Presidential hopefuls and mates

Presidential hopefuls and mates

From Media Indonesia

Candidates for the July 5, 2004 election of president and vice president are not yet definite despite the maneuvers already made by several politicians.

Among the latest moves was the withdrawal of Jusuf Kalla from the Golkar Party convention as presidential nominee and his resignation as coordinating minister of public welfare.

The maneuver was obviously meant to pave the way for his vice- presidential candidacy pairing with Democratic Party presidential aspirant Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. His withdrawal was not popular.

This was unlike the withdrawal of Sultan Hamengkubuwono X as a presidential candidate from the same convention, which aroused public sympathy and empathy. In my opinion, it would be worthwhile to nominate Hamengkubuwono as President Megawati Soekarnoputri's running mate.

The position of a respected figure should be more important than getting more votes in an election. This kind of move would help refute accusations the political elite favor crooked politicians over clean people.

WACHJUDIN TJARSA Jakarta