M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Hundreds of banners appealing to the Jakartan pubic not to be easily enticed by the promises by made by candidate governors and deputy governors have been put up across the city. The banners, which were put up by the Had it with Promises Social Forum (FMKJ), also called on candidates to respect the values of fair play.

The banners, which can be seen in a number of parts of the city such as Manggarai (South Jakarta), Salemba (Central Jakarta) and Pramuka (East Jakarta), are red in colour and read, “What’s this... yet another brand of soy sauce” and “Like you’re actually gonna do something”.

FMKJ had been putting the banners since early morning. “There were as many as 600 banners that we put up and distributed, they have been put up in various parts of Jakarta”, said South Jakarta FMKJ coordinator Arman who spoke with journalists when they took a short break on Jl. Saharjo in the Tebet area of South Jakarta on the afternoon of Tuesday July 3.

According to Arman, the banners were put up to warn Jakartans not to be careless in voting for the governor and deputy governor. Because up until now most of the candidates have just been going around making nice sounding promises but they have no experience in running a capital city.

In addition to this Arman called on the public, supporters of the candidates and the candidates themselves to respect values of fair play and safeguard stability and security in Jakarta. “This is what we want in order that various forms of anarchic behaviour on the part of the respective camps [supporting] the candidate governors and deputy governors in the 2007 Jakarta regional elections do not occur”, he explained.

Arman also took the opportunity to call on police to act firmly and to take steps to maintain security in Jakarta. “The national police should be neutral and firm in acting against all forms of archaic behaviour by the [candidates’] respective supporters, don’t give the impression that the national police are one sided because one of the candidates is a former deputy chief of police”, he added.

As the mass campaign and voting in August draws ever closer, almost every corner of the capital city has been gaily adorned with various kinds of banners promoting Jakarta governor and deputy governor candidates Fauzi Bowo-Prijanto and Adang Daradjatun-Dani Anwar. (zal/asy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]