JUSUF KALLA IS IDEAL RUNNING MATE FOR JOKOWI?

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 16 (Antara) - The Bandung-based Padjadjaran University (Unpad) said on Tuesday that of the four presidential-vice presidential candidate pairs it had assessed in a simulation on the human right aspect, the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla duo recorded the highest score.          Some observers had opined that it will be ideal for popular Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, to run for president with Jusuf Kalla (JK) as his running mate.          The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI), which according to unofficial quick counts won the first place in last week's legislative elections, had nominated Jokowi as its presidential candidate for the July 9 presidential contest.          Tipped by many to be the winner of the presidential election, Jokowi is currently communicating with other electoral contestants, including seeking a running mate. The PDIP had previously opened communications with the National Democrat Party (NasDem).          Political communications expert Lely Arrianie Napitupulu of the Mercu Buana University said if the NasDem can encourage Jusuf Kalla to pair up with Jokowi, the PDIP will face no problems.            "The PDIP and the NasDem were already in the same political platforms. If NasDem can accommodate JK, the two sides can build an effective communication," Lely asserted.              "It is quite ideal for Jokowi to pair up with Jusuf Kalla. Both of them are fascinating figures with a non-greedy political nature, and are non-ambitious and non-temperamental. They have a unique blend in Jokowi's gentleness and Kalla's firmness," she added.          However, political analyst Boni Hargen of the University of Indonesia said it was difficult for the Jokowi-JK pair to be realized.          Jusuf Kalla, who is a prominent figure of the Golkar Party, was once a vice president in the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyno, where the PDIP was in the opposition. Kalla is also seen by Boni as a progressive personality through whom the Golkar could enter power.          "There were three reasons why Jusuf Kalla or JK cannot become the running mate of Joko Widodo," Boni Hargen said.         He said Kalla was once the vice president in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government when the PDIP was in the opposition. This was one reason. Cadres of the PDIP became the target for an overhaul, he said. "The desire of JK to become Jokowi's vice presidential candidate may spark suspicion that he was seeking power," he added.          Moreover, companies under the Kalla Group enjoyed a steady growth when Kalla was the vice president and Golkar's general chairman. "The second reason was that if he served as the running mate of Jokowi, it was feared he may become more dominant than the president," Boni argued.          The third reason was that Kalla was still officially a prominent figure of the Golkar Party. So, with Kalla as the vice president, he could serve as a conduit for the Golkar to enter the government. "I think Golkar should learn how to become the opposition party," Boni added.          Different from Boni's opinion, Chairman of the Indonesian Press Council Bagir Manan termed a Jokowi-JK duo as a would-be fantastic pair, which blended simplicity, business and political skills.          "They can run the government well. I don't think that JK, with his cultural background, is a man who has the character to sidestep people above him. He is not that kind of a man. After all, we do not know yet whether we can find a man who is greater than JK," he said.          "Both of them are businessmen. JK is senior and Jokowi is junior. I don't see any reasonable concern that JK will aggressively take the lead in making a decision (in government) because there are the rules of the game in the partnership," Bagir added.          He pointed out that as long as they follow the rules, there will be no problem with the Jokowi-JK pair-up. This was proved during the SBY-JK partnership in Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's first term of government.          "Jokowi and Jusuf Kalla are respectively young and senior statesmen. So, if we look at their respective performance, they seem an ideal pair," Bagir Manan noted.          He explained that Jokowi, who came from Solo, Central Java, and took over as the Jakarta governor, was very attractive to the Indonesian people. JK, on the other hand, has political acumen and vast experience in government as well as in the management of the economy.          "It seems that the people want to see a simple man who can manage the country. We have many great men but many problems emerge. The people want to try a man with a modest appearance and who works on what the people really need," the Press Council chairman emphasized.          Some surveys have also indicated that the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla pair-up was favored by respondents. Therefore, the Freedom Foundation survey institute had predicted that the PDIP will likely pick up Golkar figures namely Jusuf Kalla or Akbar Tanjung, another prominent Golkar politician, as the running mate for Joko Widodo.          "The likelihood of the nomination will largely depend on Megawati Soekarnoputri, the general chairman of the PDIP," Darmawan Sinayangsah, the Freedom Foundation director, said in a discussion on Sunday.          According to Darmawan, the results of a survey conducted by the Freedom Foundation across the country indicated that 40.6 percent of 1,090 respondents favored the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla pair, while 34.1 percent opted for the Jokowi-Akbar Tanjung duo.          About 24.0 percent of the respondents chose the pair if Jokowi contested together with General Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Hatta Rajasa as compared to 11.5 percent who voted for the Jokowi- Pramono Edhie pair. Pramono Edhie was  a former chief of staff of the Indonesian Army.          In its presidential and vice presidential candidate simulation, the Unpad found that the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla pair-up recorded the highest score.          "The candidate pairs in the simulation were assessed on nine indicators relating to human rights," the PSPK of the Padjdjaran University Director Dr Muradi pointed.          He explained that the nine indicators included the aspects of candidates' track records, the ideologies of the main and supporting political parties and the candidates' programs.          "There are also other indicators such as commitment to settling past human right violations, good knowledge of human right issues, and candidates' image in the international arena and their relations with human rights communities," he added.         Besides the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla pair-up, there were also four other presidential-vice presidential pairs, namely the Machfud MD-Ahmad Heriawan, Aburizal Bakri-Pramono Anung, Prabowo-Hatta Rajasa and Wiranto-Hari Tanoe.         Based on the simulation, these pairs were recorded in the second to the fifth position, respectively. ***1*** (T.A014/INE) EDITED BY INE (T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 16-04-2014 22: