US ‘eyes Ical, Hatta’ for 2014

The Golkar Party has never relented in its portrayal of former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrayani as a liberal, pro-American economist after her appointment as a World Bank managing director last year.

Now Golkar chairman Aburizal ”Ical” Bakrie, whose dislike of Sri Mulyani has been evident, has emerged as a potential US favorite to run for president in 2014.

Ical, along with Hatta Rajasa from the National Mandate Party (PAN), was reportedly uneasy with the recent leak of a US diplomatic cable by Wikileaks that hinted that the pair would likely run for president in 2014.

Senior Golkar member Lalu Mara said on Thursday that the party was focusing on internal consolidation and had yet to decide on its presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, PAN secretary-general Taufik Kurniawan said that PAN “will never be influenced by or subject to intervention by the US”.

WikiLeaks released on its website on Wednesday 1,860 US State Department cables about Indonesia, most
of which originated from Jakarta,.

The documents detail the US, views on several hot-topic Indonesian issues, including corruption, giving free bird flu virus samples to corporations, issuing visas to top officials and the war on terror.

It was the second time the nation has suffered from Wikileaks-related fallout. The whistle-blower website released cables to two leading Australian media outlets in March that that alleged that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono abused his power and that First Lady Ani Yudhoyono engaged in cronyism.

One of the cables sent on Wednesday, dated Jan. 19, 2010 and titled “Looking ahead to elections, Indonesia’s political parties choose new leaders”, said that Hatta, as well as other newly appointed party leaders “will impact the dynamics of Yudhoyono’s ruling coalition and may emerge as presidential candidates in 2014”.

Ical was previously the coordinating economic minister and coordinating people’s welfare minister during Yudhoyono’s first term.

The Golkar Party chairman has recently been touring remote areas to promote the party’s welfare programs in a move observers said was part of a strategy to promote Ical ahead of the 2014 election.

Meanwhile, the cable dubbed Hatta, formerly the state secretary and currently coordinating economic minister, a strong potential candidate after his election as PAN’s chairman in January 2010. His daughter is currently engaged to one of Yudhoyono’s sons.

The cable said that Hatta’s election as PAN chairman “boosted the President’s clout”, as Hatta was Yudhoyono’s “close ally and one of his most influential advisors.”

Ical was mentioned at the end five-paragraph cable along with Hatta as politicians who were starting to position themselves for the next presidential election.

Another cable, released only few days after Yudhoyono named his second-term Cabinet in October 2009, mentioned several ministers, including Hatta, as “promising allies” for a “comprehensive partnership” with the US.

In a potential indication of a US preference, the cable said Hatta “could use his political power to push through initiatives”, despite lacking “a strong track record for reform”.

Other ministers mentioned in the cable were Sri Mulyani, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningish, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

According to the cable, the ministers were US-educated, welcomed by international businesses and have worked closely with the US government or US-linked organizations.