A member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) suspects incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will abuse his influence as a former army supreme commander to recruit active military personnel to back his bid in the upcoming election.
"I believe our other presidential candidates, Megawati Sukarnoputri with her running mate, Prabowo Subianto, and Jusuf Kalla with Wiranto will not recruit active army personnel for their election campaigns," PDI-P House faction chairman Tjahyo Kumolo said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The incumbent, on the other hand, had the option of utilizing the military network to his advantage, Tjahyo said. “That's why we need people to be objective in making sure active army officers remain neutral."
Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a political observer from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, recently voiced his concerns over the trend of retired generals running as presidential and vice presidential candidates. Ikrar claimed the electoral fiasco that led to millions of people being unable to vote was the result of an intelligence operation.
Regardless of the accusations against Yudhoyono, all presidential hopefuls rely on the political influence of the army by garnering support of retired generals. To name one example, PDI-P's campaign team is led by Theo Syafei, another retired general.
"Principally, retired officers are civilians, so I think there is no problem including them in our campaign team. They have vast experience in intelligence and networks, so their involvement will be very beneficial," Tjahyo said
-
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar