Nomination of Ical Bakrie as Presidential Candidate

In 2014 President SBY will end his second term in office, therefore according to our Constitution he cannot be nominated again as a candidate in the next presidential election.

Although it is only three years from now, President SBY and his ruling Democrat Party have still not mention anyone who is being prepared as the next president.

One political party that has named a presidential candidate is the brand new and almost unknown SRI Party which nominated former finance Minister currently Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) i.e Sri Mulyani.

The opposition PDIP most likely will nominate its chairperson former President Megawati.

The most interesting perhaps would be the candidate of Golkar Party, the second largest and member of the coalition government. According to Kompas (below) Golkar plan to nominate its chairperson business tycoon Aburizal (Ical) Bakrie as candidate president.

One of Biggest Threats to Ical's Presidential Aspirations

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia’s second-largest political party Golkar on Monday picked tycoon and power-broker Aburizal Bakrie as its presidential candidate for elections in 2014, it said.


Bakrie and his entrepreneurial family are collectively worth billions and run businesses in Indonesia selling everything from telecommunications to coal to education. But the Bakries and their companies are mired in allegations of corruption and tax fraud.


A Bakrie family spokesman has denied any wrongdoing, saying such allegations are “baseless and untrue”. Bakrie is currently the chairman of Golkar and was chosen as its representative for the next polls at a party board meeting in Denpasar on the island of Bali, officials said.


“The entire board of Golkar agreed on one thing — that Bakrie would become our presidential candidate in 2014,” the state news agency Antara quoted Ketut Sudikerta, the chairman of Golkar’s Bali chapter, as saying. The decision will be formalised at a future meeting of national party leaders, he added.
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The SRI Mulyani Party

Yesterday the news media reported about the submission of application for registration of a  new political party called S.R.I ( Serikat Rakyat Independen = Independent People Union) with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.

The party claimed (here) that it already has 33 branches i.e one branch in every 33 provinces of Indonesia, therefore its leaders are confident that it would be eligible to participate in the 2014 general election.

But the most interesting thing about this new party is its plan to nominate Sri Mulyani (48), former Finance Minister currently Managing Director of the World Bank, as a candidate in the 2014 presidential election..
Unfortunately, Sri Mulyani has never confirm about this.

The plan to nominate Sri Mulyani received various response from the public, one of them is human rights activist Hendardi who said (here) that her nomination may be blocked by the Bank Century scandal : the unclear 6,7 Trillion Rupiah Bail Out of a privately owned bank when she was Finance Minister.

Hendardi said that Sri Mulyani can only be nominated as candidate president if the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) clear her name. The problem is that the KPK has not investigate her until now.

I agree with Hendardi's opinion about Sri Mulyani, but I am not sure whether or not the SRI Party will get the approval to participate in the 2014 general election. Even if the party can get said approval, to nominate a presidential candidate it needs to get 20% of the seats in the national parliament, or 25% of the total legitimate votes in the general election (here). Otherwise, it has to form a coalition with other parties.

So, in my opinion Sri Mulyani's political future in Indonesia is still very uncertain.

The case would be different if Sri Mulyani could join forces with big political parties like the ruling Democrat Party, of course her name should be cleared first by the KPK.
Or, perhaps with the Golkar Party but it would be almost impossible because it has been trying hard get her down for the Bank Century scandal.

Who Will Be The Next President ?

President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY)  will end his second office term in 2014, and according to the  amended Constitution of Indonesia, he cannot be nominated again as candidate in the next presidential election.

Although until now there is still no one who seems to be good enough to be the next president of Indonesia, but I am very certain that there is one person out of the 240 million population who is eligible to take that job.

In this regards, I would like to share with you an article that I have read in Kompas about the nomination of  the Chief of the Constitutional Court Mahfud MD and Director of the International Monetary Fund Sri Mulyani as Presidential candidates.

As Indonesian citizens, both of them may be nominated as Presidential candidates if they fulfill requirements stipulated by the Presidential Election Law among others should be nominated by one or more political parties that won enough votes in the 2014 General election.

As far as I know, Sri Mulyani is not a member of a political party, while Mahfud is a former official of the National Awakening Party (PKB).

What do you think ?

Related articles :
- Mahfud MD - Sri Mulyani President 2014-2018 (Blog)
- MMD - SMI 4 President (Facebook)

Third Term for President SBY?

One of the hottest news lately is about the possibility of President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) to run as a candidate in the next presidential election in 2014.

This is impossible, because according to the amended Constitution a president can only hold two office terms, and currently SBY is on his second office term.

This shocking idea was brought by the PR of SBY's Democrat Party i.e. Lawyer Ruhut Sitompul who said that SBY is the only suitable person for the post. For which purpose he proposed an amendment of said constitution clause to allow a president hold more than two office terms.

Amendment of the Constitution is not an easy thing to do and should through several steps. First, a proposal for amendment should be approved by at least 1/3 votes of the joint meeting of House of Representatives and the Regional Representatives Council. Second, the joint meeting must be attended by at least 2/3 of the members. Third, 51% of the members must be give their approval.

