Kalla to resign,says ready to be Susilo's running mate<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro and Nana RukmanaB, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Cirebon<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla announced
\non Sunday his intention to resign from the Cabinet to enable him
\nto make a bid for the vice presidency.<\/p>\n
His exit will allow him to contest the July 5 election
\nalongside Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, following his withdrawal on
\nSunday from the Golkar Party convention, due to select its
\npresidential candidate.<\/p>\n
Kalla said he would formally announce his resignation to
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri next week.<\/p>\n
Retired Army general Susilo relinquished his post as the
\ncoordinating minister for political and security affairs after a
\nrift with Megawati early last month, enabling him to campaign for
\nthe Democratic Party he helped found. The party has fared
\nimpressively so far in its debut election, ranked fifth in the
\nprovisional results.<\/p>\n
\"I will officially tender my resignation to the President soon
\nafter everything is ready for me,\" Kalla said. However, he has
\nalready moved from his official residence on Jl. Denpasar Raya to
\nhis private house in Kebayoran Baru, both in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Kalla said he was leaving the Cabinet in compliance with a
\npresidential decree requiring government officials to resign if
\nthey contest the presidential election.<\/p>\n
Political parties must register their presidential candidate
\nbetween May 1 and May 7.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Susilo said his decision to pick Kalla as his
\nrunning mate for the presidential election was based on an
\nassessment that his former colleague in the Cabinet was
\n\"cooperative and shares a similar commitment to building the
\nfuture government\".<\/p>\n
Susilo, however, said Kalla's move to his camp would not
\nnecessarily augur a coalition between the Democratic Party and
\nGolkar.<\/p>\n
\"Both I and Pak Kalla need to intensify our communications,
\nand it is too premature to talk about a coalition (with Golkar).
\nShould we consider a coalition, the leaders of the two parties
\nwould be involved,\" Susilo said in Cirebon, West Java.<\/p>\n
Kalla said his candidacy via the Democratic Party was a
\npersonal commitment and he would not quit Golkar.<\/p>\n
\"As a Golkar Party leader, I did my best in the recent
\nlegislative election. I campaigned for the party in 26 provinces
\nand visited nearly 22 towns nationwide to win votes for Golkar.<\/p>\n
\"I also secured votes from 250 of Golkar's regental branches,
\nmostly in eastern Indonesia and Sumatra, while participating in
\nthe convention. Now it's time to prove whether I, as an
\nindividual, can win sympathy from the public,\" Kalla said.<\/p>\n
Analyst Saiful Mujani, from the Freedom Institute, said that
\nKalla's resignation from the Cabinet would have a political
\nimpact upon Megawati's performance in the upcoming presidential
\nelection because Kalla's maneuver, to some extent, indicated \"the
\nPresident is no longer attractive\".<\/p>\n
Saiful added the pairing of Susilo and Kalla should be
\nconsidered formidable competition for Megawati, who is also the
\nleader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P),
\nand also for Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung.<\/p>\n
\"Kalla's move to Susilo's camp will represent an ideal
\ncombination of Java and non-Java, military and civilian, and
\nnationalist and Muslim,\" Saiful told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kalla-to-resignsays-ready-to-be-susilos-running-mate-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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