A word of advice: Presidential candidates (seated, from left) Megawati Soekarnoputri, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla talk to their advisers during a break in their last-round debate in Jakarta on Thursday night. JP/J. Adiguna

Presidential hopeful Jusuf Kalla criticized his rival Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his frequently aired campaign ads calling for a single-round election to save state funds.

The attack took place during the outset of Thursday's final debate, after candidates were asked to deliver their visions and mission statements.

Kalla said democracy should not be valued in money terms alone because this could neglect the values of democracy.

"I am sorry Pak SBY, your ads claiming that a single-round election would save the state Rp 4 trillion imply that a democracy can be valued in monetary terms," Kalla said.

"I am afraid if we concur with these ads, there will be no election in 2014, so the state can save itself Rp 25 trillion."

In response to the criticism, Yu-dhoyono said the advertisements were not his.

"Those were not my ads," he said.

During the break, Yudhoyono offered his hand to Kalla before they hugged each other to the audience's applause.

During the following section of the televised debate, the other candidate, Megawati Soekarnoputri, agreed with Kalla and Yudhoyono that there would be no compromise in the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) for the welfare of the people.

"However, I see the implementation of gotong-royong *community-based mutual help* continuing to decrease," Megawati said.

"We need to return to our identity to maintain the unity of Indonesia," she said.

Yudhoyono and Kalla both said the state of Indonesia was a pillar of democracy and regional autonomy.

"There are still many problems in implementing democracy," Yudhoyono said.

"Should we uphold the presidential system, a multi-party system, elections and regional elections?"

Yudhoyono said the 10 years of regional autonomy had also seen overlapping authority between the central government and regional administrations.

"We have annulled 3,000 bylaws of 12,000 that are not in line with national laws," he said.

Yudhoyono also said he would re-evaluate regional autonomy to make sure it benefitted com-munities.

"We will impose a moratorium on the creation of new regions," he said.

Meanwhile, Kalla said he would make elections more efficient by conducting simultaneous regional elections.

Megawati said regional autonomy should be based on the potency of each region rather than the sum of its population.

In most commercial breaks, the candidates talked to their campaign teams although Kalla appeared more relaxed, apparently enjoying the event as he ate snack and chatted to an attendant while other candidates were busy with their sidekicks.

On the issue of democracy, the candidates agreed that pluralism could only strengthen the country.

Kalla, however, was most vocal as the only candidate to mention freedom of the press, and saying discrimination undermined democracy.

"Indonesia is based on plurality. The evidence for this is all the pictures of the President and Vice President, which flank our symbol of pluralism, the Garuda," he said.

"The pictures flanking the symbol may change, but the symbol remains the same."

Kalla's words may have been a reference to a statement made by one of Yudhoyono's campaigners, the current government spokesman Andi Malarangeng, who said people from South Sulawesi were not yet fit to lead the country.

"Anyone can be a leader. The view that a certain tribe or race cannot lead is dangerous because it dates back to the dark ages," said Kalla, the only non-Javanese candidate among the three.

Yudhoyono agreed with Kalla, raising the issue that there were still bylaws discriminating against certain religions in certain regencies, and promising to intervene and change them to accommodate all religions and races.

Surprisingly, Megawati did not take this opportunity to stab at several controversial decisions made during Yudhoyono's term in office, such as the pornography bill (which her party had tried to block, to no avail) and the decision to stop Ahmadiyah from proselytizing.

Mega simply reiterated her support for pluralism, saying, "On this issue, I agree with JK 100 percent".

As the debate was about to conclude, moderator Pratikno, the dean of Social and Political Sciences at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, presented the final question: What would candidates do if not elected.

"I will continue to serve and struggle for the Indonesian people," Megawati said.

Yudhoyono said he would congratulate the winner right away and ask his constituents to support the elected leader.

Kalla meanwhile said candidly he would return to his hometown in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

"I will take care of education, mosques and peace for the country."

One spectator, Dita, said the atmosphere was much lighter than in the previous debates.

"Perhaps this was because we were able to see a much more lively debate this time," Dita said.

Adianto P Simamora contributed to this article from Jakarta

ISSUES DISCUSSED IN PREVIOUS DEBATES

Anti Corruption Bill

Megawati: "The bill might not be finished on time, so we better use the previous law and push the House to set a better priority on its bill deliberation."

Yudhoyono: "I have consulted with the House of Representatives so that the bill could be endorsed before my administration term ends in October. I prefer to speed up the deliberation of the bill with the House, but if the bill can't be endorsed on schedule, I could issue a government regulation in lieu of law as an action in an emergency situation."

Kalla: "The bill is important, but we can use the previous law if we can't endorse the new law. I agree with President Yudhoyono."

Human Rights

Megawati: "I am also a victim of hum an rights violations, but I never retaliated. It is a good example for the people if they can learn from my case."

Yudhoyono: "We had the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the past, but it was dissolved based on the Constitutional Court verdict. But human right violation are a nation problem. We can sit together in the People's Consultative Assembly to resolve this problem because we need a solution.

For example, we can solve our human right-related problems with East Timor with a spirit to uphold peace, reconciliation, and friendship. We did it our way last year. I prefer to choose the Truth and Reconciliation or something similar to that."

Kalla: "I agree *with SBY* because I am still the current Vice President. Current law can't be used to try the past, but when it comes to crimes against humanity we could take legal action. I still think it's better in the future if we can learn from the past and never repeat these mistakes."

Military Budget

Megawati: "I will order an audit of our military equipment to find out how much of our equipment we can still use. There are many things we need to do so that we are not underestimated any longer."

Yudhoyono: "Our ideal military budget is Rp 120 trillion or 10 percent of our total budget of Rp 1,200 trillion, but now we just have a budget of Rp 35 trillion. We must prioritize education and other sectors. My plan is to gradually increase the military budget in the next five years should our economy improve. The military can delay buying submarines and fighter jets, but it must continue equipment maintenance and military officers' education programs."

Kalla: "I must ensure that the military budget is used effectively. I will revitalize the military equipments. If we can build those equipments at home, we must do it to save money. I will ground military vehicles that could not run properly. I agree that we must raise the military budget, but the military must maintain its equipment efficiently."

Foreign Debt

Megawati: "We must increase our independence. We must choose between principles of looking for the debts and a no debt policy. We must be confident to stop foreign debts."

Yudhoyono: "We have to delay some projects that are not too urgent and not to sell state enterprises, also known as privatization. Between 2005 and 2008, our foreign debts have decreased while local debts have increased. We will optimize our income from the gas sector."

Kalla: "We can make the state budget more efficient. I often criticize government buildings, which are too luxurious, have excessive use of air conditioners and too many employees. We have to empower state enterprises to finance local projects.

We can rely on our natural resources to get more income. I have said to do a rehabilitation so that we can increase production. I think the government sets too high an interest rate to borrow money from local sources, that is not good Pak SBY."

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