Susilo and Kalla, poll favorites

Susilo and Kalla, poll favorites

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta

If we are to believe the opinion polls conducted so far by
respected institutes, running mates Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono and businessman Jusuf Kalla have a good chance of
winning the July 5 elections. But television polls challenge the
above impression.

Born in the East Java town of Pacitan on Sept. 9, 1949, Susilo
was appointed as mining and energy minister by former president
Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid in 1999. He cofounded the Democratic
Party while he was considering quitting President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's Cabinet.

Megawati's husband Taufik Kiemas rebuked him publicly over his
decision to quit, which boosted Susilo's popularity.

Susilo, who has a masters degree in management from Webster
University in the United States is seen as one of the
intellectuals among the military and its retired officers. A
number of foreign governments reportedly favor the son-in-law of
the late Gen. (ret) Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, because of his stance
against terrorism.

Critics, however, point out that the prolonged unrest in
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam must also be attributed to the collapse
in negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) when Susilo was
coordinating minister for political and security affairs.

In the military Susilo last served in 1999 as chief of staff
of territorial affairs, a position earlier called the chief of
staff of social and political affairs.

In 1996 he served at the Jakarta military command as chief of
staff and is therefore also suspected of being linked to the
violent takeover of the headquarters of the then Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI), of Megawati Soekarnoputri. However Susilo
has denied any links to the July 27 incident.

His running mate, Jusuf Kalla, withdrew his bid as a
presidential candidate under the Golkar Party to join Susilo.
Supporters say that his professional experience in the business
sector compliment Susilo's background in the military and the
bureaucracy.

Born into a family of wealthy entrepreneurs in the South
Sulawesi town of Bone on May 15, 1942, the graduate of the
Hasanuddin University and the European Institute of Business
Administration in France is a successful businessman.

Kalla's first political post was in 1998 when he became the
South Sulawesi representative for the People's Consultative
Assembly. The father of five has been active in the Association
of Islamic Students (HMI), the Indonesian Student Action Front
(KAMI), Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Golkar.

Both Susilo and Kalla were dismissed by president Abdurrahman
"Gus Dur" Wahid from the Cabinet.

Susilo was dismissed as chief security minister when he
rejected Gus Dur's instruction to implement a presidential decree
declaring a national emergency.

Kalla was dismissed for corruption charges when he was the
industry and trade minister. As coordinating minister of people's
welfare under President Megawati, he became popular for the peace
pacts he sponsored in Central Sulawesi, following communal riots
in Poso, and also in Maluku.