.
"Many of them denied it when we tried to verify their marital status," she said.
She added a number of political party leaders were also found practicing polygamy, but attempted to conceal it from the public.
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Coalition building problems in a presidential system
The Jakarta Post
March 25, 2009
Cecep Effendi
Op-Ed
Observing the current political campaign, where candidates for parliamentary election vie for attention with candidates for presidential election in the media and in the streets, one may forget the connection between the president and the legislative body can be source of political friction in the presidential system.
Indonesia’s politics in the last decade has shown the problematic relationship between the president and the
parliament.
Latin America, where presidential systems were adopted in the 19th century, has shown a high degree of fragility between democracy and authoritarianism. A presidential system with a multi-party system is something at odds with one another. The only country where a presidential system is solidly entrenched
is the United States of America. But the United States is more of an exception than a rule.
The root of political instability in presidential systems is the division of authority between the president and the parliament. Relations between the two political institutions are characterized by mutual independence. In the parliamentary system, the relationship between the executive and the legislative is described as one of mutual dependence.
Three factors are responsible for the instability of the presidential system. These are lack of incentive to build a coalition between the president and the political parties in parliament, lack of party capacity to discipline their members in parliament and incapacitation of the presidential system due to lack of support in parliament.
Indonesia can be an interesting case study where these three factors stand in the way of an effective presidential system.
As Election Day nears, politicians start talking about the need to build a grand coalition. Politicians seemingly expect that if a grand coalition between big political parties can be established, it will not only help to win the presidential election, but also help to build a strong and effective presidential system.
If this thing can really be established, the very purpose of requiring 20 percent of the total number of seats in the parliament or 25 percent of the total valid votes during the parliamentary election, the Presidential Election Law can be implemented.
The call for building a grand coalition that will help to build a strong and effective presidential system has its roots in when the speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais engineered the election of Abdurrahman Wahid as Indonesia’s fourth president through a coalition consisting mostly of Islamic parties. But people forget that the same political parties were also responsible for president Abdurrahman Wahid’s downfall when parliament impeached his presidency.
Prior to the presidential election in 2004, Akbar Tandjung, chairman of the Golkar Party talked about a people’s coalition between the Golkar Party and Indonesia’s Democratic Party of Struggle chaired by president Megawati. But once Akbar was removed from his party chairmanship in December 2004, the Golkar Party simply turned its back and launched a campaign against president Megawati and rallied behind Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The people’s coalition simply collapsed without much ado.
In a parliamentary system, one can easily talk about the government and the opposition, and politicians behave accordingly. The division between the government and the opposition is clearly defined. Although Malaysia has a large number of political parties, one can simply talk about Barisan Nasional on the one hand and Pakatan Rakyat on the other. Mutual dependence between the government and the parliament has led to the formation of political coalitions.
The president’s relationship with parliament is a different story. Both of the political institutions have a degree of security in that each will serve until the end of their term. Since the threat of dissolving a parliament is not possible in the presidential system, parliament members act more like independent parliamentary representatives rather than parliamentary representatives based on party affiliation. So the
relationship between the government and the parliament is more of a relationship between government officials and individual parliament members. No solid coalition divides parliament members between the government and the opposition.
Observing debates in the parliament from the government’s benches, between ministers and members of parliament, one can notice that even political parties that belong to the president question the government’s proposed bills and behave like other political parties.
The government regards building a common position with the political parties that belong to the government side, before presenting a draft bill to the parliament, is not needed. As a result, the effectiveness of running the government is compromised, because in every strategic decision a lengthy and tiring debate with parliament members is a must, simply because the government does not get clear-cut support.
The writer is former American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow at the United States House of Representatives in Washington DC and the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.
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Human rights checklist for Indonesia
United Press International (UPI)
March 25, 2009
Ricky Gunawan
Jakarta, Indonesia — Campaigning has begun for Indonesia’s general election on April 9. There are 44 political parties and literally hundreds of thousands of candidates competing for seats in the national and local legislative bodies.
From the main streets in big cities to alleys in small villages
there is a profusion of banners, posters and flags. But what is lacking among the myriad campaign tools is a clear message as to each candidate’s platform, including their human rights agenda.
President Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono’s administration is in debt concerning human rights there are so many human rights conventions that should have been ratified during his five years’ presidency, but some are overdue. For example, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court should have been ratified in 2008, but there is no visible sign that it will be ratified by Election Day. Ratifying this statute would send a
strong signal that Yodhoyono is committed to preventing human rights violations.
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, according to the Indonesian National Action Plan on Human Rights of 2004-2009, should have been ratified in 2007. Two years have passed and yet there is no sign that the convention will soon be ratified.
