Mega tells her rivals to stop mocking her

Tiarma Siboro and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri warned her political rivals on Monday to stop ridiculing her if they wanted to be considered as her possible running mates in the country's first direct presidential election on July 7.

Speaking Javanese in front of tens of thousands of supporters in the Lampung province of Sumatra on Monday, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader said she would only choose a "pleasant" and cooperative person to become her vice president if she won the presidential election.

"Even before becoming my running mate they have already mocked me -- should this happen every day (if I were re-elected) I would get a big headache," Megawati said.

She then joked that as she was quite beautiful, it would be natural for her to have a good-looking as well as a qualified vice president.

"Give me advice on the best person to be my running mate," she asked the crowd.

Megawati has kept the possible identity of her vice presidential running mate open, saying she could establish a coalition with religious leaders, or any candidate that could ensure a win in the first round of the presidential elections. She has also not ruled out the possibility of maintaining incumbent Vice President Hamzah Haz as her partner.

Meanwhile, the National Awakening Party (PKB) has stepped up its efforts to find its presidential candidate, although founder Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid remains its official nominee. The almost-blind Gus Dur lost his presidential seat in 2001 after being involved in a nearly two-year conflict with the House of Representatives (DPR). He was replaced by his then-vice president Megawati.

PKB chairman Alwi Shihab said on Monday the party wanted to select the newly resigned coordinating minister for political and security affairs Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as Gus Dur's running mate.

"The PKB has proposed Pak Susilo be our vice presidential candidate because we consider him the most qualified person to partner Gus Dur," Alwi said after holding a meeting at Ulujami, South Jakarta.

Gus Dur sacked Susilo as his chief security minister shortly before his fall in July 2001. Meanwhile, Susilo's own little- known Democratic Party (Partai Demokrasi) has nominated him as its presidential candidate if it reaches the 3 percent minimum vote requirement to do so.

Alwi said Susilo had agreed to the PKB's invitation to join in a campaign with Gus Dur on March 29 in Surabaya, East Java.

Following a rift with Megawati, Susilo resigned from the Cabinet last week.

Asked whether Nahddlatul Ulama (NU) leader Hasyim Muzadi was also among PKB nominees, Alwi said: "Oh yes, we are considering him too, but most of NU's influential clerics (kyai) are eyeing Pak Susilo."