Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Aliwaya had promised himself that he would not vote in August's gubernatorial election.
The resident of Cakung, East Jakarta had seen the low and dark side of politics, with politicians treating poor residents like him as objects to gain votes. He said he had had enough with anything to do with the city administration.
"I myself see the discriminatory practices of the administration on poor families. So tell me, what is the benefit of exercising our rights in the upcoming election, because none of the current candidates seems to be pro-poor people," he said.
Aliwaya is one of more than 70 people who attended a meeting organized by the Jakarta Resident's Forum (FAKTA).
He had changed his mind slightly on Wednesday after attending the discussion forum, which involved people from low- to middle- income groups. The gathering concluded that a political bloc of non-partisan members would be soon established.
The bloc, to be called the Working Group of Democratic Networks for the Jakarta Election, will make a social contract for gubernatorial candidates who need their support. "We will issue minimum requirements to be fulfilled by any candidate who wants our backing," said Azas Tigor Nainggolan, the FAKTA chairman.
The requirements would be based on input from members of the working group. "We expect there to be more than one million members of the working group. The members include activists who joined Kiwak in 2002," he said, referring to another group, the Jakarta Resident's Independent Committee (Kiwak).
A strong advocate of direct gubernatorial elections, Kiwak was set up to reject the reappointment of Governor Sutiyoso in 2002 by then president Megawati Soekarnoputri because of his poor performance in preventing floods and other environmental problems in Jakarta.
Kiwak filed a legal notice against Megawati's decree certifying the inauguration of Sutiyoso and Vice Governor Fauzi Bowo.
Azas said that each member was required to recruit new members in their areas. "We will organize regular meetings every Wednesday to sharpen the platform," he said.
In Wednesday's meeting, Azas urged members not to choose candidates with military backgrounds. "One of our points is not to elect any candidate from military," he said.
There are currently three strong candidates for governor, Adang Daradjatun, Fauzi and Sarwono Kusumaatmadja. Retired police general Adang already has the full support of the Prosperous Justice Party.
Incumbent Vice Governor Fauzi has bagged supports from major political parties including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the Golkar Party and the Democratic Party. Sarwono is a member of Regional Representatives Council and has been nominated by the Nation Awakening Party and the National Mandate Party.