title
- Eveline Danubrata and Randy Fabi, Reuters
Jakarta"s
Governor Joko Widodo speaks during an interview with Reuters in
his car on his way back to his office in
Jakarta
Thomson
Reuters
By Eveline Danubrata and Randy Fabi
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A month before Indonesia"s presidential
election, the two candidates traded barbs in their first
televised debate on Monday, with Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi"
Widodo seen faring better than former special forces general
Prabowo Subianto.
The two candidates are close in opinion polls ahead of the July 9
election, although Jokowi holds the edge. Up to 40 percent of the
voters are undecided, one survey has said.
The winner will lead the world"s fourth-most populous nation,
which has more Muslims than any other country, for the next five
years. Both have promised market-friendly policies to revive
growth in Southeast Asia"s largest economy, which fell to the
lowest in four years in the first quarter.
Jokowi appeared to have scored more points in the debate, but no
killer blows, analysts said after the two-hour long discussion,
in which the two candidates were accompanied by their vice
presidential running mates. Prabowo appeared to be on the
defensive about his human rights record, they said.
"I don"t think there were any knockout blows," said Paul Rowland,
a Jakarta-based political analyst. "I think Jokowi did what he
needed to do and that was to perform confidently in a very public
venue."
Prabowo, who was formerly married to a daughter of authoritarian
leader Suharto, relies on his strongman and nationalistic image
to appeal to voters weary of what is perceived to be indecisive
leadership under current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who
is due to leave office in October.
"We want to be a nation that is independent, that is productive.
We don"t want to just be a market for others," said Prabowo,
wearing a white dress shirt and a traditional Indonesian cap. "We
want to stand on our own feet."
Although relatively cordial, the debate turned tense when Jusuf
Kalla, Jokowi"s vice presidential candidate, asked Prabowo to
address human rights in Indonesia, which the ex-general took as a
stab at him personally.
"We had to do what was necessary to ensure the safety of the
larger Indonesian society," Prabowo said, raising his voice. "Mr.
Kalla, I am responsible and my conscience is clear. I am the
strongest defender of human rights in this republic. I have no
doubts."
Prabowo was discharged from service by a military council for
misinterpreting orders in the abduction of anti-Suharto
activists, and has been accused of instigating riots that killed
hundreds of people just before Suharto"s downfall in 1998.
He denies any wrongdoing and has never been charged.
On Sunday, he visited Suharto"s grave and sat beside his former
wife during a ceremony to mark the strongman leader"s 93rd birth
anniversary.
"Figures like Suharto and (founding president) Sukarno have left
a very long-lasting impression on Indonesia and...Prabowo is a
strong believer in both their ideologies," Suhardi, an executive
of Prabowo"s Gerindra party, told Reuters.
"The visit (to Suharto"s grave) was in some part a family matter
and...he wants to show people that he keeps figures like Suharto
in mind."
JOKOWI SHRUGS OFF INEXPERIENCE
Jokowi, wearing a dark suit and red tie, looked to stress his man
of the people image and reputation for good governance.
"Democracy for us is listening to the voice of the people and
carrying it out," he said. "That"s why every day we go to
villages, markets, riverbanks, farms and fish auctions. Because
we want to listen to the voice of the people."
Jokowi represents a clean break from the elite and often corrupt
old guard that has ruled Indonesia for decades. His
rags-to-riches story and common man approach have made him
popular and he is seen as having a clean, can-do approach that
has catapulted him from small-town mayor to governor of the
capital and presidential favorite within two years.
[ID:nL6N0O82YQ]
Neutrals believed he and Kalla carried the day despite Jokowi"s
inexperience on the national stage.
"Jokowi and Kalla are more convincing because they answered
questions based on real examples during their time serving in the
government. That shows they can do better if they are chosen,"
said Aloysius Andrew, a 21-year-old student at the University of
Indonesia.
Both candidates said they would strengthen the country"s popular
anti-graft agency, the Corruption Eradication Commission, which
has exposed high-level corruption and arrested cabinet ministers,
company executives and political leaders despite limited
resources.
"They were both successful in framing themselves in the way they
want to be portrayed in this election," said Tobias Basuki, a
political analyst at think tank CSIS.
"But hands down, Jokowi and Kalla won the debate."
(Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy and Dennys Kapa,
Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
jokowi
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