Akbar rambles on to silence rival

Akbar rambles on to silence rival

Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung had his own method for sidelining
fellow party member Surya Paloh, who did not obey the party's
ruling that among Golkar's six possible presidential candidates,
only Akbar can campaign outside of Java.

Defying the ruling, Surya campaigned on the same stage with
Akbar in Pekanbaru, Riau, on Thursday.

Akbar, a wily politician who just had a corruption conviction
overturned by the Supreme Court, did not give Surya the
opportunity to convince the public he deserves the presidential
seat.

The House of Representatives speaker made a lengthy speech and
then asked his wife Krisnina Maharani to approach the microphone
and give a speech. After that Akbar sang two songs, inviting
supporters to sing along with him.

According to Antara, Surya was left with only five minutes to
deliver his message because election rules require all campaign
stops to finish by 4 p.m.