Considering that the Democrat Party only have 25% seats in the House of Parliament, they have to obtain approval from the other members of the coalition, which means that they have to give much more consessions, especially to the Golkar Party as second largest party.

In my humble opinion, amendment of the Constitution would take a whole lots of time, energy and cause political tensions. Therefore it would be much better if the Constitution is not disturbed and let new leaders become president in 2014.  



For details on the above, please read the following articles :
-  Undang-undang Dasar 1945 (Indonesian Constitution)
-  SBY and a Third Term as President?
-  Extending Presidential Term Betrays Indonesia's Reform

Presidential Election Disputes

On Tuesday 4 August the second and third winners of the Presidential Election on 8 July have presented their complaints with the Constitutional Court (MK).

Both of them, Megawati and Jusuf Kalla, claimed that there has been foul plays in the election i.e. existence of millions of fake votes making the election results illegitimate, therefore a second round of election should be held.
However, they both claimed that each of them should be the second winner of the election, therefore eligible to run for the second election.

On 23 July, the General Election Commission (KPU) announced that incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) won with 73,874,562 votes (60.8%), Megawati came in second with 32,548,105 votes (26.8%), and Jusuf Kalla third with 15,081,814 votes (12.4%).
The Presidential Election Law requires a candidate to win 51% of the votes, otherwise a second election must be held.
Both Megawati and Kalla teams said that their goal in disputing the results was to force a Second Election and hope to win there.

For details on the above, please click here.

Considering the above, I hope that MK would not pass a decision that would lead to a Second Election, thus avoiding additional waste of taxpayers’ money. However, if Second Election should be held, I hope that all the parties would be willing to accept whatever the result.

Election Winners

Note : Left: SBY - Right: Boediono

On Thursday, 23 July 2009, the General Election Commission (KPU) officially announced the final result of counting of ballots in the Presidential Election on 8 July 2009.

As predicted by political analysts & the media, the result turns out to be not so different compared to the Quick Counts results, as follows:
1) Candidates President/VP: Susilo Bambang Yudoyono(SBY)/Boediono: 73.874.562(60.80%)
2) Candidates President/VP: Megawati/Prabowo: 32.548.105 (26,79%).
3) Candidates President/VP: Jusuf Kalla/Wiranto: 15.081.814 (12.41%).
Note: Listed Voters = 121,504,481 Abstain = 49.212.158 (27,77%)

This landslide victory has no doubt makes SBY the most powerful man in Indonesia, therefore should be very confident in leading our country in the next five years. However, SBY’s Democrat Party only got 20% of seats in parliament (DPR), therefore must heavily rely on the supports of his coalition partners i.e. PKS, PKB, PAN, PPP which have Islamic orientations, plus 24 tiny parties. Considering this fact, SBY and his party have approached the major nationalistic parties i.e. Golkar & PDIP but with no progress so far. Instead, both parties are now complaining with the Constitutional Court (MK)about alleged foul play in the Parliamentary and Presidential elections.
According to MK's chief Mahfud MD, the election result can be annuled if the court finds two things. First, there is strong evidence of sistimatic & massive foul play. Secondly, after clarification of the "clean" vote, the winning candidates only get less then 50% of the total eligible votes.

Perhaps that’s why SBY was so upset when he told the media after the bomb blasts last Friday, that the explosions were related to the elections results and have been done by Draculas and Spreaders of Death who have killed and make people disappeared in the past but untouched by the law. Many people thought that this statement is aimed at Megawati's running mate Prabowo, former commander of the army's special forces, and the army's strategic commando who has faced such accusation in the past. But later on, SBY denied this allegation when he met with Prabowo last Monday.

For details on the above, please click here, here, here and here.

Let us wait and hope that our leaders will eventually give priority to the best interests of our country and people, therefore settle their differences or at least have them narrowed.


Photo: Courtesy of OkeZone

The Presidential Election

At 10 a.m this morning, I went to the voting station located around 300 meters from my house. After having registered and waiting for around 10 minutes, I cast my vote and placed a finger in the bottle of special marking ink and left.

Unlike in the previous elections, this time I have been confident about whom I want to give my vote too, i.e. the incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) and his running mate former Governor of Central Bank Boediono.
Although I am not satisfied with several matters during SBY's 2004-2009 presidential term, but I believed that if he is given a chance to govern 5 more years, he will be able to improve his performance.

Photo: Complimentary of Media Indonesia - Left: SBY, Right: Boediono -

Apparently, my expectation is similar to that of many other Indonesians, as can be seen from the results of Quick Counts conducted by several Polling Organizations which show that SBY got more than 51% of the votes.
Although it is still too early, but in the previous elections, such Quick Counts results were not very different from the actual counting results of the General Election Commission (KPU).

I hope that the result of KPU’s counting would confirm the results of above Quick Counts so that based on the Presidential Election Law No. 42/2008, SBY can be considered as the winner. If that happens, it will not be necessary to have Second Round Election, therefore saving a whole lot of tax payers’ money, time and energy.
Further, I hope that the other pairs of candidates: former President Megawati /Prabowo and incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla/Wiranto would be wise enough to accept the fact, so that our people would have peace of mind and our country's development can be carried out more progressively.

