Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – A number of non-governmental organizations in Bandung announced Monday an "anti-rotten" politician campaign, asking people not to vote for politicians who had been certified as bad in the 2009 general election.
The self-named Coalition of Communities Against Rotten Politicians (Mampus) issued criteria for politicians they would consider to qualify.
These criteria included records of graft offenses, violations of human rights, or a lack of gender sensitivity (i.e. domestic violence or sexual harassment). Others included damaging the environment, committing immoral acts, or harassing tribal affiliations, religious, racial and/or societal groups.
"We will conduct our verification (of candidates) for two months while compiling public opinion," coalition spokesman Surya Wijaya said during the campaign launch Monday at Babakan Siliwangi.
Already on the list of rotten politicians are 100 councilors of West Java legislative council from the 1999-2004 period who allegedly misused Rp 33 billion (US$3.54 million) in the provincial budget (for land acquisition).
The coalition is also to list a number of councilors in the current Bandung municipal legislature who allegedly eased the way for Mayor Dada Rosada's to revise a spatial planning regulation (turning a conservation area into a housing zone), Surya said.
There are a total 661 and 1,008 legislature candidates for the West Java provincial and Bandung municipal legislatures respectively, proposed by the 38 contending political parties here.
The group, Surya said, will also verify West Java legislature candidates eyeing seats in the (national) House of Representatives.
Among the rotten candidates for this category, Surya said, are all members of the House of Representatives' Commission IX for the 1999-2004 period. This group allegedly received Rp 21.6 billion from the Bank of Indonesia in a move to smooth the approval of a bill on the central bank.
Surya said, "We will not stop at just announcing their names, but we will also go to their respective electoral regions and let people know they had better not vote for them."
Surya also said more than 10 lawyers had been prepared by the coalition to deal with any possible lawsuits filed in response to the announcement and public advocacy it will make.
Participating NGOs include Bandung Legal Aid Institute (LBH), Indonesian Forum for the Environment's (Walhi) West Java office, Priangan Land Environmental Observer Board (DPKLTS), the Alliance of Agrarian Reform (AGRA) and Kalyanamandira.