SDA CASE TO AFFECT PRABOWO-HATTA DUO'S ELECTABILITY?

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 23 (Antara) - Amid preparations to contest the July 9 presidential race, the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa presidential and vice presidential pair has seen the chairman of one of its supporting parties being named a corruption suspect.           Suryadharma Ali (SDA), the general chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), which is one of the six political parties that supports the Prabowo-Hatta duo, was named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday in an alleged corruption case related to the management of 2012-2013 hajj pilgrimage.           Questions are being raised on whether this case will affect the electability of the Prabowo-Hatta pair compared with their rival pairing, Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla, in the upcoming presidential election.          Political observer Teguh Yuwono of Semarang's Diponegoro University said that the naming of SDA as a suspect could affect the electability of Prabowo and Hatta as presidential and vice presidential candidates.          "It will, in general, have an impact because it will create a negative public perception. The people will view it as a problem among political parties supporting the Prabowo-Hatta pair," he stated.          Apart from the PPP, the other political parties supporting the pair are the Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra), the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and the Crescent and Star Party (PBB).          The six political parties have a combined seat total of 292 in the parliament, or about 52.1 percent of the 560 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR).          Yuwono noted that the Prabowo-Hatta alliance needed to anticipate the decline of its electability with the naming of SDA as a suspect. He pointed out that an example could be gleaned from the decline in the electability of the ruling Democratic Party (PD) after a number of its cadres were implicated in corruption cases.          "The alliance should be careful about making a statement as doing so could have a boomerang effect. Prabowo has issued a statement that SDA is not guilty. It should not be the case that the people construe this statement as Prabowo defending SDA," he stressed.          According to him, a premature statement could be misunderstood by the public and could reduce their support of the Prabowo-Hatta pairing.          "Admittedly, the people will choose a figurehead when they cast their votes in the presidential and vice presidential elections, yet it should be remembered that voters in Indonesia have varying opinions," he said.         Modern political parties such as Golkar and PKS have loyal followers, so the actions of their leaders will not have much of an impact. "Yet, not all voters have the same view. So far, the strength between the two contestants in the presidential race---namely the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla pair and the Prabowo-Hatta duo---is still balanced," said Yuwono.         But he noted that the SDA case could lower the Prabowo-Hatta pair's electability if they were not careful.          On the other hand, Tjatur Sapto Edi, an associate chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), which is one of the political parties in the alliance that supports the Prabowo-Hatta duo, noted that the SDA case will not affect electability.          The naming of SDA by the KPK will not affect the electability of Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa as presidential and vice presidential candidates, Edi stressed.          "It (the naming of SDA as a suspect) has no effect on Prabowo-Hatta's electability. This issue was touched upon by the coalition partners," Edi stated here on Friday.          Tjatur said SDA's position as one of the coalition's partners will be discussed by the coordinator of the Prabowo-Hatta pair's success team coordinator, Mahfud MD.          "SDA's fate will likely be discussed by the success team coordinator  Mahfud, who is the chairman of the Prabowo-Hatta success team," he added.          He noted that there was no use in discussing SDA's case given his position as a suspect. Therefore, his party will focus on how to empower volunteers in interacting with the people.          In the meantime, Agung Suprio of the University of Indonesia noted here on Friday that the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa pair's electability can even be increased if it supports the KPK's efforts in handling the alleged involvement of SDA in the corruption case.          "The Prabowo-Hatta duo can increase their electability if they support the KPK's efforts to handle the alleged corruption case involving SDA. By supporting the KPK, the presidential and vice presidential candidate pair can win the sympathy of the voters and increase their electability," Suprio pointed out on Friday.          Suprio reiterated that supporting the KPK's efforts in handling the SDA case would demonstrate their commitment to fighting corruption.          Suprio remarked that if the Prabowo-Hatta pair took a firm stance regarding the SDA case, the public would then perceive them as leaders who are not discriminatory in their fight against corruption.          SDA being named as a corruption suspect will have only a minor effect on Prabowo-Hatta's electability because SDA is not an icon of PPP, Agung emphasised.          According to Agung, PPP still has several young leaders, such as Romahurmuziy and Lukman Hakim, who can replace SDA on the Prabowo-Hatta team.***1*** (A014/INE  )    EDITED BY INE (T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 23-05-2014 23:5