Vice President and Golkar chairman Jusuf Kalla has warned his senior cadres seeking to run for the presidency next year against using the party's attributes in their campaign activities.

"It is okay (for party cadres to campaign in the presidential election) as long as they don't use Golkar's symbols," he said at a weekly news briefing at the vice presidential office, Jakarta, on Friday.

Kalla did not elaborate his reasons for barring Golkar cadres from campaigning alongside party attributions.

"I didn't use the Golkar motif in the 2004 presidential election. Instead, I went with the Democratic Party, the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI)," he said.

Golkar, the country's biggest party, selected its presidential candidates for the 2004 election through a convention in August 2003.

Former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Wiranto won the convention after beating the then party chairman Akbar Tandjung. Kalla had earlier withdrawn from the convention to team up with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono from the Democratic Party.

Wiranto chose Solahuddin Wahid, the younger brother of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, as his running mate. The pair was eliminated in the first round of the 2004 election.

Four Golkar figures -- Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubowono X, South Sulawesi Governor Fadel Muhammad and former outspoken legislators Yudhi Chrisnandi and Marwah Daud -- are planning to join a similar convention held by the National Integrity Council to determine a presidential candidate.

However, the council has nothing to do with Golkar or any other political parties.

The council, established by Solahuddin Wahid, would begin convening in January.

Under the convention rules, registered candidates must join a series of road shows in 10 cities including Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Medan, Jakarta, Makassar and Jayapura.

The public will be asked to assess those candidates based on their respective platforms and visions, and this feedback will assist the council in determining eligible hopefuls for the presidential election in July.

The 2008 presidential election law stipulates that only a political party with at least 20 percent of seats in the House of Representatives, or 25 percent of total votes, is eligible to nominate a presidential candidate.

The Golkar Party has long been under pressure from within the party to again stage a convention to determine its presidential candidate for the 2009 election.

But Kalla has rejected the call for a presidential convention, saying it would only benefit "freeloaders" who wanted to seek Golkar's approval to run for the presidency.

In October, a national leadership meeting of the Golkar Party proposed 11 presidential candidates, including Kalla, Sultan, Fadel and Yudhi.

Kalla has hinted at pairing up again with the incumbent President Yudhoyono in the upcoming election, while Sultan, backed by the My Republic Party, has announced his bid to contest the race.

On Friday, Kalla expressed gratitude to the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) for promoting former president Soeharto as a "national teacher and hero" in its recent campaign ads.

"I say 'thank you' to the PKS. It means that it is not only Golkar that respects Pak Harto," he said.

Soeharto, who was ousted from power after 32 years in 1998, was a co-founder of Golkar.

The PKS also nominated Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti "Tutut" Hardiyanti Rukmana as a promising leader in the future. "It is partly campaign tactics but is also legal," Kalla said.

Kalla played down the possibility that many Golkar supporters would shift allegiance to the PKS following its campaign ads on Soeharto.

Popular

To my horror, it’s just a movie!

RI, Australia strengthen partnership on taxing crypto assets

Pentagon chief congratulates Prabowo on being elected President