The latest must-see video compact disc (VCD) in Indonesia doesn't show students having steamy sex or sultry celebrities getting undressed – but is all about the alleged wrongdoings of Golkar Party's presidential candidate, former military chief Wiranto.

As the political temperature rises in the ongoing campaign period for the nation's first direct presidential election on July 5, the anti-Wiranto VCD is being sold and also given away free in Yogyakarta, West Java and Central Java – and local Golkar officials are not happy.

Given that many Indonesians are bored by politics and prefer watching soap operas or music shows, the anti-Wiranto film has been cunningly hidden inside what appears to be a VCD about the nation's up and coming generation of celebrities.

According to a report by detikcom online news portal, the VCD is innocuously titled "Star Quest" and comes with a yellow cover depicting stars of the popular television talent quest show – Indonesian Fantasy Academy (Akademi Fantasi Indonesia, AFI).

The film starts off innocently enough with a few minutes of pirated AFI footage showing the young wannabe celebrities, when it suddenly cuts to an anti-Wiranto message, followed by scenes of various atrocities blamed on the Indonesian military, such as the May 1998 riots and massacres of student protesters at Trisakti and Semanggi. Also featured are clips of former president Suharto, who was forced to resign after the May riots.

All the while the footage is running, the top right corner of the film shows a picture of Wiranto in full military uniform, while below is a scrolling text that reads "Bring General Wiranto to justice. Indonesian people unite and reject the presidential candidate from the military".

At the end of the footage there is a voiceover in English, stating the film is dedicated to the student casualties, their families and friends.

Members of Golkar's Yogyakarta branch on Thursday (10/6/04) watched the film with reporters. Branch chairman H.M. Sudarno said Golkar officials had first become aware of the VCD when copies of it started showing up in Pleret district on Tuesday. The following day it was found in Tepus, Gunung Kidul, Sleman, Wates Kulon Progo and Yogyakarta city. He said vendors of pirated VCDs were selling the film because they were apparently fooled by the cover disguising it as AFI footage.

Sudarno said members of Wiranto's campaign team would try to stop the film from spreading by looking for it in various locations and urging vendors to hand over any copies.

"When this VCD is found they will be asked to voluntarily hand it over because it is misleading and discredits a presidential candidate," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.

"We will not carry out sweepings or seizures because would cause losses to the trader, so we will ask that it be handed over voluntarily. Although we have the right to prevent it, that doesn't mean taking police-like measures," he added.

Sudarno said the VCD was being circulated by people who fear Wiranto will win the election and are therefore resorting to underhanded means to corner him.

The chief legal adviser of Golkar's Yogyakarta branch, Deddy Suwadi, said his team would as soon as possible issue a report to Wiranto, the chairman of his campaign team in Jakarta and to Golkar's executive board, seeking advice on what legal measures should be taken.

He said the distribution of the VCD among the community was aimed discrediting Wiranto to discourage people from voting for him. "Not only that, this is negative campaigning," he added.

Gandung Pardiman, a member of Wiranto's local campaign team, said copies of the VCD had been distributed to various markets by people traveling in an Isuzu Panther and a Toyota Kijang.

"This clearly shows there is a political motive, that it's even being distributed in a small place like Tepus and in the corners of Gunung Kidul," he said.

He said members of his team were looking for and gathering copies of the VCD in order to destroy them. "We will destroy them as soon as possible and we are still continuing our search."

Shock horror! leaflets!

Not only is there a VCD pointing out that Wiranto was in charge of the military when students were being shot dead by troops and deadly organized riots were being unleashed, copies of an anti-military leaflet are also being circulated in Yogyakarta.

In addition to Wiranto, the photocopied leaflet also refers to rival presidential candidate/fellow retired general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The leaflet, which shows a picture of Satan wearing a mask and holding a club, carries the text: "Do you want more of the Semanggi Incident, the Tanjung Priok [Massacre], the Attack on the Indonesian Muslim University [in Makassar]? If yes, then choose SBY or Wiranto as our president! Guaranteed to make Indonesia flood with blood!."

Police ready to investigate

West Java Police chief Brigadier General Edi Darnadi said Thursday he would order an investigation into the people responsible for the VCD if there is a formal complaint from any party that feels victimized by the film. "We still can't investigate them because there has not yet been a complaint from those who feel they have incurred a loss," he said.

He further said police were awaiting the stance of the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the General Elections Supervision Committee (Panwaslu) on the VCD. Nevertheless, he said police had already categorized it as a case of damaging a person's good name. "So basically the West Java Police is waiting for the victim's complaint."

Free handouts

Dimyati, a motorcycle taxi driver in Bandung, told detikcom he had received some copies of the VCD from an unknown person. He said that while waiting for passengers at his usual spot on Jalan H.M. Sahri, a man pulled up in a silver Kijang and handed out 20 free copies of the AFI Star Quest VCD to people on the street.

Dimyati himself took two copies of the VCD home to show his family. It was only after they started playing the disc that they realized it was an anti-Wiranto VCD, he said.

'Only rumors'

The head of Wiranto's campaign team in West Java, M.Q. Iswara, said the VCD would not succeed in reducing support for Wiranto because voters are not easily influenced are "rumors".

"I don't think this will have an influence on the number of votes we get, as we are convinced that voters have strong reasons for choosing this duo," he said, referring to Wiranto and his running mate Solahuddin Wahid.

He said his team would not bother attempting to take any action against the people behind the VCD as their identities are unknown. "It's a waste of energy," he said, adding the matter would be better dealt with by KPU, Panwaslu and the police.

Iswara said his team would instead concentrating on helping Wiranto to win the presidential election. "It would be better if we strengthened bonds with our constituents."

While Iswara seemed unconcerned by the VCD, Wiranto's campaign team in the Central Java capital of Semarang is more perturbed and has filed a complaint with police.

West Java election officials watched a copy of the film at the KPU office in Bandung and decided it should not be withdrawn from circulation. "This is the dynamics of politics in choosing a president," said KPU West Java chief Setya Permana.

"In the context of ethics, certainly it is discrediting, but I would not think it strange if a [film] opposing this emerges in the near future," he said.

"Whether this will have a positive impact or negative impact, it really depends on the public... Hopefully it will not confuse people. Who knows, it may even have a positive effect."