Kalla steals the show while SBY away

Abdul Khalik ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 03/19/2008 12:19 AM  |  Headlines

Vice President Jusuf Kalla appears to be making full use of the absence of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to enhance his image as an effective leader in the eyes of both the public and the media.

Only a day after the President left Jakarta last Monday for a 10-day trip to four countries and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Dakar, the vice president entertained hundreds of University of Indonesia students at their campus.

He delivered an off-the-cuff speech -- as on most occasions -- and gave the students an opportunity to ask questions about the government in the last three years.

Kalla smiled at hearing the most difficult and critical questions and appeared relaxed throughout.

"I've never met him before but he seems genuine and honest. His face never looks impatient," one student said after the speech.

He's endeared himself to the media, too, who love his spontaneous answers and fresh jokes, and some reporters have turned into die-hard fans for his quotable statements on almost all issues.

On a tour to several construction projects of low-cost apartment buildings in Jakarta last week, Kalla, who chairs the country's largest party Golkar, scolded officials in front of journalists and businesspeople for the snail-paced construction of the housing.

"You are a minister for people's housing, not a minister for elite housing," he told State Minister for People's Housing Muhammad Yusuf Asy'ri and other officials during the visit.

"You must make sure people get homes. I am afraid that once I leave all of you will just go back to sleep."

A Golkar lawmaker recently said housing was a sensitive issue and one of the major agendas of Golkar's campaign to attract more voters in the 2009 elections.

Kalla has made many appointments throughout this busy week. His itinerary includes visits to several universities, youth organizations and media organizations, appearing on Kick Andy talk show at Metro TV on Thursday, and attending the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission award presentation Tuesday night.

He has also tackled political problems such as the soaring price of staple commodities and the House of Representatives' rejection of the government's candidates for Bank Indonesia governor.

One journalist who has followed both the President and the vice president said the two leaders were somewhat opposite in styles.

"The vice president's statements are spontaneous and made in a relaxed way while the President's are predetermined, controlled and not genuine. That's why journalists like the vice president better than the President in term of newsworthiness," a senior journalist covering both leaders said.

The difference between the two are visible in the statements and measures they offer to tackle high-profile issues.

On the House's vote against BI governor candidates, Yudhoyono said he would ask for clarification from the lawmakers, while Kalla immediately announced the government would submit new names if the House's plenary on Tuesday upheld the rejection.

Some officials directly announced subsidy programs for staple commodities, including cooking oil and soybeans, after meeting with Kalla last week, and the vice president himself announced that Jakarta residents had to use gas and stop using kerosene by May. The decision on the two issues had been pending while Yudhoyono was in town.

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