Devi Asmarani – The coming Indonesia elections will not be fought and won in Jakarta or in Java alone. The mood of the people living elsewhere in this sprawling country will be critical. Starting today, correspondents of The Straits Times bring you a series of special reports from around the nation. Today, we travel to far-off South Sulawesi, at the eastern end of Indonesia, a world apart from the hustle and bustle of the country's capital.

Makassar (South Sulawesi) – The fiercely proud people of this historic coastal city remember former President B.J. Habibie, who hailed from the area.

Their other claim to fame is that another one of their own, Cabinet minister Jusuf Kalla, is among the top contenders in the coming polls.

Local political analyst Marwan Mas said: "South Sulawesi will never forget what Jakarta did to Habibie. It serves as a reminder that we can never trust them." The man who had been vice-president in former president Suharto's last, brief Cabinet came from Pare-Pare, a fishing town about 200km north of here.

A year after he replaced the disgraced president, his accountability speech was rejected by the National Assembly.

Then his Golkar party, which won the second-largest number of votes in the general election, joined a coalition of Muslim parties in parliament and voted for cleric Abdurrahman Wahid in the presidential election. But the people in these parts never turned against Golkar.

Thanks to Mr Habibie, the party maintained its dominance in this stronghold even in the June 1999 election when the backlash against Golkar was at its strongest. Being the most developed province in the far-flung islands of eastern Indonesia, South Sulawesi and its eight million people are a barometer for politics in the region.

Golkar won more than 90 per cent of the votes here for three decades. The party had been linked to its rapid development.

In fact, Mr Suharto used South Sulawesi as a model of development in eastern Indonesia. The province is one of the country's major commercial hubs, strong in agribusiness and the marine industry.

Although the vote for Golkar fell to 66.5 per cent by 1999, South Sulawesi still contributed 20 per cent of Golkar's seats in parliament. The party won overwhelmingly in nearly all of its 24 regencies and municipalities, trailed by the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP).

The only serious competition it faced was in the Christian enclave of Tana Toraja from the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle.

But the fall of the Suharto regime in May 1998 led to a major leadership change in Golkar. Former minister Akbar Tandjung rose to the party's helm. Under him, the region was gradually stripped of its influence.

Some of the province's MPs have clashed head-on with him. One of them, Makassar native Marwah Daud Ibrahim, was suspended for a while for her constant criticism of the Golkar leadership.

The hostility towards Jakarta grew under Mr Abdurrahman's presidency when he sacked Mr Kalla from his Cabinet. The move was seen by the people here, reputed for their fiery temper, as an assault on their pride.

Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine a South Sulawesi without Golkar. The party has maintained its grip on local politics in a province that has been dominated by the same political dynasties for years.

Governor Amien Syam, for example, heads the Golkar provincial chapter. His deputy in the chapter, Mr Eddy Baramuli from the influential Baramuli family, is the provincial legislature speaker.

The day The Straits Times arrived here, the 45-strong Makassar city council was electing its mayor. All three candidates, although endorsed by different parties, were Golkar cadres. All but two regencies in the province are led by Golkar party officials.

And the New Order-era practice of ordering their district and sub-district heads to secure Golkar victories in their areas is reportedly on the rise.

Nearly half of the residents of the 62,482 sq km province do not finish their primary education. Thus, politicians can influence them easily. In fact, in many fishing and farming villages, Golkar's ubiquitous symbol of a banyan tree against a yellow background has become so deeply associated with the election that voting for it is almost like a second nature for some.

"I'll go with the usual," said fisherman Fadjar, referring to Golkar as his choice again this year. Party deputy Baramuli said: "People have been voting for our symbol for decades, other parties stand no chance outside of the cities and towns."

Then there is Mr Kalla, one of the six presidential hopefuls on Golkar's ticket. Long before he turned to politics, he was well known as a successful and respected businessman. However, now that Mr Akbar's corruption conviction has been overturned, people here concede that he stands little chance of winning the presidency.

Although Mr Akbar is expected to campaign for the presidency to boost votes for Golkar in the April election, experts believe he will eventually accept the vice-presidency. But whichever presidential candidate he runs with, South Sulawesi is certain to back him.

Mr Jalaludin Rahman, the head of the provincial chapter of PPP, said: "Managing a party needs money and human infrastructure, that is why we never dream of defeating Golkar." As for the PPP, it has been rocked by internal strife. Many of its constituents here have moved to a new party founded by its splinter group, the Star Reforms Party.

But the PPP's biggest rival will likely be the PDK, a new party founded by regional autonomy policy champions Ryaas Rasyid and Andi Malaranggeng.

Mr Ryaas started his career as a district chief in Makassar. He was head of the prestigious Institute of Public Administration (IIP) in Jakarta from which most of the promising government officials graduate.

"Most of the district and village chiefs were Ryaas students in IIP, they have confidence and admiration for Ryaas," he said.

Finally, religion is an issue in this predominantly Muslim province. There has been a concerted effort since 2000 to introduce syariah law in the province. The movement has been supported by most of the local elites – most likely for political gain – but not in Jakarta.

Some regencies, however, have started to impose their own regulations with Islamic undertones. The Prosperous Justice Party, which appeals to staunchly devout young Muslims, is also gaining a foothold in the province.

Despite this, support for the syariah cause has dwindled since some people linked to the movement were arrested for involvement in last year's bombing of a McDonald's outlet and a car dealership.

Referring to the association of the colour green with Islam, businessman Irfan Helmi said: "They want to make this place green, but I think it will be yellow for a long, long time."