Megawati says she's ready for coalition

Megawati says she's ready for coalition

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri says she is willing to enter
into coalition with major political parties in order to retain
the presidency.

Meanwhile, PDI-P deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung
claimed that presidential aspirant Hamzah Haz of the United
Development Party (PPP) has thrown his support behind Megawati.

In a surprise press briefing on Tuesday, Megawati said she was
ready to enter into coalition talks and planned to meet the
leaders of other political parties.

"We can talk about coalition but, as I always say, we will
wait until the vote count in the July 5 election is completed,"
Megawati said at her official residence on Jl. Teuku Umar,
Central Jakarta.

Megawati, the leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P), currently has 26.2 percent of the 103.5 million
votes counted and is likely to enter the runoff election on Sept.
20, challenging Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is currently
leading the provisional tally with 33.5 percent of the vote.

The three other candidates -- Wiranto, Amien Rais and Hamzah
Haz -- are likely to be eliminated.

Megawati and Susilo have been scrambling for support from
other political parties, particularly Golkar, which came first in
the April 5 legislative election.

Pramono said his party had held several meetings with Golkar
and had secured the support of PPP leader Hamzah, who met
Megawati on Tuesday.

"During the meeting, Pak Hamzah expressed the hope that Ibu
Mega would win the runoff, and both leaders agreed to maintain
the strong relations they have had to date," Pramono told
journalists after the meeting.

He stressed that Hamzah had not asked for Cabinet seats in the
Megawati administration, saying that he only wanted to support
the President.

"There was no talk about Cabinet seats, but they both agreed
that the good relations between the two leaders should be
maintained," Pramono said.

Pramono said the PDI-P was looking forward to gaining the
PPP's official support during the party's national meeting on
Wednesday.

In a bid to boost Megawati's image, the party was seeking
professionals to fill Cabinet positions in her next
administration, should she win the runoff.

"We are approaching several professionals that we hope will be
capable of satisfying the public's expectations. We will announce
their names at the right time," Pramono said after a meeting of
PDI-P leaders on Tuesday.

He said that Megawati was expected to announce the names of
candidates for a number of Cabinet positions, including the
attorney general and economics ministers.

"We know that aside from building a coalition so as to be
capable of providing strong government, we also need to boost
Megawati's image. As the current President, it is easier for her
to make political changes." Pramono added.

Sources in the party told The Jakarta Post that the meeting
discussed how to improve Megawati's public image, including
trying to change public perceptions about the influence of her
husband, Taufik Kiemas.

Taufik has reportedly been banned from talking to the press,
and journalists tried in vain on Tuesday to get him to comment on
the meeting at his residence.

"Ask PDI-P officials, or you could ask Ibu yourselves, but
thank you for coming here," he said.