Many in Palu, devastated by a quake and a tsunami, say they are joining a movement to snub Wednesday’s presidential vote.
A banner featuring a candidate for the upcoming elections hangs in an area of Palu, Indonesia, that was hit last September by an earthquake and tsunami. By Stanley Widianto April 13 at 9:00 AM JAKARTA, Indonesia — Last fall, Haeruddin found his wife and 10-year-old son dead under the rubble of their home.
“I’m golput,” he told The Washington Post, referring to the golput, or “white,” movement, named for the white part of a ballot paper rather than a candidate’s party logo. It’s unclear whether the blank-vote drive will have any major sway over the election results. Most opinion polls give Widodo a comfortable lead.But there is little doubt that in places such as Palu, the anger is directed mostly at Widodo and his administration for the uneven response to last year’s twin disasters. Elsewhere in Indonesia, others who proclaim themselves golput are self-identified progressives dissatisfied with the president.
Under Widodo’s watch, Indonesia’s handling of the Palu twin disasters was roundly criticized, as were its outdated warning systems that failed to predict the incoming tsunami. The government also limited foreign help afterward, opting to handle the response largely by itself as the death toll in Palu and surrounding areas reached about 4,000.Yusrin Banna, who led protests in Palu and neighboring cities last month, said many people are restless because aid promises never materialized.
Indonesia’s vice president, Jusuf Kalla, was angry, according to news reports, that pledges for daily relief allowances — the equivalent of 70 cents for each family member — have been caught up in red tape.Haeruddin, too, said he has yet to receive the allowances and the promised rebuilding fund of about $3,500. He and his 4-year-old son recently moved in with his parents because their temporary residence “was too hot and couldn’t withstand rain.
“Some of them got in contact with aid groups, so they became more humanitarian with their outlook,” she said, referring to her findings in Aceh province, which was struck by a tsunami in 2004 that killed more than 150,000 people in Indonesia and tens of thousands more across the Indian Ocean region. “They may also tend to care for their well-beings, rather than politics.”
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