SBY-JK STILL CONSIDERED BEST TICKET FOR NEXT ELECTIONS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 23 (ANTARA) - While Vice President Jusuf Kalla (JK) has expressed readiness to run for presidency in the upcoming presidential elections, political observers say it would be better for him to maintain his duet with incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY).

        A research institute released the results of its survey on Monday indicated that incumbent Sby-JK pair is still the most popular among a number of possible tickets in the upcoming presidential elections.

        Political observer Andrinof A Chaniago of the University of Indonesia (UI)'s school of political and social sciences said it would be better for Kalla to maintain his duo with Yudhoyono.

        He said that it was not realistic for Kalla to nominate himself as a presidential hopeful or as a running mate with other pairs because most likely he would be defeated in a presidential race against Yudhoyono.

        "I think Kalla made a statement that he was prepared to run for presidency because he was in a difficult position," Chaniago said.

        So far, many Golkar party cadres wished to see their party nominate its own candidates. Moreover, an associate chairman of Yudhoyono's Democrat Party has made an 'offending' statement recently that Golkar was estimated to win only 2.5 percent in the upcoming legislative elections.

        The statement which sparked reactions from both President Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla may add fuel to many Golkar Party cadres' wish to see their party make a bid for the presidency, instead of just the vice presidency.

        On Thursday, 33 heads of Golkar party provincial chapters asked Kalla during a meeting at his official residence to allow the party to nominate its own presidential candidate. Kalla said he was ready to run for presidency in line with the wishes of provincial chapters of the Golkar Party.

        According to Chaniago, Kalla's stated readiness to run for presidency followed the emotional attitude of some Golkar elite in Jakarta who pooled strength with Golkar cadres in provinces. "Kalla is trapped by the emotional attitude of Golkar elite," Chaniago said.

        He said that it was not realistic for Kalla to run for presidency or to become a running mate of a presidential hopeful other than Yudhoyono. "This two positions would only bring defeat to Kalla in a race with Yudhoyono," Chaniago who is also chairman of the Association of the Indonesian Public Opinion Survey Institutes, said.

        He said that there were only two realistic choices for Kalla after the legislative elections, namely to pair up with Yudhoyono or to become as statesman.

        The incumbent Sby-JK pair seems to be still the best pair so far as indicated in a survey which was released on Monday.

        According to a survey by the Information Research Institute (LRI), a total of 37.7 percent of respondents indicated they favored the SBY-JK pair in the next election while only 36.9 percent supported a combination between SBY and Hidayat Nur Wahid, a cadre of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) whose name often came up in public discourse on vice presidency.

        The survey also showed that 43.9 percent of the respondents wanted the SBY-JK to remain a duo in the coming presidential election, 32.3 percent did not want it and 7.2 percent did not give an opinion.

        Arbi Sanit, political scientist of the UI, said meanwhile that Kalla would be more convenient to become the running mate of Yudhoyono. The desire of Golkar's political elite to name Kalla as the party's presidential hopeful is a maneuver that would trap Kalla.

        He said that like it or not the Javanese and non-Javanese ethnic factors still played a dominant role in Indonesia's national politics.

        Kalla is a non-Javanese descendant while most of voters in Indonesia are Javanese. So, a combination of Kalla and Yudhoyno who is a Javanese is still the best ticket for the upcoming presidential elections.

        Sanit said that Sultan Hamengkubuwono X is a Japanese figure from the Gokar Party who has a good 'chance' to be nominated as running mate (for Kalla) but the problem is that the Sultan has stated he would only be nominated as a presidential candidate.

        In the meantime, Deputy Secretary General of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Zulkieflimansyah said that Indonesia was to face a tough and difficult economic situation in the future so that it would need a solid and harmonious government leadership.

        Cautious and careful Yudhoyono is quite suitable to pair up with Kalla who is decisive, aggressive and responsive. Moreover, it would be perfect if the team in the economic sector is reinforced with Sri Mulyani who is able to respond to Kalla's aggressiveness with prudent and selective economic policies.

        Compared with a vehicle, Yudhoyono is the careful driver, Jusuf Kalla a good accelerator and Mulyani knows when she should step on the brake pedal. "To be fair, I would say this is the best leadership combination that ever exists in this republic," Zulkieflimansyah, who is also deputy chairman of the PKS faction in the House, said. ***1*** (T.A014/H-HNG/A/E002) (T.A014/A/A014/A/E002) 23-02-2009 23:32:11