Anita Rachman & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – Jockeying for the 2014 presidential election has begun in earnest with a respected scholar and former candidate touting Hatta Rajasa for the country's highest seat.
Hatta, the coordinating minister for the economy, is the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and a close ally of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is prevented by a term limit from seeking re-election in four years' time.
On Monday, PAN co-founder and former chairman Amien Rais said Hatta would be a strong candidate for the presidency.
"For PAN, Hatta is our most prominent figure," Amien said during an event to mark the party's Aug. 6, 1998, founding.
"We also have [secretary general] Taufik Kurniawan and [deputy chairman] Drajad Wibowo, but they're not as popular. When we talk about Hatta being the strongest candidate, that's an argument based on reason."
Amien, a noted scholar who lost the 2004 presidential election to Yudhoyono, said a Hatta presidency would be the natural next step in his career.
"He's served as a minister four times and is now a coordinating minister, so it makes sense for him to aim for president as the next step up," Amien said. "It would be weird if he ran for district head."
He added there was still a long way to go before PAN could mount any kind of serious bid on Hatta's behalf, but said some other parties would probably react favorably to a Hatta candidacy.
"If we were to mount a bid, we'd do so as a coalition, though it's too soon to discuss that," Amien said. "We'll polish him up a bit first."
Setya Novanto, chairman of the Golkar Party in the House of Representatives, lauded PAN's "desire to put its best candidate forward for 2014," but said the voters would decide whether or not Hatta made the grade.
He said Golkar had not yet opened discussions on possible candidates for 2014.
"We haven't discussed the 2014 election yet, and neither has the joint secretariat," Setya said, referring to the governing body of the ruling coalition, of which PAN and Golkar are both members. Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie heads the secretariat.
"We want to be very careful about choosing our next leader," he said.
Golkar's deputy secretary general, Lalu Mara Satriawangsa, a spokesman for Aburizal, said while he respected Amien's prerogative to speak for PAN, the announcement should not be seen as the coalition's support for Hatta. "I don't think his statement will disrupt the coalition," Lalu said.
The chairman of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party in the House, Jafar Hafsah, welcomed Amien's statement but said the ruling party would most likely back a candidate from within its own ranks.
"We'll work hard to earn votes in the legislative elections [that precede the presidential election] so we can nominate our own candidate without the need of a coalition," he said.