Show time for vice presidential candidates

Erwida Maulia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 07/02/2009 8:18 AM  |  Presidential Election

The three presidential candidates were largely out of public view on Wednesday, likely preparing for the final round of the presidential debate today, and allowing their running mates to campaign intensively across the country.

Incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appeared only during a commemoration of the National Police’s 63rd anniversary, at its headquarters in South Jakarta on Wednesday morning, after which he headed to his private residence in Cikeas, a Jakarta suburb, where he had interviews with two local radio stations.

Yudhoyono asked police to boost security ahead of presidential election day next week.

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri stayed in Jakarta, not making any public appearances, while Vice President Jusuf Kalla travelled to the East Java town of Jombang and held a meeting with religious figures.

Kalla officiated the Islamic Center of a local Islamic boarding school (pesantren), Darul Ulum, and was scheduled to visit another school in the same town.

“Visiting pesantren always brings peace and convenience. Pesantren are places where in one can serve and contribute to the development of the nation,” Kalla said as quoted by kompas.com.

“That’s why I always appreciate kyai [Islamic clerics], founders, managers and the next generation of pesantrens who have long been serving [Indonesia]. The government will not discriminate against pesantren over other educational institutions,” Kalla said.

While Kalla was in East Java, his running mate, retired military chief Wiranto, toured further to the north, visiting the South Kalimantan capital of Banjarmasin before heading to Gorontalo and the North Maluku capital of Ternate.

In Banjarmasin, Wiranto met with members of his local campaign team and said the idea of a single-round presidential election should not be forced. In Gorontalo, Wiranto engaged in a dialog with local community figures and promised foreign debt restructuring if elected.

Megawati’s running mate, former Army general Prabowo Subianto, campaigned before some 5,000 supporters in Oepoi Stadium, in the East Nusa Tenggara capital, Kupang, during which he criticized the government’s failure to develop western and eastern Indonesia evenly.

“Abundant natural resources [in the East] have been exploited, but the outcomes have been taken to Java Island to develop western Indonesia,” Prabowo said.

“I idolize Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, with his slogan ‘I have a dream’. I also have a dream that someday there will be no more discrimination in this country,” Prabowo added.

Yudhoyono’s running mate, former central bank governor Boediono, meanwhile, campaigned before supporters in Andi Mattalatta Stadiun in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, the stronghold of Jusuf Kalla.

Boediono was welcomed by at least three groups that staged rallies against him, accusing the US-educated economist of promoting neoliberalism.

In his campaign speech, Boediono said if elected he and Yudhoyono would strengthen the country’s presidential system, which had been interfered with by the parliamentary system.

South Sulawesi had big economic potential, Boediono added, and thus he would suggest to Yudhoyono to make it a center of economic growth in eastern Indonesia.

Yemris Fointuna and Andi Hajramurni contributed to this story from Kupang and Makassar.

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