Another key human rights document which is in arrears is the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Indonesia was expected to ratify this in 2008. The ratification of this protocol would strengthen the struggle to erase torture in Indonesia.
Once the OPCAT is ratified, the government should establish a national preventive mechanism that provides for the regular examination of the treatment of detainees. This would be a good starting point for the government to guarantee that the practice of torture does not occur in the country.
On top of that, the long-awaited Indonesian Penal Code and Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code have not yet been enacted. It is odd that some unimportant laws have been hastily enacted by the Parliament and president, while laws that are essential to the protection of human rights have been on the waiting list for
more than five years.
Apart from these conventions and laws that must be passed, there are many human rights violations that should be addressed by the government without further delay. Victims of past human rights violations such as the 1965 massacre, the Tanjung Priok case in 1984, the Talangsari case in 1989, and the May riot and
kidnapping and killings of activists in 1998 have not been compensated. They have not been offered restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and guarantees that such acts will not reoccur.
Without belittling other human rights cases, there have been two major occurrences under the present administration the assassination of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib and the Lapindo mud flow that displaced hundreds of families.
Munir was poisoned during a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on the national airline, Garuda Indonesia Airways. The pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment while the alleged instigator, Muchdi Purwopranjono, was acquitted. Anyone who has followed this case is still wondering who ordered Pollycarpus to kill Munir.
The Lapindo mud flow case is entering its third anniversary this year. The Lapindo Brantas Corporation whose drilling for gas set off a huge flow of mud that forced thousands of people to flee their homes has repeatedly failed to compensate the victims. The government has not succeeded in enforcing the law
and prosecuting those responsible.
Yodhoyono is likely to be running for another term as president, backed by the Democratic Party. Many victims of human rights abuses feel he has failed to keep his promise to resolve their cases. He still has about six months to demonstrate his determination to pay his human rights debts and win the heart of
the Indonesian people. If he fails to do so, he will not gain votes from victims of human rights violations all over Indonesia.
This basic tenet is also applicable to other presidential candidates, political parties, legislative candidates and others who are bidding for positions in the forthcoming administration. Failure to take account of and prioritize these important issues will result in zero votes from the human rights communities.
In brief, those who don’t have a visible human rights agenda, the capacity to resolve past human rights violations, and an eagerness to promote and protect human rights, should not be elected.
But what if none of the political actors include this human rights checklist on their agenda? Will the Indonesian people vote for nothing?
Ricky Gunawan is program director of the Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat) based in Jakarta, Indonesia. He holds a law degree from the Faculty of Law University of Indonesia and is a human rights activist focusing on issues related to civil and political rights, democracy, social and international
relations. LBH Masyarakat provides pro bono legal aid for disadvantaged and marginalized people, empowering those at grassroots level through legal aid and human rights education.
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Christian PDS party fights to strengthen country's pluralism
The Jakarta Post
March 25, 2009
[Note: Under Election Law 10/2008, a party needs 2.5% of the total vote to be allowed to occupy a seat in Parliament. In 2004, the PDS share of the voting was 2.13%. TAPOL]
The Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) turned many heads in the House of Representatives when it rejected the Anti-Porn Bill last year, saying it compromised the country's pluralism.
"We were also the only party to refuse the House's decision to make sharia a positive law," Secretary General Ferry B Regar said in a straightforward manner.
He then underlined that the party considers pluralism, especially concerning freedom of religion, a matter of great importance.
"Threats to pluralism and religious freedom should be taken seriously before it is too late," Ferry said, citing the India - Pakistan case as an example of how fanaticism can tear a region apart.
The party's symbol, a white crucifix and a dove against a purple background, contrasts with Islamic images of crescent moons and stars printed on the ballot sheets.
The PDS, headed by doctor and philanthropist Ruyandi Hutasoit, is one of just two Christian parties participating in this year's election. Its name coveys a notion of pacifism, but Ferry said that the party stands firm in its fight for equal rights among people of different beliefs in the country.
According to Ferry, over 60 percent of the party's supporters are Protestant Christians. "However, the party does not only stand for Christians, but also other religious minorities, such as Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists and even the Ahmadiyah," he explained, referring to the Islamic sect deemed heretical by the
Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
He added that the PDS even had 12 Muslim candidates running in the upcoming elections. "We also have no problem allying with parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)."
Ferry said that in Papua the PDS actually formed a coalition with the Islamic PKS party in the regional elections, a decision which did more than raise the eyebrows of church activists.
"We are often criticized by the churches for our political moves. However, religion and politics are two different things," he said.
