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"It would be wiser and ethical if he put someone from within on the ticket," Irgan (L) told IOL. |
JAKARTA –- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's decision to name Central Bank Governor Boediono as his vice-president candidate for the July vote has infuriated Islamic parties and threaten their anticipated coalition.
"It would be wiser and ethical if he put someone from within on the ticket," Irgan Chairul Mahfiz, the secretary general of the United Development Party (PPP), told IslamOnline.net on Wednesday, May 13.
Yudhoyono named on Tuesday, May 12, the central bank governor to be his running mate in the July presidential vote.
Boediono, a professor of economic, served as National Development Planning minister under President BJ Habibie in 1999.
In 2001, he was appointed by President Megawati Sukarnoputri as finance minister.
Yudhoyono posted him as the economic minister before being named central bank governor in 2009.
Some of the Islamic parties that were highly expected to join a coalition government with Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party (DA) are threatening to opt out.
"Based on our calculation, if we withdraw our support and spin around to other parties then we collect sixty percent vote," Mahfud Siddiq, a deputy chairman of Islamic Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), told IOL.
But the party, already a coalition partner in Yudhoyono's government, has not made a final decision yet.
"We are still considering whether or not to quit from coalition," said Luthfi Hasan, a PKS lawmaker.
"We will decide our stand within one or two days."
PKS, PPP, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Nation Awakening Party (PKB) were expected to join a post-election coalition with DA, which won 20.85 percent of the vote in last month’s legislative elections.
They wanted the incumbent president to seek his vice-president candidate from inside them.
Unfazed
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| Yudhoyono and his ruling DA party believe Boediono as the right choice for the vice-presidency. (Reuters) |
Despite the threats, Yudhoyono is unlikely to bow down.
"The president won’t change his mind," Sutan Bagana, a lawmaker from the ruling DA, told IOL.
"President could not be pressured; it’s merely a raising bargaining position of the supporting parties."
The DA insists that the decision to choose the central bank governor as the vice president candidate was meant to avoid conflict among the supporting parties that had their own candidates.
"If we joined Golkar then we would choose VP from the partner party," insists Sutan.
"But now we make coalition with smalls parties than we could not nominate a VP candidate from one of the parties."
PAN had nominated State Secretary Minister Hatta Rajasa while the PKS had proposed People’s Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid for the post.
Andi Mallarangeng, the DA deputy chairman and a presidential spokesman, insists that the central bank governor is an uncontroversial figure, playing down the difference with the Islamic parties.
"It’s just spontaneous reaction based on fragmented information," he told IOL.
"After we explained in detail the reasons behind the decision, insyaAllah everything goes well."
Balancing Power
Political observers see commonalities between President Yudhoyono and Boediono in leadership style and personalities.
"Yudhoyono wants economy and politic simultaneously stable," Andrinof Chaniago, a political analyst from University of Indonesia, told IOL.
He says the president was unwilling to be dictated by the supporting parties in governing the country.
"That’s why it is very suitable for Yudhoyono to pair with Boediono."
Burhanuddin Muhtadi, another political analyst, believes that appointing Boediono as the vice presidential candidate was meant to make balance of power.
"Because the DA is the biggest party it can do anything."
The result of the parliamentary election shows the DA winning 20.85 percent of the vote, followed by Golkar with 14.45 percent and Megawati's Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) with 14.03 percent.
This makes the DP, which only won 7.5 percent in the 2004 polls to become the new kingmaker with 148 seats in the 560-member House of Representative.
"I don’t think they will go out from the coalition," Burhanuddin said referring to the Islamic parties.
"It’s pure political maneuvering."
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