Election Cooling Down Period

Today, Saturday, 4 July 2009, is the last day for the three pairs of Candidate President/ Vice President to campaign before the Presidential Election on Wednesday, 8 July 2009.

According to the Presidential Election Law No.42/2008, from 5 until 8 July, the 3 pairs 1. Megawati/Prabowo, 2. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono/Boediono, 3. Jusuf Kalla/ Wiranto are not allowed to campaign. Further, the Law also restricted the news media from reporting election related stories.

But The Jakarta Post reported that last Friday the Constitutional Court (MK) has annulled the stipulation regarding news media restriction, saying that it is against our country's constitution which protects freedom of speech.

According to Kompas, MK has accepted the Judicial Review on Law No. 42/2008 Articles 188 (2&3), 228, & 255 that forbid announcement of polling results during the cooling down period. The Judicial Review was requested by the Association of Public Opinion Research.

With the above MK's decision, public opinion survey (poll) & Quick Counts results may be announced during the cooling down period. And as long as the polling is carried out by non partisan organization, its results would not manipulate the minds of the voters.

Won't Get Fooled Again!

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

That’s the refrain of the song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who, which implies that we cannot expect a new government to be different from whom it replaced. This is the song that I always remember every time our country is facing a general election. Here is my experience :

After the reform came to Indonesia in 1998, I have great hope on a political party that has been treated as an underdog by the repressive Soeharto regime because it defended the less fortunate people i.e. Wong Cilik (Small People). So, in the 1999 election I gave my vote to that party, and it won.

However in 5 years that follows, said party’s performance was far from expectation, instead of defending the Wong Cilik it defended the Wong Licik (Tricky People). I felt so upset & hopeless that in the elections in 2004, I did not cast any vote in both the parliamentary and presidential elections.

The next government, from 2004 until now, performed quite well in various fields, maintained peace & order and made serious anti corruption campaign, bringing better hopes to many people.

For the General Election on 9 April, 38 political parties, many of which have similar political platforms, nominate legislature candidates with various backgrounds, starting from Tukang Becak & Tukang Bakso, to successful businessmen, therefore confusing the public.

Further, although the Presidential Election Law No. 42/2008 stipulated that the candidates should be nominated by a political party or several political parties that won 20% of the seats in the national parliament or 25% of national electoral votes, however those parties already named many candidates for the presidential election on 8 July: President SBY, VP Jusuf Kalla, former president Megawati, Prabowo, Wiranto, Soetiyoso, Deddy Mizwar. They advertised themselves in the mass media. Two of them have approached bloggers, i.e. Jusuf Kalla who met bloggers on 19 March, and Prabowo, who according to Unspun, has invited bloggers to meet him next Tuesday, 31 March 8 pm, at Amigos, Kuningan.

As a conclusion, I felt that there are too many political parties who will participate in the next general election. And considering that many of those parties have similar political platforms, therefore I would only focus my attention on 4 to 5 political parties which I think eligible. Hopefully this time I would be able to find one which is suitable for me, one that I would not regret.

Candidates for the Presidential Race

This year, Indonesia will hold two elections i.e general election on 9 April to elect the members of national, provincial & regional parliaments; and the Presidential election on 8 July.

The General election will be participated by 38 political parties in the national level, and 6 additional political parties in the province of Aceh.
For the Presidential election, more than 10 public figures have announced their candidacy. But considering our Presidential Election Law stipulated that only candidates supported by a political party or group of political parties with min. 20% of the votes in the national parliamentary election can do so, most likely there will only be 3 candidates i.e. President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY), Vice President Jusuf Kalla and former President Megawati. As president, SBY has maximum public attention although his Democrat Party now has less parliamentary seats than Kalla’s Golkar, or Megawati’s Democratic Party for Struggle (PDIP).
Kalla's announcement about his candidacy last week surprised many people, because initially he and many members of his Golkar Party have stated that he will only run for SBY's Vice President. The change took place after SBY refuse to name his running mate.
According to The Jakarta Post/AP Simamora, Kalla's candidacy has been welcomed by elites of the new and old political parties who hope that it will provide more options for coalitions.
While The Jakarta Globe/Febriamy Hutapea quoted what President SBY has said in an interview with MetroTV that he hope Kalla's candidacy would not disturb the running of his government until its term end on 20 October.
Further, Kompas/Suhartono reported that based on a result of survey from 8 till 16 February there are three alternative possibilities for President-Vice President pairings, i.e. SBY-Kalla, Kalla-Hidayat Nur Wahid/PKS, and Megawati-Sri Sultan.

In view to the above, I hope that the parlimentary elections would result only few (5-7) political parties who will get parliamentary seats, and force the others to merge with them. Therefore our political system would be less complicated. While the Presidential election will result a proven strong, reliable, fair, unselfish, capable & motivating person as a winner.