According to Ferry, most Christians, especially church activists, still view politics as a filthy business tainted by values opposed to Christianity.
The PDS, whose loyal constituents mostly come from Papua, Maluku, Southeast Sulawesi and Central and West Kalimantan, is looking towards the upcoming legislative elections with an optimistic, slightly brazen attitude, aiming to win 20 to 25 seats in the House of Representatives and pass the parliamentary threshold of 2.5 percent of the popular votes.
Its first attempt to win seats, in the 2004 election, saw the PDS net 12 seats. The party gained 2.414.254 votes, around 2.13 percent of the total. (dis)
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Political parties lack commitment to public services
The Jakarta Post
March 27, 2009
[While the lack of attention to regional autonomy is the focus in this article, another moot point would be to examine whether any of the parties have paid any attention to the Special Autonomy granted to West Papua in Law 21, 2001. While following press reports about the elections for the past two months, I have not seen a single reference to the situation in West Papua which, in social and economic terms, is way below conditions in other parts of Indonesia. TAPOL/Carmel]
Despite regional autonomy having been rolled out in Indonesia a decade ago, most political parties contesting the 2009 elections have remained almost silent about improving public services at local level during their campaign rallies.
Instead of explaining to their wealth-hungry constituents their strategies to alleviate poverty and improve the local economy, most parties have taken the opportunity to prematurely introduce their presidential candidates or lure support through musical performances.
Economic issues have been raised, including the late distribution of direct cash assistance (BLT) for millions of poor families, but most of them have been turned into mere rhetoric among rival major parties.
The parties, regardless of popularity and ideology, seem to be avoiding direct discourse about their long-term plans on improving the implementation of regional autonomy, critics say.
"The implementation of regional autonomy is key to the government's efforts to provide people with better public services," Cecep Effendi, a political analyst from the German government's Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), said Tuesday.
"But this is ironic, because none of the parties has so far prioritized the issue of improving the implementation of regional autonomy in its campaign agenda."
Since the Regional Autonomy Law took effect in 1999, Indonesia has seen the formation of 191 new legislative regions, including seven provinces, 163 regencies and 33 municipalities.
This boom, Cecep went on, had failed to effectively deliver public services, because the regional budget allocated for public spending was still far too low.
Spending on healthcare, for instance, accounts for between 3 and 5 percent of most regional budgets, while the budget allocation for education remains far below the constitutionally mandated 20 percent.
GTZ and several NGOs recently examined the official platforms of parties contesting the upcoming elections, to gauge their commitment to improving regional autonomy.
They found only 16 of the 38 parties had stated in their platforms the issues of regional autonomy improvement.
But the NGOs discovered only nine of the parties stated their agenda on regional autonomy more clearly than others, although most platforms were still "far from comprehensive", according to Agung Pambudhi, executive director of the Monitoring Committee of Regional Autonomy Implementation (KPPOD).
The nine standout parties include the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Crescent Star Party (PBB), the Labor Party and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS).
The Golkar Party and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party gave a one-paragraph mention of regional autonomy in their respective platforms, but did not touch on it again.
The examination also found the improvement of regional autonomy implementation was lacking from the platforms of several major parties, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Ahmad Hambali from the Regional Autonomy Centre (TRAC) attributed centralized leadership for the parties' failure to put public services revamp on their agendas.
"Party policies and platforms tend to serve the political interests of top leaders," he said. (hwa)
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The Unexpected Face Of Indonesian Politics
The Jakarta Post
Monday, March 30, 2009
Jeremy Gross , Jakarta
Opinion
Deep in Dolly, the red-light district of Surabaya, East Java, four women were sitting patiently. On stage next to them were two dancers in tight, low-cut spandex outfits, swinging to the beat of da- ngdut music while an old crooner, replete with bouffant hair, provided the vocals.
As the women waited, the light from the flashing Bintang beer signs caught upon their clean, pressed clothes.
Ignoring the heat of the day, more and more punters poured into this dubious café, its black walls only broken by the intermittent advertisements for Guinness beer.
Within a short while, over one hundred people were in the café, sitting on wobbly school-style chairs or standing wherever they could find a space. Now it was time for the four women sitting up front to take stage.
"Friends and candidates who I love, my name is Reni Astuti and I am the candidate for PKS (the Prosperous Justice Party)", one of the four women declared out loud. Alongside her were candidates from the Democrat Party (Ivy), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) (Siti Mariyam), and the Golkar Party
(Redatini). Whoever thinks Indonesian politics is boring should think again.
Political parties that believe mass rallies with pop stars are actually winning them votes should think again. Political pundits who believe voters are as cynical about politics as they are should think again.
