Amien Rais launches tabloid

JAKARTA: With an eye to the 2004 general election, the National Mandate Party (PAN) has launched a biweekly tabloid called Media Amanat Rakyat (MAR) to become a vehicle of presidential hopeful and party chairman Amien Rais.

"There are three important things that support a candidate in a presidential contest: A clean track record, the influence of mass media and the operation of a 'money machine'," Amien, who is also Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, said during the launching of the tabloid with nation-wide circulation here Tuesday.

"And because I don't think that I could raise enough funds for my campaign, I prefer to put mass media at the front as my strategy," said Amien, who is a former chairman of the country's second largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah.

PAN officials said the party allocated some Rp 300 billion (US$34 million) for the publishing of MAR.

PAN won only 7 percent of vote in 1999 election.