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usinessman and chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie, perceived by many as an ardent supporter of incumbent presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, sent a conflicting signal on Saturday by lending his private jet to Yudhoyono's challenger Jusuf Kalla.

Kalla confirmed on Saturday he had borrowed a Boeing 737-800 plane from businessman Aburizal to campaign in Papua, Bali and Central Java.

"Yes, Ical lent me this plane, for free," Kalla told Antara state news agency at Sentani Airport, Papua. Ical is Aburizal's nickname.

Aburizal, currently coordinating minister for the people's welfare, is known as one of the supporters of incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

However, when asked, Kalla said that Aburizal supported him. "He has supported me for a long time." Kalla is chairman of the Golkar Party and Aburizal is one of Golkar's leaders.

Earlier, it was reported that Aburizal, together with House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono and former Golkar chairman Akbar Tanjung had proposed to organize an earlier-than-planned congress of the Golkar Party to topple Kalla.

From Papua, Kalla and his entourage flew directly to Bali to conduct another campaign on the tourist island on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, Kalla's campaign team launched a new book about the presidential candidate to promote his positive side in order to attract more voters.

Entitled Jusuf Kalla, the real president, the book contains articles from various media and opinions from close friends that highlight the reasons why people should elect Jusuf Kalla in the upcoming presidential election.

A discussion panel was organized to accompany the book launch. Speakers included senior journalist Rosihan Anwar, political analyst J. Kristiadi and Kompas journalist Andi Suruji.

J. Kristiadi said Kalla deserved the presidency because he was decisive, quick in making decisions and had a strong spirit of egalitarianism and humanism.

But he warned that Kalla's electability remained low, and it would need a gigantic effort to boost his popularity, especially among people in rural areas, ahead of the July 8 elections. - JP