Dewi Yull tipped for Golkar backing

Actress-cum-singer Dewi Yull is slated to receive Golkar's nomination to run for mayor of the West Javanese city of Cirebon, a party official said Monday.

The vice chairman of the Cirebon chapter of Golkar, Ali Rahman, said Dewi would be one of 10 candidates vying for nomination at the party's Sept. 8 conference.

She will compete with Sunaryo HW (the speaker of Cirebon's legislature), Ano Sutrisno (Cirebon's municipal secretary), Rahman Ibrahim (a Navy Lt. Col.), Sutikno (the chairman of the Cirebon chapter of the Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association), Bambang Surono (an auditor with the Supreme Audit Agency), Ferry (a retired civil servant), and teachers Salim, Maman Suparman and Suparno.

"(The candidates) will compete at the convention. The one nominated will represent Golkar at the mayoral election," Ali said.

Tensions between supporters of rival hopefuls have continued to rise in the lead up to the election, which will be held on Jan. 6 next year, with rowdy protests springing up from the rival camps.

A heated internal rift also appears to have broken out within in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), finding its way into raucous scenes involving hundreds of protesters over the last three weeks.

The protests culminated in an attack on the official residence of municipal council vice speaker Edi Suripno and the tossing of a mock coffin into the official residence of Cirebon Mayor Subardi on Sunday.

Reports say Sunday's unrest was the work of hundreds of supporters of Suryana, a mayoral nominee who had failed to gain the approval of the PDI-P's central board.

The PDI-P's central board picked Subardi out of a field of five to be the party's candidate at the election.

According to Cirebon PDI-P board member Edi Suripno, Subardi had long been chosen as the party's candidate.

"The letter was issued on July 5 and we only received it in August. Every party member should obey the letter, including me," Edi said.

"The violent protests were perpetrated by losing candidates who did not get the recommendation of the local PDI-P leadership council. They should have accepted the decision. I lost but I still respect the decision," he said.

Edi said the protests Sunday were criminal acts.

"Since the incidents were criminal in nature, we will hand the case over to police to take action. We support every move by the police. (The protesters) should be processed according to law, irrespective of who they are, this includes party members," Edi said.