Jakarta – The Solo branch of the United Development Party (PPP) is to sue the Central Java governor for imposing the yellow livery of the ruling Golkar in public places.

President Suharto has said, meanwhile, that the authorities would act against people who encouraged others not to vote in the May 29 general election, the official Antara news agency reported.

In Solo, PPP district chairman Mudrik Sangidu said the party's lawyers were preparing to sue Central Java Governor Suwardi over what he said was the "yellowisation" of Solo and other places in the province.

Documents in support of the party's case would be filed with the courts next week.

The authorities in several regions throughout Indonesia have public property painted yellow, the official colour of the ruling Golkar.

In Solo, the third-largest town in Central Java, a political colour war has been waged since January as the local authorities moved against PPP activists and supporters of ousted Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leader Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Trees lining the city's main avenue, sidewalks and flower pots have alternated between Golkar's yellow and either red-and-white – the national colours – or plain white, which is deemed neutral.

Mr Mudrik said a poll of 500 respondents in Solo and another 2,500 in neighbouring districts found that more than 90 per cent were opposed to the imposition of yellow on public facilities.

PPP members in early January painted over the yellow public property in Solo with white, saying it was a neutral colour not linked to any political entity.

Golkar supporters repainted the white with yellow a few weeks later, but it was not long before Ms Megawati's supporters entered the fray and repainted in the national colours of red and white.

It was later repainted yellow again by city officials.

Last week, the PPP and PDI in Central Java's main city of Semarang said residents had been complaining that applicants for new or renewed identity cards were being forced to buy yellow wallets. Golkar has been criticised widely for using government facilities and officials to garner support in the upcoming elections.

The country's six-million civil servants are required to vote for Golkar.

Last week, armed-forces chief Feisal Tanjung broke decades of official neutrality by stating open support for Golkar from the military and their families.

In separate comments carried by Antara, Mr Suharto was quoted as saying on Thursday that those who did not want to vote at the election had a "right" to do so.

But he warned that "if they try to prevent other people from exercising their rights, we will take action".

The run-up to Indonesia's elections has seen the emergence of those who advocate a boycott of the polls or spoiling ballot papers at the general election as a means of protesting against government policies.

Mr Suharto said the government would also deal harshly with attempts to disrupt the counting of the ballots.

"There will be no compromise," the President was quoted as saying while talking with members of a village improvement organisation in Aceh province.

The military in West Java is searching for people who produced about 6,000 pamphlets calling for a boycott of the polls.

Members of the unrecognised left-wing People's Democratic Party started a graffiti campaign this month calling for a similar boycott. – AFP, Reuters.