Readwrotes Blog

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 08/03/2009 8:50 AM | Opinion It is obvious now that Megawati Soekarnoputri and Jusuf Kalla, the defeated candidates in July’s presidential election, are trying to force Indonesia to hold an election rerun. They are determined not to accept the results announced by the General Elections Commission (KPU), claiming massive fraud was behind incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono winning 60 percent of the nationwide vote. But Megawati, Kalla and their running mates, former generals Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto respectively, are horribly mistaken if they believe the public are behind them. The huge endorsement for Yudhoyono was a clear indication not only of his popularity but also of the public’s desire to see the election decided in one round. Indonesia essentially said a runoff was not wanted and they wished to get on with their lives. Megawati and Kalla, clearly humiliated by the defeat, are still in denial. They have f...

Erwida Maulia , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 08/05/2009 10:00 AM | Headlines President re-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says the new Cabinet he intends to form with running mate Boediono will consist mainly of figures from political parties in coalition with the Democratic Party. The move was a solution to incompatibilities between the country’s presidential and multiparty democracy systems, he said. “The presidential Cabinet [system] and multiparty democracy don’t really fit together very well,” Yudhoyono said while addressing a press conference at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday. “Thus the ‘middle-way’ solution is while we keep attached to the presidential system, our executive board and especially the Cabinet should represent political parties, so as to create good political stability and ensure that the government runs well,” Yudho-yono said. The coalition that had been formed between the Democratic Party and other parties supporti...

Kornelius Purba , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 07/28/2009 10:38 AM | Headlines “Ha ha, ha ha,” I responded when a friend told me Monday afternoon to avoid Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta. According to my friend, a dozen protesters were burning the effigy of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), as they accused the retired four-star general of being responsible for the bloody attack against the supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri on July 27, 1996. “They should burn Megawati’s [effigy] not SBY’s,” I teased the friend while driving near the aforementioned street. I do apologize to the victims of the 1996 tragedy, which occurred in the early hours of July 27, for they may conclude that I am not sensitive to their suffering. Five people were killed, 23 disappeared (some of whom are still missing to date), 144 were injured and 136 were jailed at the time. I felt very angry, but powerless against her Monday. Angry, because she should have...

Erwida Maulia , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/01/2009 10:02 PM | National The General Elections Commission (KPU) announced Saturday the recent Supreme Court's verdict would not change the allocation of legislative seats that the polls body had signed off. KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary said the verdict, which had sparked criticism for giving big parties extra seats at the expense of minor parties, would not change the decision made by the KPU and its local branches regarding party seat allocation in both central and regional legislative councils. "The KPU really appreciates, respects and is ready to implement verdicts [regarding the elections] from authorized institutions, in this case the Supreme Court," Abdul told a press conference after a marathon meeting discussing the court verdict. "The court verdict, however, is non-retroactive, thus all other decisions or rulings the KPU had earlier made are valid." Abd...

The Jakart Post , Jakarta | Tue, 07/14/2009 11:09 AM | Headlines Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla reminded the public late Monday night that his party will remain part of the ruling coalition until its term ends on Oct. 20, as doubts over his leadership emerge. Kalla said that when his term as vice president comes to an end it would be up to the next Golkar central executive board to decide whether to seek the renewal of the coalition with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party or become an opposing force. Asked of his post-October expectations, Kalla quipped, "Golkar is based on decisions, not expectations." Kalla was speaking at a press conference after a party meeting at his official residence on Jl. Mangunsarkoro in Central Jakarta. Golkar is scheduled to hold its national congress in December, but Kalla's defeat in last week's presidential election has led members of the party to call for the mee...

Rizal Sukma , Jakarta | Tue, 07/14/2009 10:26 AM | Headlines The peaceful conclusion of the July 8 presidential election - handed the incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a clear mandate to govern for a second term - clearly seals Indonesia's status as the third-largest democracy in the world. Those who still doubt Indonesia's ability to travel the path of democracy should now begin to take their skepticism elsewhere. Indeed, what transpired from the recent election in Indonesia is the victory of a decade-long democracy in Indonesia. The international community has once again hailed Indonesia's elections as an example of a dynamic democracy. More than 10 years since the country started the difficult democratization process in 1998, Indonesia can now proudly proclaim it is almost on the verge of becoming a full-fledged democracy. Yes, Indonesia is yet to become a full democracy. At technical level, the elections were still m...

