0 Retired police endorse Pastika’s reelection bid

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika’s bid for a second term has been endorsed by the local branch of the Retired Indonesian Police Officers Association. Brig. Gen. (ret.) Nyoman Gede Suweta, the chairman of the association and a former Bali Police deputy chief, praised Pastika, who retired as Bali Police chief as a three-star general, for a successful first term in office. “We firmly support Made Mangku Pastika in the upcoming gubernatorial election. As retired police officers, we have seen that his policies have been good for Bali and its people. He has had many pro-people policies that have created a better Bali,” Suweta, who ran unsuccessfully against Pastika in 2008 said. 

Suweta said that Pastika had introduced several programs that had improved the welfare of Bali’s residents, such as the Bali Mandara network (JKBM), which provides free healthcare to all registered residents of the island; the Bedah Rumah program, which provides money to the poor to renovate their homes; a scholarship program for poor students; and the Simantri integrated farming system, which offers cash and technical assistance to farmers willing to adopt organic farming practices and alternative energy sources. “We admit that some of the programs still need work here and there. 

It will require more time to ensure that the programs run well. So, for a better Bali, we are eager to support Pak Pastika to continue his leadership until 2018,” Suweta said. Pastika responded to the endorsement positively. “This support has given me the spirit to face the next gubernatorial election,” he said. The governor said that he would make improving security on the island one of his main focuses during a second term. Pastika has also received the endorsement of the local branches of the Indonesian Military Retirees Association (Pepabri) and the Military Retiree Wives Association (Warakawuri). 

The extended Balinese family of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is also the chairwoman of the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has also backed Pastika. The governor has not said which party he would use to back his reelection bid. In 2008, the PDI-P backed Pastika and his running mate, AAN Puspayoga, the former mayor of Denpasar. While the PDI-P has not endorsed a candidate in the gubernatorial race, the Golkar Party and the Democratic Party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono have endorsed Pastika.

source : bali daily