Yogyakarta sultan refuses to take sides
June 12, 2014 Leave a comment
Yogyakarta sultan refuses to take sides
Wednesday, June 4, 2014 – 11:49
The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network
The Sultan and governor of Yogyakarta, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X has insisted on his neutrality in the upcoming presidential election while hoping that if Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Jusuf Kalla win the presidency they will use their power in the interests of the people.
“I have great hopes that if they are elected their power will be dedicated for the people,” the sultan told reporters after receiving Jokowi, Kalla and their entourage at Kraton Kilen as the pair visited the ancient city on Monday.
Among the entourage were Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan, Sunardi Rinakit, Teten Masduki and a number of legislators from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Apart from the sultan, also meeting the entourage were his wife Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Hemas and three of their daughters.
As the supreme leader and guardian of Javanese culture, a blessing from Hamengkubuwono would have provided a boost of Javanese voters to either presidential candidate. The Javanese are the country’s largest ethnic group, accounting for around 60 per cent of the population.
Hamengkubuwono, however, confirmed that he would remain neutral and would not take the side of either pair of candidates. He would also welcome the camp of presidential and vice presidential hopefuls Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa should they come to see him in Yogyakarta.
The sultan also declined to say which pair would be the best for the country, arguing that he could not evaluate those who would become his leaders. “I’ll cast my vote at the polling booth,” he said.
During the visit, both Jokowi and Kalla held a closed-door meeting with the sultan for about an hour, but the latter declined to reveal the specific details of the meeting.
“We talked about so many things. What is important is that bureaucracy and administration has to change because the world has also changed,” said Hamengkubuwono.
Jokowi said that during the closed-door meeting he and his running mate absorbed many of Hamengkubuwono’s thoughts on leadership, administration and problems faced by the nation.
“We are here to ask for the sultan’s blessing because we both respect him as a king and governor. He is a mentor for the cultural and multi-cultural nation,” Jokowi said.
During his visit to Yogyakarta, Jokowi also met his supporters at the Indonesian Veterinarian Association (PDHI) building and greeted traders at the province’s biggest traditional market in Beringharjo.
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