Next president must get full support: Think tank

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In this year's direct presidential election, the nation should vote for the candidate who faces the least resistance, a national think tank group says. Deputy chairman of the alumni of National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) Burhanuddin Napitupulu said here that widespread acceptance of the new president's would enable him or her to lead the nation to recovery.

"A presidential candidate will assume power and emerge as a strong leader only if he or she wins the full support of the people," he said.

Burhanuddin was speaking after a meeting with People's Consultative Assembly speaker Amien Rais, who was invited to speak at the alumni group's convention in Yogyakarta at the end of this month. Fellow graduates, including Rosita Noer and Sarnubi Hasyim, were also present at the meeting.

During the convention the Lemhannas alumni would also suggest that the next president's capability be measured by their vision, mission, and consistency, Burhanuddin said.

Other important criteria would be a clean track record, transparency, accountability, and the ability to communicate, he added.

"That is our message, that people in the country should only choose quality presidential candidates," he said.

Lemhannas is a state institution which regularly provides short courses for state officials before their promotion and provides the government with a strategic review of its performance. Today, the number of its graduates reaches 3,500, most of them occupy strategic posts in the bureaucracy, military or police.

Burhanuddin added that the convention would be preceded by a seminar on Jan. 21.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri is slated to deliver a keynote speech during the convention, while Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X is expected to address another session.

Amien will speak about the character of the national leadership.

Commenting on the planned convention, Amien said he expected the criteria for the next president would help the voters identify qualified figures.

Amien, a presidential candidate from the National Mandate Party (PAN), warned that the Lemhanas alumni could draft a more objective criteria for president than those proposed by other institutions.

"The criteria will be biased if it is proposed by political parties, and will be too academic if it is drafted by scholars," Amien said.