Mega tells her rivals to stop mocking her
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."