Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has gained further public support since announcing one of his relatives is a suspect in the Bank Indonesia corruption case, a survey has found.
The survey – conducted by Cirus Surveyors Group (CSG) from 2,600 respondents in 33 provinces between Nov. 3 and Nov. 10 – showed the president still topped the popularity list compared to other contenders.
Yudhoyono, better known SBY, ended up with 36 percent support, followed by Megawati with 16 percent, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X with 7 percent and Prabowo and Wiranto with 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
"SBY's announcement that his son's father-in-law, Aulia Pohan, is a suspect in the BI graft case, and his recent decision to lower fuel prices, are the major factors behind his increasing popularity," said CSG research manager Hasan Nasbi in Jakarta on Sunday.
"The arrest of Aulia by the Corruption Eradication Commission has also improved the popularity of SBY's Democratic Party which holds 17 percent of votes, higher than the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party, which only received 15 and 14.5 percent respectively," he said.
Budiman Sudjatmiko from the PDI-P said they acknowledge any survey results but said it would not affect his party's strategy for winning the presidential election.
"The survey was conducted before we revamped our program and announced it to the public. We will continue garnering public support by spreading out Ibu Mega's vision and mission, especially to those at a grassroots level," he said, referring to party chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The PDI-P has been pushing its programs intensely, particularly those surrounding fair land ownership and affordable daily goods. Budiman said the PDI-P would focus its strategy on approaching party supporters at the grassroots level.
Hasan said the survey also found that 68 percent of respondents would like to see a younger figure win next year's elections. "Among eight names we put to respondents, four came out with the most support. They were Andi Mallarangeng, Hidayat Nur Wahid, Sutrisno Bachir and Adhyaksa Dault," he said.
He emphasized that the public wanted a leader who cared for the people and could uphold justice. "Unfortunately none of the young figures in the election have met their criteria," he said.