Such public enthusiasm for hearing candidates speak was repeated across Indonesia: in Maros and Gowa, Malang and Banda Aceh. While meetings were held in different types of venues, common to them all was that candidates had to talk about the things the voters asked. These were definitely not meetings at which
candidates could speak down to voters using nicely worded platitudes.
The key to the success of these meetings was that they were organized by local civil society organizations with the aim of giving the electorate a real opportunity to hear candidates speak.
This was nothing the political parties could stage manage, and it was not tied down either in the formality or protocol of General Elections Commission (KPU) style events.
Back in the red-light district, our first candidate was saying "In Surabaya, my vision will be to fight for our needs so that social justice is achieved for the people, especially for women.
Data shows that there are 33,000 poor people in Surabaya. More often, the most disadvantaged of those are women."
Redatini from Golkar followed, "My mission is to ensure pro-women budgeting. When kids are prosperous then mothers will be prosperous".
Maybe it was meant to be the other way around. For Ivy from the Democrat Party "My vision and mission is gender equality in economy, politics and culture."
Then it was time for questions from the floor. One person in the audience chimed "In a red light district, there is a lot of violence against women and children so they need more attention and to be better protected, especially when so many are infected by HIV.
I think the red light district should be legalized as long as there is no trafficking. Do you agree to legalize this area?" Other questions followed about trafficking, child protection, flooding, polygamy, reproductive healthcare, and care for the elderly.
Interestingly, while no candidate said they would close Dolly, the largest red-light district area in Indonesia, candidates were also free from having to respond to any difficult questions about the global economy and its impact on Surabaya, or their budgeting priorities.
Perhaps it would have been very different if alongside the civil society activists, Dolly residents and regulars there had also been some business people in the audience.
Such enthusiasm to hear candidates respond to questions that concern people in their everyday lives remains high; there was very little sign of political apathy in this café.
Perhaps one needs to distinguish between political apathy and disappointment and disenchantment in what they see going on in national and local legislatures around the country, as legislators continue to be detained, arrested and sentenced for corruption.
Events such as this candidate debate for women candidates in Surabaya are all too rare. But if such events were more accessible to the wider public, there would undoubtedly be a large demand to attend.
As one guest said, through this debate, she was now going to vote for the woman she thought was the best candidate - and that candidate was not from a party she would have otherwise voted for.
For over two hours constituents spoke and questioned their candidates directly, and when the candidates went quiet, the women in spandex took center-stage again. And the old man crooned in the way politicians do at their political rallies.
The writer is Elections Program Manager, The Asia Foundation, Jakarta.
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Millions of unregistered migrant workers will skip polls
The Jakarta Post
March 31, 2009
Adianto P. Simamora and Abdul Khalik
The General Elections Commission (KPU) has admitted many Indonesian citizens working ‘illegally’ overseas are still not registered to vote in the April 9 legislative elections.
“It is very possible many ‘illegal’ workers will remain unregistered for the elections because we don’t know their addresses or where they work,” KPU member Syamsulbahri told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
“The PPLN has applied some tactics to attract migrant workers to register for the elections, including registering online, but none of these ‘illegal’ workers have responded.”
The Overseas Elections Committee Members (PPLN) organizes the legislative elections overseas.
“The PPLN also made a string of announcements at Indonesian consulate offices abroad during the four-month data verification period,” he said.
Foreign Ministry director for protection of Indonesian citizens overseas, Teguh Wardoyo, said the Indonesian representatives overseas could only register legal workers and those who reported themselves to the Indonesian embassy in the respective country they were working in. “Of course, we do not count those
who are working illegally or do not report themselves,” he said.
Syamsulbahri and Teguh commented on the figures after Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno said Sunday around 4.6 million Indonesian migrant workers remained unregistered just a
little over a week before the election.
Erman said the high number of unregistered voters was due to the lack of information made public by the KPU in the lead up to the elections.
The KPU announced the final list of eligible voters last year. It features more than 171 million names, including 1.5 million Indonesians living abroad.
The polls body then revised the final voter list to a total of 1,475,847.
More than six million Indonesian work overseas, 2.8 million in Malaysia, 1.2 million in the Middle East and 450,000 in Hong Kong.
The number of eligible Indonesia voters in Malaysia totalled 900,000, with about half living in the capital.
There will be nearly 900 polling stations across 117 countries.
Syamsulbahri said the KPU only verified the population data submitted by the Foreign Ministry to determine eligible voters in foreign countries.
He said the KPU delivered election materials to the PPLN to ensure the elections would be held globally on April 9.