The presidential election campaign has drawn criticism for being bereft of debate on specific social, economic and political policies. To help you get a sense of some key polices of each of the three candidate pairs, the Jakarta Globe gave their campaign headquarters a list of questions. After nearly a month of waiting and prompts, we finally received the answers – despite one camp initially saying it was "too busy campaigning." Here are edited highlights:

What do you think is the biggest and the most important issue for people in their daily lives?

Megawati-Prabowo:

First, the decline in Indonesia's political and economic authority. As a result, other nations look down on us. Second, the decline in people's dignity, caused by the cycle of poverty – more than 100 million Indonesians have an income of less than Rp 20,000 ($2) per day. Third, ineffective governance in addressing people's basic needs.

Resolving these issues requires a new political-economic paradigm. Reorganizing the political system would require strengthening the presidential system, which is supported by the House of Representatives. As for the state budget, priority needs to be given to fulfilling the most basic needs of the state, to ensure the creation of new jobs.

SBY-Boediono:

The economy, poverty, public health and corruption are the biggest issues in people's lives – plus, day-to-day security. In the last five years public security has improved. You can now walk around Sabang to Merauke and see smiles everywhere. You can walk the streets of Aceh looking for good food until midnight, even until dawn. This improvement in public security has also occurred in [former conflict areas such as] Papua, Ambon, Poso and Sampit, and elsewhere. At the same time, over the last five years people and students have been able to express their political ideas by demonstrating in the streets. It's part of democracy, right?

Kalla-Wiranto:

Health care should be free; it should be affordable to people from all walks of life. The bottom line is that there should be an improvement to health care itself. Surely, the standard of local medical school graduates can be improved, and the price of medication lowered. The current health care system is insufficient. Our public health care centers need to be upgraded. The centers' facilities need to be augmented to accommodate the hospitalization of inpatients and patients' mobility, particularly for middle and lower class people. The Ministry of Health's current regulation says sick people should go to hospital. It should be reformed; people should be able to get medical care for any condition anywhere, as long as it is administered by the state.

Will there be a change in the current corruption eradication strategy?

Megawati-Prabowo:

There will be differences: First, law enforcement institutions and the anticorruption culture will be strengthened. Second, focus will be on the roots of corruption, which is the state budget. The budget's having a disclaimer status for five years in succession should not happen again. Third, prevent any leak of state assets overseas.

SBY-Boediono:

Judge the incumbent by looking at what he has done over the last five years, and compare it to the five-year period before he took office. The difference is obvious. Now, nobody is immune from the law, including government officials and their families, governors, mayors, the Armed Forces and police generals. No matter who they are, if they engage in corruption, they will be prosecuted. Now, people are afraid to be corrupt. But corruption is still bustling. That's why we have to prosecute past cases as a deterrent to stop present corruption, and to prevent future corruption.

Kalla-Wiranto:

There is no problem with corruption eradication. Jusuf Kalla's commitment to corruption is magnificent. No Golkar legislative candidate has been accused of being involved in corruption. If there was, he or she would have been discharged immediately. It is his basic commitment. Kalla never protects his cadres if they are involved in corruption.

What the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is doing today is in accordance with the law, but it has to be fairer and more consistent. In addition, Kalla will fix the overlapping [responsibilities] of legal institutions, which is happening right now.

What is your economic strategy, and strategy for the global downturn?

Megawati-Prabowo:

It is based on a people's economy paradigm, which is the antithesis of the prevailing neo-liberal economics. The strategy is based on:

1) Independent political-economic policies, a self-sufficient economy rooted in the Indonesian culture.

2) Rescuing state assets to guarantee state revenue and wholly used for public welfare.

3) Not commercializing basic state functions.

4) Giving priority to the effort to create 32 million new jobs.

5) Reforming the government bureaucracy so that officials absorb no less than 60 percent of public budget.

6) Improving infrastructure for the economy, such as the educational system which supports creativity and culture.

7) Give priority to developing sectors closely related to the public, such as agriculture, marine and micro-small-medium enterprise development.

8) Turn state-owned enterprises, cooperatives and the private sector into the main pillars of economic growth.

SBY-Boediono:

Over the next five years we will build on and sharpen our economic achievements. As the incumbent president, Yudhoyono's record of achievements over the last five years speaks for itself: economic growth, macroeconomic conditions and microeconomic conditions. In the future, we would have to strengthen the domestic economy, which has proven to be "storm-proof." Second, the government needs to continue to intervene through the use of economic stimulus packages, which now has reached at total of more than Rp 80 trillion ($7.84 billion). Third, the government has to strengthen pro-people programs, such as the Mandiri National Community Empowerment Program, school operational aid (BOS), direct cash aid, public health care and microcredit loans.

Kalla-Wiranto:

The tag line "Faster, Better" is shown in Kalla's economic and other programs, but in the economic context, Kalla emphasizes it even more clearly. The problem with the national economy is an abundant workforce without sufficient employment. And Kalla considers: how to absorb the work force, how to generate economic independence, and how to establish a sturdy foundation for economic growth. These three endeavors can be accomplished to accelerate economic growth by speeding up the development of infrastructure, including power plants, roads and bridges. Adequate infrastructure would provide the foundation for faster economic growth, since there would be no more gridlock and no more electricity shortages. Large-scale industries could be built and more of the work force could be absorbed.