Disillusioned little people desert Indonesian Pres. Megawati Soekarnoputri

[Ediacara]

Disillusioned little people desert Megawati

By Matthew Moore, Herald Correspondent in Jakarta
April 6, 2004

President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Party of Struggle (PDI-P) won the support of "little people" five years ago, but as the country voted again yesterday there were plenty of signs those people had moved on.

"In Indonesia under Megawati there is no justice, so this time I voted for the Justice Party," said Tarjontar, a bajaj driver from impoverished North Jakarta who, like more than half his neighbours, voted for PDI-P in the 1999 elections.

"I am one of the little people Mega promised to help but she did nothing for us . . . I have two kids and a wife and I only make 15,000 to 30,000 rupiah ($2.30 to $4.60) a day."

He can get passengers into his rented three-wheel vehicle, but the increases in the cost of basics such as sugar, rice, cooking oil and kerosene mean life is increasingly hard. It was easier under the Golkar party of the former president Soeharto, but Tarjontar said he could not bring himself to vote for a party so linked with corruption.

More at the Sydney Morning Herald

[David__77]

1. She should have been more like her father.

She has conciliated with the fascist elements that ruled the "New Order" of Golkar and Suharto.