Sun, 07/12/2009 11:09 AM | Headlines SBY's victory is a foregone conclusion. Everybody loves him. Older women are even crazy about his conservative hairstyle. Well, at least one woman. "My mother is a big fan of SBY. She parts my little son's hair on the *left* side so that it looks like SBY's hairstyle," my Acehnese friend complained. She told me many Aceh residents chose SBY as they did not know it was actually JK who played the key role in brokering the peace agreement to end the decades-long conflict. SBY also took the credit for fighting corruption, reforming the tax system and creating security and political stability, despite his failure in handling the Lapindo mudflow tragedy. Above all, SBY is successful in generating a good public image, thanks to his relentless presence in the media. People must love him because they believe in what they saw on TV, even though my high school teacher once told me not to judge...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 07/13/2009 11:26 AM | Headlines A number of experts say they expect the future Cabinet to be more professional once incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is officially named the winner of the July 8 election. "Yudhoyono must be willing to establish a more professional Cabinet by selecting more ministers from outside parties," Ray Tangkuti, director of the Indonesian Civilized Circle (Lima), told The Jakarta Post on Sunday in Jakarta. He added Yudhoyono did not have to heed the objections from his coalition partners, because the results of both the legislative and presidential elections showed the incumbent and his Democratic Party (PD) had the upper hand in political power and bargaining position. "Yudhoyono will ignore all objections from his coalition partners, such as the Prosperous Justice Party *PKS*, about Cabinet seat allocation," Ray said. "He knows the PKS's beha...

Wimar Witoelar , JAKARTA | Mon, 07/13/2009 11:22 AM | Headlines A friend of mine who is a seasoned political junkie emailed me the following message: "Hey, didn't you know Wimar? SBY won because of Glomar! The Triple-A gang of Aburizal, Agung, Akbar. Plus Sis, Muladi and others. That is why the total votes gained by the JK-Win ticket were less than the total share of Golkar plus Hanura." Hmm, interesting theory. So, is it true? The answer is that it may not matter. SBY-Boediono's victory, while still unofficial, is convincing. TV host Dalton Tanonaka says the trouble with landslide victories is that there is no story. The election coverage was over on television six hours before midnight, when the English language program was about to go on the air. I have a different view. SBY's Part two resounding victory is a big story because it reaffirms our journey towards democracy and normality. Just like my latest blood test seems ...

Sun, 07/12/2009 11:09 AM | Headlines SBY's victory is a foregone conclusion. Everybody loves him. Older women are even crazy about his conservative hairstyle. Well, at least one woman. "My mother is a big fan of SBY. She parts my little son's hair on the *left* side so that it looks like SBY's hairstyle," my Acehnese friend complained. She told me many Aceh residents chose SBY as they did not know it was actually JK who played the key role in brokering the peace agreement to end the decades-long conflict. SBY also took the credit for fighting corruption, reforming the tax system and creating security and political stability, despite his failure in handling the Lapindo mudflow tragedy. Above all, SBY is successful in generating a good public image, thanks to his relentless presence in the media. People must love him because they believe in what they saw on TV, even though my high school teacher once told me not to judg...

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 07/08/2009 9:37 PM | Presidential Election University of Indonesia political expert Maswadi Rauf said Wednesday’s presidential election proceeded well thanks to a last minute ruling by the Constitution Court that allowed people not listed on the official electoral role to cast a vote using their identity cards. “Without the ruling, the election could have possibly been postponement due to the problems with the official electoral role,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. He did however call on the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Elections Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) to follow up the losing candidates’ claims that election violations were committed. “The KPU and Bawaslu should conduct a joint investigation into various indications of election violations to lend more credibility to this election,” he said. It was reported that hundreds of patients and staff at a hospital in Makassa...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 07/08/2009 9:40 PM | Presidential Election Vice presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto held Wednesday evening a press conference at Megawati Soekarnoputri's home on Jl. Teuku Umar, Jakarta, without Megawati, to criticize the day’s election process. In the press conference, Prabowo was accompanied by various members of Gerindra and the PDI-P including Fadli Zon, Gayus Lumbuun, Suhardi, Mahendradatta and Arif Budimanta. Prabowo criticized survey institutions for releasing their quick counts before the end of election day, saying they unfairly shaped public opinion. Everyone must await the official election results from the General Elections Commission [KPU], which will be announced on July 18, he added. "The vote counting [by the KPU] is still underway. People must be patient to wait the official outcome," he said. "I think this election was far from democratic.”

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 07/08/2009 9:42 PM | Presidential Election A quick count by the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Wednesday evening showed incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and running mate Boediono have a commanding lead in the presidential election, securing 60.72 percent of votes. Megawati Soekarnoputri and her vice presidential running mate Prabowo Subianto were in second place with 29.67 percent, while Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto will likely come third with 9.62 percent. As of 7.30 p.m, the KPU had received more than 4,000,000 votes from the Polling Stations Working Committees (KPPS) via short message service (SMS). (ewd)

Erwida Maulia , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 07/08/2009 10:08 PM | Presidential Election Likely president elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is leading the polls according to the results of all major quick counts, says he will prioritize efforts to pursue economic recovery in the short term. Responding to journalists, Yudhoyono said that although Indonesia's economy was working well amid the global economic crisis, it would remain his priority to ensure it continued to do so, as the crisis was not over yet. "We have to do more to maintain our economic momentum, in achieving positive growth this year, in controlling unemployment," Yudhoyono said Wednesday night at his private residence in Cikeas, south of Jakarta, after several quick count results indicated that he might very well have won the presidential election in a single round. "And I have to complete the existing programs we have started five years ago when I was e...

