WEST JAVA -- NEW GOVERNOR FROM ISLAMIC PARTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001980 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/PD NSC FOR E. PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2018 TAGS: PGOV KISL KPAO ID SUBJECT: WEST JAVA -- NEW GOVERNOR FROM ISLAMIC PARTY PROCEEDS CAUTIOUSLY REF: A. JAKARTA 1566 ¶B. JAKARTA 965 JAKARTA 00001980 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A Mission team recently visited West Java, Indonesia's largest province with over 42 million residents. Contacts noted that the new Governor, representing an Islamic-oriented party, was proceeding very cautiously and had not pressed any elements of an Islamic social agenda. Vice Governor Dede Yusuf--a former movie star and probably the region's most popular politician--told Pol/C that the provincial government was "totally" focused on development-related issues and had no plans to push social issues. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY (Con'd): Contacts reported that President Yudhoyono seemed to have recovered his balance politically as of late, but remained vulnerable if the economy faced problems due to the international economic situation. Pol/C also spoke about the U.S. presidential process to a group of about 300 students at a local public university. END SUMMARY. GOVERNOR PROCEEDS CAUTIOUSLY ¶3. (C) On October 23-24, Pol/C and POL FSN visited Bandung in West Java Province. Located about two hours drive from Jakarta, Bandung is a bustling commercial city of about three million people, which serves as the capital of Indonesia's largest province by population. Multiple contacts reported to Pol/C that the new Governor, Ahmad Heryawan, was proceeding cautiously in his duties. When Heryawan was elected to the position in April, there was concern that he and his Islamic-oriented Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) might try to impose an Islamic social agenda on the province, but so far he has steered away from any controversial steps. ¶4. (C) Contacts told Pol/C that Heryawan was focused on development- and economic-related issues. Ayi Vivanda, the Deputy Mayor of Bandung and a member of a secular-oriented party, told Pol/C that that the most questionable activity of the new governor was his routine service as a prayer leader during Friday services at a large mosque. (Note: Heryawan is considered an Islamic scholar, having studied Islamic law in Saudi Arabia for several years. The Ambassador met Heryawan in August--see Ref A.) A DYNAMIC VICE GOVERNOR 
 ¶5. (C) Pol/C also met Dede Yusuf, the Vice Governor of West Java. A former action movie star, Yusuf, 42, has widespread name recognition and is considered the most popular political figure in the province. A member of the Islamic-oriented PAN party, Yusuf entered politics in 2004, winning a seat in the national legislature before assuming the vice governor job earlier this year. Yusuf, a close ally of Heryawan's, underscored that the priorities of the new administration, were developing the economy and reforming the health and education sectors. ¶6. (C) An articulate, amiable interlocutor, Yusuf added that he and the governor had no intention of trying to press issues linked to Shariah law such as mandating a curfew for women or rules about the inter-mingling of men and women -- "We respect Islamic rules and urge Muslims to honor them, but we are totally focused on our development goals for West Java," he stated. Pol/C underscored the need to protect religious freedom, including the rights of the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect and other minorities wishing to practice their faith in West Java. JAKARTA 00001980 002.2 OF 002 PRESIDENT SEEN AS RECOVERING POLITICALLY ¶7. (C) Based on our soundings, President Yudhoyono's political positioning seemed to be improving in West Java, a trend observers have also noticed nationally. Pol/C's contacts from the various political parties said that Yudhoyono's popularity had spiked up as of late, recovering from a dip caused in part by the fuel price hikes that were put in place earlier this year. A. Hasballah, a leader of the West Java chapter of the Islamic-oriented PKS (with an M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh),told Pol/C in their October 24 meeting that the President appeared to most West Javans to be "a steady and trustworthy leader." ¶8. (C) That said, there is an awareness of possible political ramifications due to the international financial crisis. Chinese Indonesian business contacts--all of whom were supporters of Yudhoyono--said that the president had to be careful because he could fall victim to the international financial crisis if the situation began to impact Indonesia in an acute and in-depth manner. At this point, the average Indonesian was not really feeling the impact of the situation, but that could change. When asked whether Chinese Indonesians were worried about being blamed for the economic crisis given past anti-Chinese discrimination, B. Kurniadi, the Director of Ateja Multi Industries, told Pol/C that he had not noticed any problems, so far. He added that "Chinese in Indonesia live with concern about the social situation and are aware that things can change for the worse." Pol/C reviewed USG points on the international economic situation with contacts. OUTREACH AT A UNIVERSITY ¶9. (C) Pol/C also spoke October 24 at the University of Padjajaran, a large public university, located in the Bandung area. The University has about 40,000 students and is considered one of the most prestigious in Indonesia. About 300 students participated in the event. Pol/C's PowerPoint presentation focused on the U.S. presidential election, noting that House, Senate, gubernatorial and other races would also be decided on November 4. Pol/C discussed the Democratic and Republican Party candidates and their policy views. Pol/C also spent some time discussing the Electoral College and how it works. The question-and-answer session was lively, with the students asking many well-informed, probing questions about the process and the views of the candidates. HUME