Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso yesterday refused to share the stage with other political hopefuls, including a becak or pedicab driver, by not turning up at a much-awaited public debate over who would earn the right to be the capital's next governor.
Critics said his absence at the debate, organised by a coalition of non-government organisations, showed the governor's disregard for public participation in the electoral process in the run-up to the September 11 race.
Two other potential candidates for governor invited to the debate, former minister of empowerment for women Tutty Alawiyah and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) councillor Tarmidi Suhardjo, also did not turn up.
Said Mr Ridwan Saidi, one of the candidates at the debate yesterday: "The political process at the City Council has been going on without involving the public. And ironically, this all happened after our country approved the amendment of the Constitution to allow direct presidential election."
Mr Ridwan, a prominent resident of Jakarta, is one of 14 pairs of candidates from a list of 72 people vying for the posts of governor and vice-governor currently being screened by the City Council for the third phase.
Two other participants at the debate were urban planning expert Marco Kusuma Wijaya and becak driver Rasdullah. Both had registered for the election but were turned down by the council.
Earlier yesterday, Mr Sutiyoso, so far the strongest contender, spoke in a hearing with the City Council of his vision for the next five years if he was re-elected governor.
Claiming that the city's more than 10 million population was the root of social and security problems, he suggested a 'significant reduction of the population'.
But it was precisely this policy of throwing poor people out of their illegally built homes, jailing people without identity cards and the brutal seizure of becaks – leaving thousands jobless – that has earned him much criticism. His poor handling of the floods this year and graft allegations have also caused much uproar over his candidacy.
Furthermore, the former chief of the Jakarta Military Command was seen as the person responsible for the military-backed attack on the Indonesian Democratic Party headquarters in Jakarta in 1996.
During the past week, hundreds of people have rallied against his nomination. But despite strong public opposition, he has secured support from the majority of the 82-strong City Council which voted to accept his accountability speech on Monday.
Most of the support came from the PDI-P, whose members were ordered by its chairman, President Megawati Sukarnoputri, to support Mr Sutiyoso's candidacy. This had prompted speculation that horse trading and money politics were behind the councillors' support for him.
Ms Wardah Hafidz of the Urban Poor Consortium said: "In the last five years, Sutiyoso had not shown any improvement or development of the capital. There is no reason why the City Council should accept his report."
The local media had reported that some of the candidates spent between 250 million and one billion rupiah (between S$50,000 and S$200,000) to buy support from city councillors to enter the second phase of the election process. A city councillor told The Straits Times: "There's really no secret that those who pay the most will be able to buy the most votes. And there is no question that Mr Sutiyoso has more money and resources than the other candidates."
Mr Sutiyoso has declared assets worth 15 billion rupiah, while his running mate, City Secretary Fauzi Bowo, has 17 billion rupiah in assets.