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Beware of false promises, SBY tells voters
Power of flowers: Female supporters of presidential candidate Joko âJokowiâ Widodo offer flowers to bystanders at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, Central Jakarta, on Friday
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Power of flowers: Female supporters of presidential candidate Joko âJokowiâ Widodo offer flowers to bystanders at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, Central Jakarta, on Friday. The event was part of a campaign by Jokowiâs supporters for a peaceful presidential election on July 9. (JP/DON) (JP/DON)
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span class="inline inline-none">Power of flowers: Female supporters of presidential candidate Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo offer flowers to bystanders at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, Central Jakarta, on Friday. The event was part of a campaign by Jokowi's supporters for a peaceful presidential election on July 9. (JP/DON)
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has warned Indonesians of lofty promises made by presidential candidates in the July 9 election, which could lead to major problems in the future.
Yudhoyono made the statement while he was opening a limited Cabinet meeting to devise supporting regulations for the newly-passed Village Law, which is aimed at improving villages.
'Promises are interesting [to voters], but they can become problems and be disastrous for the country and government in the future,' Yudhoyono said.
He said that after being in office for nearly 10 years, he knew not all promises could be kept. 'I know the things that can be done and the things that are beyond our reach.'
'In that context, it is our moral and political responsibility to create implementing regulations for the Village Law that will benefit villages and governments,' he said.
The President, who is also the chairman of the ruling Democratic Party, did not name any presidential candidates in his speech.
Prabowo Subianto, the presidential candidate of the Gerindra Party-led coalition, vowed in his vision and mission statement to implement the Village Law and allocate Rp 1 billion (US$85,966) from the state budget to each village across the country annually.
Last October, when the law was still being deliberated at the House of Representatives, Prabowo made such a promise.
At that time, his move was believed to be aimed at winning over lower- and middle-class voters.
Prabowo, who said such a program would not breed corruption as 'villagers don't practice corruption, city folks do', has won support from a number of mass organizations complaining of the government's failure to develop the country's villages.
Despite Yudhoyono's veiled criticism of Prabowo, the majority of Democratic Party members are rooting for Prabowo.
Senior Democratic Party member Marzuki Alie said he was upbeat his party would support Prabowo, as he had appreciated Yudhoyono's performance.
'We are looking for a leader that appreciates his previous leader. I am sure my view is no different from those of my colleagues,' he said.
Marzuki said his party would hold a meeting on June 1 and would listen to a presentation by Prabowo and Hatta Rajasa, who was Yudhoyono's coordinating economic minister before resigning to focus on his vice presidential bid.
Prabowo is continuing to gather support for his presidential campaign. Also on Friday, a group of former national athletes declared their support for Prabowo-Hatta at the Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
'We support the presidential candidate who is concerned about the future of sports in the country,' former member of the national soccer team in the 1980s, Rully Nere, said during the declaration.
Attending the declaration, Hatta promised to strengthen the country's sports by increasing the welfare of athletes. 'Prabowo and I are committed to making sports a benchmark of the country's success,' he said. 'We must admit the government's spending on sports remains abysmal. We need to increase it.'
Meanwhile, Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)-led coalition, has launched a program to finance his campaign.
Jokowi, who is running with former Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla, has opened a bank account for campaign donations for reasons of transparency and ease of management.
Many praised Jokowi's move, but a group of activists known as Progress 98 claimed his actions could be categorized as corruption.
The group argued Jokowi was still the governor of Jakarta and donations to his campaign could be considered gratuities.
Progress 98 chairman Faizal Assegaf said he would report Jokowi to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for the development. 'We want the KPK to follow up on this report to prevent corruption,' he said.
