June 17, 2014 edition

SMEAR campaigns attacking presidential candidates seem to be a feature of every election. This time, both Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo have been hit over religious issues. Prabowo was targeted when he started to appear in public attending prayers with prominent political supporters.
Last October, Prabowo told Tempo about his religious convictions. "I believe all that I have today is God-given," he said. He admitted, however, that he had not been the most diligent with regard to religious activities. "I am not a person who devoutly follows the rituals," he said. Suhardi, chairman of Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, affirmed that Prabowo was a Muslim and had undertaken the haj pilgrimage with his father-in-law, former President Suharto.

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January 1, 1970 edition

AFTER antigraft investigators named then-Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali a suspect in the haj funds corruption case, they examined other ministry officials. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) began with Anggito Abimanyu, former haj and umrah (minor pilgrimage) director-general.
Now Anggito, who has been with the Religious Affairs Ministry since June 2012, is presumed to have provided free facilities to at least 25 people who undertook the haj pilgrimage in October 2012. Financial Transactions Reporting and Analysis Center (PPATK) Chairman Muhammad Yusuf said he had sent a report to the KPK on the result of analyses of a number of prominent Religious Affairs Ministry officials, including Anggito. "If we have sent their bank accounts to law enforcement, it means there is something fishy going on," Yusuf said.

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January 1, 1970 edition

IN PRESIDENTIAL campaigns past, political horse-trading ahead of the election over which parties will get what cabinet posts has been standard practice. Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has been clear about his intentions to continue that illustrious tradition, mentioning that he will make Golkar Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie coordinating economics minister should he win, among other predetermined, politically motivated appointments. According to Golkar Party Deputy Chairman Fadel Muhamad, such divvying up of ministerial positions to the various members of a political coalition necessary to field a presidential candidate is customary.
Prabowo's allocations are causing friction among the parties supporting him, as new ones, namely Golkar, enter the fold. Originally, the coalition backing Prabowo's Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party consisted of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP). The chairman of PAN's board of patrons, Didik Rachbini, said his party had been promised the coordinating economics minister post as part of the deal that saw PAN Chairman Hatta Rajasa sign on as Prabowo's running mate.

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January 1, 1970 edition

JOKO Widodo-Jusuf Kalla and Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa are now officially the presidential candidates for the July election. Since there are only two pairs, Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting's director Djayadi Hanan is certain that the elections will take only one round. "There will be no central axis, especially after the Democrat Party announced its neutrality," he said.
A one-round election will not only save energy, it will also save money. The government's budget of Rp17 trillion for the 2014 elections could be economized. Teguh Dartanto, researcher from the Economics and Social Research Institute at University of Indonesia, said one round was better for the economy. "The potential for economic uncertainty and instability is minimized," he said. As an example, foreign investors usually wait and see or postpone their investments if the political situation is volatile.

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May 20, 2014 edition

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January 1, 1970 edition

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May 6, 2014 edition

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