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 07/08/2009 11:42 PM | Presidential Election Vice presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto claims he has received many reports of irregularities in Wednesday’s presidential election. "As many as 5,000 ballots where voters marked the Megawati Soekarnoputri and Prabowo box have been declared broken by local officials. It happened in Tanjung Priuk," Prabowo told a press conference Wednesday. He blamed several state institutions for failing to guard the election neutrally, but refused to name which ones. He said a joint team from the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) and the Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) Party had been deployed to collect more evidence on the alleged irregularities. "Then we will talk about legal action to resolve the problems," he added.

Andi Hajramurni , The Jakarta Post , Makassar | Wed, 07/08/2009 11:47 PM | Presidential Election Presidential hopeful Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s (SBY) campaign team has claimed it has lost around 10 percent of votes in South Sulawesi after a controversial statement was made by Andi Alifian Malarangeng. Diza Rasyid Ali, head of the provincial SBY camp said Wednesday the team had expected to secure as much as 40 percent of votes in the province, but quick counts show the frontrunners received closer to 30 percent. “Pak Alifian's [Andi Mallarangeng] statement has been misused by certain people and decreased the number of votes SBY should get,” Diza told the Jakarta Post. Data from the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) shows that SBY received 27.27 percent of the vote, down from the 40 percent previous surveys expected them to get. Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto got 66.93 percent, while Megawati Soekarnoputri and Prabowo Subianto received only 5.79 percen...

Indonesian presidential candidate and current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono salutes during a press conference at his residence in Cibubur, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, 08 Jul 2009 Early, unofficial results from the Indonesian presidential election give President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono the margin of victory he was looking for. Sample tallies from polling stations across Indonesia say President Yudhoyono won 52 percent of the vote, which would be enough to prevent a run-off election. His challengers, Vice President Jusuf Kalla and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri both won just over 20 percent. Hundreds of Indonesian voters in this south Jakarta neighborhood waited until their names were called by an election official before casting their ballots for president. The process was orderly, even festive, as ballots were cast and fingers dipped in purple ink to prevent voter fraud. For some, voting was an act of empowerment. One voter says by voting she hopes to bring ch...

JAKARTA: The recent Constitutional Court ruling allowing unregistered voters to cast their ballots using ID cards is a breakthrough, but it may not solve all the ongoing issues with the electoral roll, a panel of experts say. "The ruling solves only half the problem. It doesn't solve the issue regarding multiple entries and fake names," a member of the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), Bambang Eko Cahyo, said at a discussion Tuesday. He claimed to have received dozens of reports about people whose names were registered multiple times on the electoral roll. Director of the Indonesian Civilized Circle (Lima), Ray Rangkuti, said the sudden ruling not only failed to completely resolve the mismanagement of the electoral roll, but it would not lead to an increase in registered voters either. "Voters planning to use their IDs to cast ballots are being treated as a last priority. The verdict only allocates a one-hour period for them to vote," he said. ...

Wed, 07/08/2009 11:07 AM | Headlines With a bundle of election documents in his left hand, Supangat Arifin, 58, was busy directing six men erecting a makeshift tent in a parking lot in front of the Kalibata Memorial Park in South Jakarta on Tuesday morning. Starting the work on 9 a.m., Supangat, who chairs a polling station working committee (KPPS) in community unit (RW) 08, Duren Tiga subdistrict, said he wanted to complete preparing the polling station (TPS) early and perform another "important" duty. "I wanted to finish this job before noon so that I can remind people to cast their votes tomorrow *today*," said the retired banker. In the April legislative elections, Supangat had to handle 350 registered voters but in today's presidential elections the grandfather of four is now responsible for 650 voters. "In the last *legislative* elections, only 200 out of 350 voters participated. My biggest concern now is how to get all ...

Wed, 07/08/2009 11:08 AM | Presidential Election JAKARTA: The General Elections Commission (KPU) will not print extra ballots despite a possible surge in registered voters on election day. Following a Constitutional Court decision Monday night to allow unregistered voters to show ID cards or passports to cast ballots in Wednesday's presidential election, authorities are anticipating a surge in voter numbers. KPU member I Gusti Putu Artha said the commission did not have the time to print additional ballots and distribute them to regions. "Even if we decided to print more ballots, it would be impossible to deliver them to the respective regions," he said Tuesday at the KPU office in Jakarta. On Monday, the Constitutional Court revised articles in the 2008 presidential election law, allowing unregistered voters to show their ID cards to vote in the July 8 polls. Candidates Jusuf Kalla and Megawati Soekarnoputri and civil society gro...